Recipe

Biére de Garde

Biére de Garde

(5 gallons/19 L, all grain)
OG = 1.080  FG = 1.012
IBU = 31  SRM = 12  ABV = 9%

Ingredients
12.5 lbs. (5.7 kg) Malteries Franco Belge (MFB) two-row pale malt
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) MFB Munich malt (7 °L)
1 lb. (0.45 kg) caramel pilsen malt
12 oz. (0.34 kg) MFB special aromatic malt (4 °L)
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) caramel malt (20° L)
4 oz. (113 g) kiln coffee malt (150° L)
6.1 AAU Hallertau hops (60 min.) (1.75 oz./50 g at 3.5% alpha acid)
5 AAU  Strisselspalt hops (15 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 4% alpha acid)
Wyeast 3725 (Biére de Garde) or White Labs WLP072 (French ale) yeast
2/3 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step
Mash grain in 5.3 gallons (20.1 L) of water for 60 minutes at 150 °F (66 °C). Sparge with enough 168 °F (76 °C) water to yield 6.5 gallons (24.6 L) of wort. Total boil time is 90 minutes. After 30 minutes add Hallertau and continue for 45 more minutes. Add Strisselspalt and boil for remaining 15 minutes. Whirlpool and cool to 68 °F (20 °C) to pitch starter.

Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C) for 7 days, then rack to secondary fermenter. Continue fermentation for 14 more days or until gravity is about 1.012 and fermentation stops. Prime and bottle condition as long as desired.

Issue: Summer 2000

A style all its own, really, Biére de Garde’s closest related beer would be Saisons. But Biére de Garde’s often will lack the spicy yeast character of Saisons, providing a more malt-forward style that can often be sweeter that Saisons. Find a classic recipe here.