Limberlost Bruin

 Sawdust City Brewing Co.‘s Limberlost Bruin is a 6.5% alcohol bière de garde. Sold in 473mL cans, the beer is brewed using SC’a house yeast, as well as a wild strain; the former aged in stainless and the latter in puncheons—wooden casks. The beer is constructed with a trio of hops and NINE different malts, including oat flakes and wheat.

L.B. is a lovely looking ruby ale. It’s clear and pours with a short-lived off-white foam. The beer has aromatics that are metallic, funky, and tart. It tastes tangy, initially, with sour apple and cherry notes, and drifts toward a coppery finish. Throughout, wild yeast funk is on display, but it isn’t overpowering.

Limberlost Bruin proved a pretty interesting offering. I bought four cans and truthfully, I didn’t love the first can, which I downed late on a Friday night, but in a more mindful and contemplative mood a few days later, I found the beer had a lot to say and did so with some style. I expected to like Limberlost Bruin more, but the Blonde was definitely my preferred take.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Ch’ti Blonde

Another bière de garde from Brasserie Castelain in Bénifontaine, France that I sampled during my brief stay in Carcassonne was their Ch’ti Blonde. Ch’ti was a 6.4% golden farmhouse ale sold in a stubby 330mL bottle. It poured with a short-lived cover of off-white head and had an aroma that was sweet, metallic, and slightly earthy. The sweetness persisted in the flavour, which was malt-forward, a bit bready, and featured honey and fruit notes.

Unlike the other B de G from Castelain that I sampled during my travels (Blonde du Nord), Ch’ti was stronger and had a bit more bitterness at its back end, contributing a bit of balance. Again, I was expecting a bit more yeastiness, akin to a saison, but I think the problem was less with the beer than my own misconceptions about the style. A touch too sweet, perhaps, but nice and strong, Ch’ti featured an array of subtle flavours that emerged as the beer warmed.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Reflects de France Bière de Garde Artisanal Blonde du Nord

Reflects de France Bière de Garde Artisanal Blonde du Nord is a 6% effort from Brasserie Castelain in Bénifontaine, France. My father-in-law brought a corked and caged 750mL bottle back to our rental place in Carcassonne, and I decided to take it for a spin.

Blonde du Nord proved to be a clear, golden ale. It poured with a thin disc of white head and had a sweet, slightly yeasty aroma with notes of apple and green grape. The mouthfeel was very smooth and almost thin, with a timid flavour that was sweet, grainy, and faintly yeasty—not a lot of the farmhouse funk that I was hoping for. There was almost no bitterness and the finish was sweet and short.

I have a limited knowledge of bières de garde, and I know that Castelain is one of the reputed master makers of the style, but I found their Blonde du Nord to be a bit blinkered—perhaps a brew designed as an introduction, rather than a full-flavoured, full strength bière de garde.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.