Songbird Le Jardinier is a 5% Belgian spiced / herb beer from Brewery Songbird in Chiba that is part of their winter seasonal lineup of beer. It’s produced using locally sourced peel from green lemons and herbs harvested from the gardens around Brewery Songbird. I know we have tried to use the hashtag #drinklocal but perhaps this was taking it a bit too far with getting ingredients from your garden. Songbird Le Jardinier is on sale around December time and comes in bottle form and on tap at the Brewery Songbird tasting room.
Songbird Le Jardinier Aroma and Taste
When I heard this was a Belgian spiced / herb beer, I initially thought that it was going to be something along the lines of a witbier but as soon as I got a whiff of Songbird Le Jardinier, it was evident it was something different. It poured out a hazy golden colour with minimal amount of head, just a meagre amount of bubbles around the edge of the glass. It had a sour lemon kick to it which, while not unpleasant, was certainly a shock to the system as it wasn’t orange. The herb aspect of it was not coriander but more rosemary and sage…
Hang on – Le Jardinier – it’s French…I think I studied some French a long time ago, well, I was forced to sit in on a lesson and only twenty years later did I realise the importance of the language when I travelled to France in 2015. Le Jardinier means “The Gardener” in English and the ingredients come from their garden…
Back on track, Songbird Le Jardinier tasted like a witbier but with lemons and herbs instead of the orange and coriander flavours. Just imagine it and you’ll get the flavour. The flavours were nice but could have done with being toned down a notch or so as after a while, the sourness of the lemon dulled the tastebuds. The aftertaste, once I had washed my mouth out with water to remove the sourness, was herbal with rosemary and sage coming through more in the end.
Songbird Le Jardinier One Line Review
Songbird Le Jardinier is an interesting take on a spiced Belgian ale but one was more than enough.
Where to buy Songbird Le Jardinier
Songbird Le Jardinier can be bought online at the following places: