{"id":4999,"date":"2011-11-03T14:35:28","date_gmt":"2011-11-03T18:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/?p=4999"},"modified":"2011-11-07T16:30:52","modified_gmt":"2011-11-07T21:30:52","slug":"hop-line-vive-la-bier-de-garde-a-beer-for-hearty-holiday-fare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/2011\/11\/hop-line-vive-la-bier-de-garde-a-beer-for-hearty-holiday-fare\/","title":{"rendered":"HOP LINE: Vive la Bi\u00c3\u00a8r de Garde: A beer for hearty holiday fare"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>by Jason Cole and Evan Crouch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Style<\/strong><br \/>\nBi\u00c3\u00a8r de Garde is the quintessential French beer. In a land known for its wine, Bi\u00c3\u00a8r de Garde stands out as a style with complexity to rival its vinous counterpart. <!--more-->Essentially a pale ale, the term Bi\u00c3\u00a8r de Garde translates as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153beer for keeping.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 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, Bi\u00c3\u00a8res de Garde were brewed in the early spring, then stored for continuous consumption through the summer, fall and winter. Bi\u00c3\u00a8res 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. <\/p>\n<p>For a style that has such close ties to the land and those who work it, it is no surprise that Bi\u00c3\u00a8res 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 Bi\u00c3\u00a8r 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more than the sum of its parts. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Pairing<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In pairing a meal with a Bi\u00c3\u00a8r de Garde, the holiday season gives us a great backdrop on which to find some delicious pairings. The malty backbone of a Bi\u00c3\u00a8r de Garde is a great complement to roasted meats, strong stews and savory dishes. The spicy, herbal essence of a Bi\u00c3\u00a8r 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. <\/p>\n<p>La Brasserie La Choulette\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ambr\u00c3\u00a9e is an ideal Bi\u00c3\u00a8r de Garde for a hearty meal. In the glass, La Choulette Ambr\u00c3\u00a9e 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. <\/p>\n<p>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 Bi\u00c3\u00a8r de Garde brewing dating back to 1885. In the United States, Brasserie La Choulette offers three distinct beers: the Ambr\u00c3\u00a9e, a fruity Framboise made with real raspberries and Les Sans Culottes, which takes its name from French Revolutionary fighters.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meatloaf with Fig Sauce<\/strong><br \/>\nFor a hearty meal, meatloaf would be a perfect dish to serve with a Bi\u00c3\u00a8r de Garde. This recipe adds a slight twist to a traditional meatloaf by using sweet Italian sausage and a fig sauce. <em>Enjoy!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Meatloaf<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Ingredients<\/em><br \/>\n\u00c2\u00be pound ground chuck<br \/>\n2 sweet Italian sausage links (about \u00c2\u00bd pound)<br \/>\n\u00c2\u00bd cup breadcrumbs<br \/>\n1 egg<br \/>\n2 tablespoons sage<br \/>\n1 tablespoon thyme<br \/>\n1 teaspoon red pepper flakes<br \/>\n\u00c2\u00bc cup La Choulette Ambr\u00c3\u00a9e<br \/>\n\u00c2\u00bd yellow onion, finely chopped<br \/>\n2 cloves garlic, minced<br \/>\n\u00c2\u00bc pound pureed chicken livers (optional, for that extra French-country feel)<\/p>\n<p><em>Procedure<\/em><br \/>\nPreheat 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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fig Sauce<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Ingredients<\/em><br \/>\n\u00c2\u00bd cup red wine vinegar<br \/>\n\u00c2\u00bd cup sugar<br \/>\n\u00c2\u00bd cup chopped figs<br \/>\nPinch of cinnamon<br \/>\nPinch of allspice<br \/>\nPinch of red pepper flakes<\/p>\n<p><em>Procedure<\/em><br \/>\nAdd 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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Assembly<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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 Ambr\u00c3\u00a9e will match perfectly with the meal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Jason Cole and Evan Crouch Style Bi\u00c3\u00a8r de Garde is the quintessential French beer. In a land known for its wine, Bi\u00c3\u00a8r de Garde stands out as a style with complexity to rival its vinous counterpart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[319,225],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4999"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5002,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4999\/revisions\/5002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}