Today is Bastille Day. Twenty years ago, I partnered with the embryonic Bistro New Albany to stage a Bastille Day “Bieres de Garde Dinner,” which actually took place two days later on a Sunday to make planning (and the bike ride) simpler.
It was the sort of thing that always prompted people to say we were crazy. But merely view the photos. The event was well-attended and artistically wonderful.
This post has two parts. First, a brief course on Bieres de Garde. Then the Bastille Day dinner recap.
Beer for Bastille Day
(My “Mug Shots” column in LEO Weekly on 27 June 2007)
From the time just after 9-11, when it became the stated policy of every illiterate bumpkin in the American hinterlands to demean all things French without understanding any of them, I’ve resolved to buy and drink beer from France as often as possible.
Contrary to what you may have heard, this political statement requires no sacrifice whatsoever, because no other brewing nation in Europe is as underrated as France – and we’re not speaking here of Alsace’s producers of German-tinged Euro-lager like Kronenbourg. Rather, France’s prime brewing region lies to the north of Paris, alongside Belgium.
It is indicative of the imprecision with which beer styles are codified that aficionados tend to group the ales of Northern France into a catch-all category, Bieres de Garde (or, “beers that have been kept”). As with the Saison style of French-speaking Belgium, these originally were individualistic farmhouse ales brewed in cooler weather, bottled, and stored for later use. This period of aging rounded the edges and contributed a cellar character to ales that were little known outside the region until relatively recently.
In general terms, today’s Bieres de Garde have in common glorious layers of rich malt complexity, with hop-accented offerings tasty, but less common. They can be golden, amber or brown, with the latter being particular good alongside dinner.
While the bulk of received wisdom pertaining to food and drink concentrates on the oenophile’s vision of the correct jug of wine for a particular loaf of bread, France’s Bieres de Garde are an ideal accompaniment to the finest multi-course meal – or to a wheel of stinky cheese, rough country pate and a crusty baguette.
Be adventurous and look for 750 ml bottles, some corked and other crown capped, of Jenlain, Trois Monts, La Choulette, St. Amand and Castelain.
The previous year, the late great Bistro New Albany hosted a memorable event.
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Recap: Bastille Day Bieres de Garde dinner at Bistro New Albany.
In 2006, Bastille Day came two days late … to New Albany, but a hardy group of 26 revelers beat the heat at the Bistro New Albany yesterday and celebrated French cuisine and fermentation science.
France’s proudest original beer style was traditionally made by farmers in the beer-loving north of France, near the border with Belgium. Brewed in the colder months of late winter and early spring, it was bottled in wine and champagne bottles, then laid down in cellars to be shared with family and friends in the warm months, when the heat made brewing impossible. The beer had to be strong and hardy enough for cellaring, yet light and refreshing enough to quench a farmer’s thirst at the height of the summer.
— from the web site of Shelton Brothers (importer of most ales listed below).
Sincere thanks to all in attendance, and to Dave Himmel and Dave Clancy, proprietors of bNA, for making this event possible. Even more appreciation is due those who joined us for the bicycle ride earlier in the afternoon. See Freedom of Navigation Exercises for a recap.
This dinner and beer tasting evolved in a very spontaneous fashion, given the desire of the Daves to stage fun events, multiple cases of Bieres de Gardes stacked in the Rich O’s storage area, and the overlap of Bastille Day with the Tour de France, which a few of us have witnessed while riding our own bikes in the vicinity.
All these factors came together, and a fine time was had by all.
The idea was to spend just a little time on tasting notes and beer descriptions, but to have fun. I speak no French, and in truth, have little idea how to pronounce the names of the beers, but that didn’t seem to matter.
We were not overly concerned with proper glassware,and pourings were expanded from an original goal of four ounces to six ounces for each of the nine ales (except the closing splash of Pome).
The menu, including pairings, follows.
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Bastille Day aperitif
St. Sylvestre Gavroche (8.5% abv)
Amber “red” ale, French for “street urchin.”
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Hors- d ‘oeuvres
-Canapês au Duxelles (mushroom canapes)
-Oeufs Farcis Garnis (stuffed eggs)
-Boucheés au Chevre (puff pastry with goat cheese)
Thiriez Blonde (6% abv)
Farmhouse blond brewed in French Flanders, near the Belgian border.
Thiriez Amber (5.8% abv)
Lightly roasted amber and red malts from Northern France.
Thiriez Extra (4.5% abv)
Farmhouse bitter with French barley and English hops.
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Soup Course
– Pureé de Cèleri (celery soup)
Cuvee des Jonquilles (Biere de Garde de L’avesnois) (7% abv)
Blond ale, bottle conditioned.
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Salad Course
-Salade de Betterave (beet-root salad)
Jenlain (6% abv)
A classic amber Biere de Garde from the Duyck brewery.
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Entree Course
– Suprême de Vollaille á l’ Arlesienne (breast of chicken with fried eggplant)
La Choulette Ambree (8%)
Another classic amber Biere de Garde, bottle conditioned, top-fermented.
La Choulette Les Sans Culottes (7% abv)
From the importer’s website: “This, the brewery’s masterpiece, proudly pays homage to Les Sans Culottes – the “trouserless” craftsmen who could not afford uniforms but unflinchingly did the handiwork of the French Revolution. A number of brewers were included in their ranks.”
Dessert Course
-Tartlettes aux Nuisse (nut tartlette with blue cheese)
La Choulette de Noel 2004 (7% abv)
Malty seasonal specialty, aged in the Public House walk-in and expected to be have developed an oxidized, sherry-like quality. Cross your fingers.
E. Dupont POME 1996 (17% abv)
Previously unannounced. A very special blend of E. Dupont’s unfermented apple juice and his one year old Calvados . This blend was filled into 5 year old empty calvados casks in 1996 the tannins of which were still at work. It has been aging in these wooden barrels ever since. As the name “Pommeau” is legally reserved for such blends not exceeding 30 months of aging in those wooden casks the term “POME” was created to celebrate this very special 10 year old blend of apple juice and calvados.
