Hill Country Beer Club
Kunstler Brewery
Behind the Couch
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89
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Club & Brewer Notes:
Historically Bière De Garde was produced on the Belgium/France border, while Saison was produced on the Belgian side. While Belgians produced light, fresh and crispy drinks, the French produced something richer and sweeter. Belgians fermented their Saisons at warmer temps, producing spicy, crisp and peppy drinks, while the French found their yeast influence in the altbier and kölsch traditions, thus producing a libation of soft malt with some restrained sweetness. Bière De Garde was produced with a stronger alcohol content, so that it could be stored (guarded) through the summer months. My first Bière De Garde, was in collaboration with another homebrewer, Jeremy Banas a local beer historian and author. We brewed it in 2013, on a system unfamiliar to us, and let’s just say all kinds of things went wrong, producing lots of sweat, cursing, (maybe some tears) and a scorched wort. We bottled it anyway, and I literally stashed my share behind the couch, hoping I could forget the failed brew day. A year later, while drinking with friends, we tasted through everything I had on tap, and I was asked: “What else do you have?” Somehow I remembered the “behind the couch beer” and thought it would be good to at least try, maybe laugh about it, and then finally dump it. Long story short: I was almost sad that I had to share such a fine brew with anyone!