Style: Bière de Garde
Brewery: The Lost Abbey. website
Country: USA
Region: San Marcos, California
ABV: 7.0 % Abv
How served: 750 ml corked and caged bottle poured into a Augustijn Grand Cru tulip.
My Overall Opinion: Very Good. 
I paired this beer with: Grilled apple wood smoked turkey. Very nice pairing!
Tasted on: Thursday April 21st, 2011
Notes: This is a 2008 vintage.
This beer poured a hazy deep gold with a slight off white 2 finger fluffy head which left a minimal lacing on the glass. The smell was sweet and bready with some citrus. The taste started off with some pepper spices and sweet with malt, caramel and apples, there was a mild bitterness in the finish and only a little bit funkiness to this brew. This beer had a medium mouthfeel and dry finish with a nice level of carbonation which massaged the tongue. The drinkability was very good and refreshing, as I find most Bière de Garde to be. I would like to try this one again.
On the Label: From the French word “Garde” meaning something worth keeping, this Farmhouse Style Ale is most delicious companion to a loaf of freshly baked bread from the oven. Grab a seat on the porch, some soft cheese and a tree ripened apple from your grandmother’s old orchard. Relax and watch the evening arrive as the afternoon sun is consumed by the illuminating moon over the gardens. We brewed Avant Garde for you, our friends and families. Here’s to things worth guarding over.
From their website: At the Lost Abbey, we pride ourselves on producing beers of the highest quality and distinction. Avant Garde is our commitment to brewing beers to no particular style. Some might want to label this as a beer brewed in the Biere de Garde tradition of Northern France. We would prefer to say it was brewed in the Avant Garde style of beers that will reward all those who seek the not so ordinary. Deep gold in color with hints of biscuits, caramel and fresh baked bread, this beer is sure to delight the senses and palates of consumers everywhere. Available in 750ml bottles and on draft at select inspired locations.
OG 1.060 TG 1.008 7.0% ABV
Malts– Two Row, Honey Malt and Port Custom Toast (we make it ourselves in our Pizza Ovens).
Hops– German Brewer’s Gold, Strissespalt Spalt and Czech Saaz.
Yeast– House Lager strain with hybrid fermentation at ale temperature.
The Avant Garde Story
It’s yours now and although you’ve lived in the city your whole life, you remember fondly the weeks spent visiting grandma and grandpa. Somehow, they spent their whole life out here. No cable tv, no cell phones or even a microwave oven. To say they were old school would be an understatement.
But there is an allure to this place, closing your eyes, images from your childhood flood your memories. There was that day when you and grandma got up with the roosters and headed to the orchard to pick fresh apples for her famous apple pie. One summer, they bought you a pig and you named it Wilbur after your favorite new book. Still, the day grandpa taught you how to drive the tractor when you were only 12 is still as fresh as the hay you mowed that day.
Traffic, bills and rude neighbors seem like such a chore now. Maybe it’s time to cash in the 401K and retire to the country. A pair of pigs- Wilbur and his beautiful bride would need your attention. The orchard still makes great fruit and though you haven’t made jam in years, the process she taught you seems approachable.
An old family friend knocks at the door. He saw you drive up and wondered if you might like to sit and chat about the farm and your intentions. Two rocking chairs call your name from the porch that is seemingly fit for this occasion. He offers a beer from his home. The back of the label tell you everything you need to know about this place you have been contemplating.
From the French word “Garde” meaning something worth keeping, this Biere de Garde styled Farmhouse Ale is a most delicious companion to a loaf of freshly baked bread from the oven. Grab a seat on the porch, some soft cheese and a tree ripened apple from your grandmother’s old orchard. Relax and watch the evening arrive as the afternoon sun is consumed by the illuminating moon over the gardens. We brewed Avant Garde for you, our friends and families. Here’s to things worth guarding over.
