Schlafly Bière De Garde - The Saint Louis Brewery, Saint Louis

Schlafly's Bière De Garde just feels right. It tastes great, looks great and goes really well with a robust pizza. What more can I say? This was the first true Bière De Garde that I ever had and I return to it every time I want a hearty and sour full bodied beer with my dinner. This Bière De Garde smells like a farmhouse... but in a good way. It smells warm and wheaty, sour and a little fruity. The flavor of this beer is complicated and yet still familiar. It is sour and creamy with just a hint of spice. It's as if they took a wheat beer, a trippel and a Märzen; pour them all in to a vat and through the mystical art of brewing, came up with this delicious Bière De Garde. My one gripe with this beer, and it is a small one, is that it ultimately is more sour than sweet. It's a small complaint, but I'd love to try a version of this beer that has a little more sweetness in the aftertaste.

The Bière De Garde from Schlafly really is a cornucopia of flavors. It seems like everyone came to the party. You've got the sours, the caramel malts and tart fruits, but just so the IPA fans don't feel left out there is even a bit of floral hops. The hops don't overpower this beer at all. They are mostly hidden in the aroma and they are only present at the very beginning of a sip.

Wether you're a hop fanatic or a dark beer drinker I'd suggest trying Schlafly's Bière De Garde. They've done some pretty remarkable things with this beer, the least you could do is try a bottle.