Songbird Biere de Garde is a 7% French strong ale from Brewery Songbird that is part of their autumn lineup of beers. The Bière de Garde style of beer is a first for us at BeerTengoku, and meant we had to some serious research. The phrase roughly translates to “beer for storage” or “beer for keeping” and are beers that have been made in the springtime and stored until the winter for drinking to prevent spoilage due to the warm summer months. Songbird Biere de Garde is available in bottled form only at the time of writing.
Those French lessons pay off for us.
Songbird Biere de Garde Aroma and Taste
Songbird Biere de Garde poured out a deep bronze colour with a slight orange hue to it, and was topped off with a stodgy off-white head on top. It had a slightly fruity aroma of peaches and a small hint of sourness to it that was more pleasant than off-putting. There was a slight edge of fruity esters from the Belgian yeast that had been used in the fermentation though luckily none of it had escaped into the bottle during conditioning.
The body had some of the sourness from the aroma to it but the malts were more pronounced in the body and produced a caramel flavour to it. Along with the fruity esters given off from the yeast along with a smooth spiciness to it as well. While Songbird Biere de Garde wasn’t the most complex of beers, it was well-balanced and hid the 7% alcohol from the taste too. It finished off with a fruity twang of plums and pears before quickly fading away.
Songbird Biere de Garde One Line Review
Songbird Biere de Garde was a well addition to the expanding range of styles of beers in Japan. With some further aging, it would be much nicer.
Where to Buy Songbird Biere de Garde
Songbird Biere de Garde can be bought online at the following places:
