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HOP LINE: Vive la Bièr de Garde: A beer for hearty holiday fare

by Jason Cole and Evan Crouch

Style
Bièr de Garde is the quintessential French beer. In a land known for its wine, Bièr de Garde stands out as a style with complexity to rival its vinous counterpart. Essentially a pale ale, the term Bièr de Garde translates as “beer for keeping.” This alludes to the way it is brewed: a warm fermentation, like for a pale ale, followed by a cool lagering, or keeping period, which smoothes out its flavor profile. Historically, Bières de Garde were brewed in the early spring, then stored for continuous consumption through the summer, fall and winter. Bières de Garde, and their Belgian cousins, Saisons, are sometimes referred to as farmhouse ales, due to the fact that they were brewed by and for farmers to provide sustenance while working the fields.

For a style that has such close ties to the land and those who work it, it is no surprise that Bières de Garde offer an array of rustic aromas and flavors. Aromatics include faint, sweet caramel and toast interspersed with herbal notes, held together by its hallmark: a musty, woodsy, cellar-like nose. Color can range from blond to amber to brown, with a seductive haze and ample khaki foam. Taste is centered around the silky-smooth caramel malts, again with a peppering of herbal and musty accents. Perhaps the most notable aspect of a Bièr de Garde, however, is its ability to pull out and accentuate flavors in food. When paired with the right dish, the combination truly becomes an experience that’s more than the sum of its parts.

Pairing

In pairing a meal with a Bièr de Garde, the holiday season gives us a great backdrop on which to find some delicious pairings. The malty backbone of a Bièr de Garde is a great complement to roasted meats, strong stews and savory dishes. The spicy, herbal essence of a Bièr de Garde lends itself well to matching the herbal overtones of stuffing and roasted vegetables. Lively carbonation also helps cut through fat and cleanse the palate.

La Brasserie La Choulette’s Ambrée is an ideal Bièr de Garde for a hearty meal. In the glass, La Choulette Ambrée has a hazy reddish amber hue with a thick, frothy head. Aromas of wildflower meadows, caramelized grain and oats provide a backdrop to its full flavor. Rustic flavors of baked country bread, thyme and sage are present; sweet grain and herbal hops take over into a long-lasting herbal finish.

The Brasserie La Choulette lies in the Le Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France in the small town of Hordain. Brewing fewer than 4,000 barrels a year, this tiny brewery has a wide-ranging presence. Its owners, Alain and Martine Dhaussy, carry on the tradition of French Bièr de Garde brewing dating back to 1885. In the United States, Brasserie La Choulette offers three distinct beers: the Ambrée, a fruity Framboise made with real raspberries and Les Sans Culottes, which takes its name from French Revolutionary fighters.

Meatloaf with Fig Sauce
For a hearty meal, meatloaf would be a perfect dish to serve with a Bièr de Garde. This recipe adds a slight twist to a traditional meatloaf by using sweet Italian sausage and a fig sauce. Enjoy!

Meatloaf

Ingredients
¾ pound ground chuck
2 sweet Italian sausage links (about ½ pound)
½ cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 tablespoons sage
1 tablespoon thyme
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup La Choulette Ambrée
½ yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ pound pureed chicken livers (optional, for that extra French-country feel)

Procedure
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove casings from sausages. Thoroughly mix all ingredients into bowl. Shape into loaf on a cookie sheet. Bake for 35 minutes or until cooked through.

Fig Sauce

Ingredients
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ cup chopped figs
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of allspice
Pinch of red pepper flakes

Procedure
Add vinegar and sugar to saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Add cinnamon, allspice and red pepper flakes, then figs. Simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Set aside.

Assembly

Slice meatloaf for serving. Drizzle fig sauce over slices of meatloaf. Serve with steamed broccoli and hearty French bread. Finish the meal with a cheese course of Bucheron or St. Andre with some leftover fig sauce and bread. The La Choulette Ambrée will match perfectly with the meal.