The Pump House Brewery Limited Bière de Garde Belgian Saison Bière de Garde at 6.5% ABV (C$2.20 at NLC Stavanger, 341 ml, bottle date 19-Feb-2016, acquired 13-May-2016, reviewed 16-May-2016)
Appearance: clear medium to deep amber with a thin, short-lived light beige head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: dark fruit, caramel malt, leather and earth, spice. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (5/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration mild finish. (3/5)
I went into this with a great deal of trepidation: nothing in my experience with this brewery has suggested they had the background to prepare them for taking on this style. I’d like nothing more than to be able to say that I was wrong in that regard – but I wasn’t. (At this point, I’m forced to wonder whether these guys have ever even tasted a Saison or a Bière de Garde.) As an Amber or a Winter Warmer, fine, it’s not a bad beer – but it’s pretty far off-spec for either of its nominal styles. And to be fair, to the pedants who point out the apparent contradiction in simultaneously calling it a a Saison and a Bière de Garde on the label, I would suggest that the only true distinction there is geography, with one being associated with the north side of the Franco-Belgian border, and the other the south. Unfortunately, both labels are equally misleading here. However, that being said, I’ve had actual French Bières de Garde that are almost as malty as this – Brasserie Thiriez L’Ambrée d’Esquelbecq, for example, or Brasserie Duyck Jenlain Ambrée – but they included a touch of funk and yeast character (and had the decency to call themselves Ambers). Not bad, and I don’t actually dislike it, but in my opinion not a great example of either style. Maybe I’ll squirrel away a couple in my cellar (they are “a beer for keeping” after all, right?) and see how I like them next winter. (11/20)
5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
