Why doesn't Biere de Garde get any love?

It's because it's not hop-forward, not extremely high ABV, not typically barrel-aged, and not sour. As a general rule, only big or "extreme" beers tend to get a lot of hype around here.

 

Well, as I understand it, Biere de Gardes are supposed to be somewhat similar to saisons only with a toastier malt presence and more subdued yeast esters (correct me if I'm wrong). I love saisons as I'm sure many other BAs do, but every Biere de Garde I've had has been watery, bland and uninspiring. The only exception is Abbaye de Saint Bon Chien is categorized as Biere de Garde on this site but it's sour and clocks in at 11%. Oh and Ommegang's Scythe and Sickle wasn't bad but it had a pronounced yeast presence that reminded me of a saison so I'm not sure if it's brewed true to style. But I didn't like Southampton Biere de Mars and I tried one by Two Brothers that was weak as well.

 

I think the stylistic ambiguity is part of the problem. Most de Gardes I've had are pretty dissimilar. That said, I wish I saw more of the style from breweries that I'm into. The New Belgium/Brewery Vivant one was nice.

 

I think there is a pretty big swag in the american brewer vault between Biere De Garde and Saisons. A lot of breweries seem to be putting out beers they are calling Biere De Garde that closer resemeble Saisons.

 

Fully agree with Phocion, American beers are almost always a more extreme version to their European counterpart, so maybe Biere de Gardes are just too subdued for America. Personally I happen to love them, brewed my own last summer that came out excellent.

 

Because they're French?

 

I was kind of joking... but I think some of the other posts are on target. BDG doesn't get much attention because it's not a big, extreme beer. And sadly, those are what people talk about most.

Anecdote: a coworker recently offered to buy me a bottle of beer as a thank-you for helping with a project. When he asked if I had any preferences, I instantly suggested a BDG. Next morning I find a 750 of Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi at my desk, which clocks in at 12% ABV. I had to double check to confirm that this is in fact categorized as a BDG. I haven't tried it yet, but 12% is on the extreme end of what I consider a typical BDG.

So, the BDGs people get in the U.S. aren't necessarily true to style, and the ones that are true to style don't have much "wow" factor, aside from sometimes being really, really good.

 

Only tried 2 or 3 examples of the style and I have not been a huge fan of them. It is very possibly due to the quality of those specific beers and not the style, but those experiences have limited my enthusiasm towards the style.

 

Y'all need some Jolly Pumpkin in your lives

 

I had a few and didn't find them very mindblowing. Jolly Pumpkin's is quite good though and seemed a major step above the others I've tried (costs a little more as well).

 

You could say the same about a majority of German styles

 

As mentioned a few times, this style not being "big" enough is the main answer, I'd suspect.

 

Abbaye de Saint Bon Chien is a fantastic sour BDG, certainly worth tracking down if you can find it.

 

Joking or not, I think that rings true. It's a (the?) style associated with France, and people do not associate France with beer. If it was more closely tied to Belgium, I bet we'd see more US examples.

It's not like many other old world European styles are catching big interest. Since you mentioned it, Phil Markowski, formerly with Southampton, wrote a book on the style. He's currently at Two Roads and they put out a Holiday Biere de Noel / Biere de Garde.

Based on the small sample size I've drunk, I'd say that an obstacle is that (when they aren't brewed with some sourness) there's a sweetness present and the ABV and mouthfeel aren't large or dominating. American craft drinkers only seem to really gravitate to sweetness when it's in a thicker or bigger package. If it's brewed in such a way that drinkers would consider it a "sour," that's another story.

 

Yeah, I'm with @kevanb. My favorite Jolly Pumpkin beers are Biere de Mars (if we're talking "regular" lineup) and Biere de Mars Grand Reserve (if we're talking extremely limited stuff). Both get a decent amount of love on this site (ratings: 4.16 and 4.36, respectively).

Oro de Calabaza (another BdG by JP) ain't too shabby either, and it's got a 4.12 on here.

 

They're a style I enjoy and would love to see more of, and that generally means exactly the opposite of what the community here wants.

I enjoy the heck out of some Domaine Dupage, Fuego del Otono, and even weird ones like Against the Grain's Oaken Dagger (which I've only ever caught when in Louisville on business, and have never seen bottled). They're complex, subtle, nuanced, and actually balanced - all of which are qualities that do not seem by and large to appeal to folks who use terms like malty and balanced when discussing IPAs.

(It is entirely possible that my weirdly hop-sensitive palate detects these as balanced where others will pick up sweetness.)