Phoenix Ale Brewery (Phoenix, Arizona)
Sometimes, finding a certain style of beer you’ve never heard of or tried before becomes quite difficult – especially these days with America now boasting nearly 3,000 Micro/Craft Breweries. Everthing these days seems to be Imperial IPA this or Pickled Pigs Feet Porter that (there’s no such thing as Pickled Pigs Feet Porter that I know of… yet). One day when I was perusing my local liquor store that has an abundance of great craft beers from all over. I was putting together a little six pack of some familiar and some not-so familiar beers, when I saw this out of the corner of my eye. “The Keeper” Biere de Garde. I’ve heard of biere de garde style ales before, but had yet to try one or even see one. So I quickly made it a part of my six pack.
Once I got home, I sat down and started to research the history of biere de garde ales. Traditionally brewed by French farmers in the winter months when beer fermentation could be kept stable. This style of beer was made for “keeping” until the summer months when brewing was risking business without the luxury of modern refrigeration and climate control. Biere de Garde directly translates to “Beer for Keeping”. Typically, these ales were brewed a little stronger than it’s not so distant cousin, the Saison ale. Some French brewers maintain that there is not much difference between the two styles, if at all.
Biere de Garde type beers nearly fell off the face of the earth after World War II, when the French Government shut down most of the breweries to obtain their metal brewing vessels to be turned into bombs and other wartime machinery. Luckily, a few brewing families held onto their recipes and have started brewing Biere de Garde back in. Now, with the huge wave of the American Microbrew culture, craft brewers are now getting in on the action.
Phoenix Ale Brewery’s tribute pours a beautiful reddish copper with medium carbonation and a small, even order head. I put my nose up to my nucleated glass, took in a big whiff and were greeted by aromas of strong and sweet caramel, musty yeast esters and almost hay-like hop presence. I took in the first sip and were hit with flavors that all the aromas indicated. In some ways, it tastes very similar to an English Barleywine, yet void of the boozy alcohol heat and different hop structure. It has great mouthfeel, smooth and welcoming. Very minimal bitterness that lets all the malty goodness shine through. I was expecting more yeasty overtones in the flavor but those attributes were much more subdued.
“The Keeper” finishes off at 6.3% alc. and is definitely a “Keeper” in my book. I am going to seek out more Biere de Garde ales and see how they stack up to this. Phoenix Ale Brewery has done a great job with this ale. I find it very easy to drink, yet intriguing enough to keep your taste-buds screaming for more. Cheers to Phoenix Ale Brewery and to all my fellow Craft Beer Explorers!
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