Everyone remembers that one bottle of beer that awakened their thirst for beer knowledge. Mine was Sans Culottes from La Choulette. At the time I had no idea what a bière de garde was, but with my high school French I knew that the beer’s name literally meant “without underwear” and it bought back memories of a playground song from my childhood: “In the land of France where the ladies wear no pants, but the men don’t care ‘cuz they wear no underwear.” However, after examining and translating the label, it became clear that this was more than a bottle of beer, or a reference to a silly rhyme; it was a piece of France’s history.
What many of the historic or rebuilt breweries lack in size they make up for with French flair, with most brewing in copper, wood and iron systems.
I’ll never forget that bottle of beer, but during a trip to Belgium, while embracing the charms of its rustic saison breweries, I was reminded of that beer epiphany. Dany Prignon, the eccentric brewer at Fantôme, insisted one would not truly understand the farmhouse ale culture without a visit over the border to France.
At Au Baron/Bailleux, daffodils cover the hillsides of the valley in the spring. (Boriana Vitanov)
No Respect
The Belgian side of the Flanders region has a rich and well-documented brewing history, but many forget that Flanders straddles both sides of the French/Belgian border and the French also have a rich farmhouse ale tradition. Strangely, these bières de garde are largely unknown, even within their place of origin, the French region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, and the locals remain largely ignorant of their own indigenous beers. Sadly, at most bars, Eurotrash lagers and mainstream Belgian ales dominate the draft lines. This seems odder still, given that the French take such great pride in their wines, cheeses and other gastronomic fare, but history and the ubiquity of wine in the greater French culture have conspired to keep bière de garde down.
The French Flanders region was devastated in the first half of the 20th century. During the two World Wars, the majority of original breweries were destroyed and their equipment melted down to make bombs. To add insult to injury, the competing brewing region of Alsace, viewed as being “German” by the occupiers, thrived over this period. The bière de garde region has spent the second half of the last century clawing its way back to beer respect.
Most of the breweries here brew less than your local brewpub in a year. There is a joke amongst French brewers: “What is the difference between a French and American microbrewery? About 19,000 hectoliters!” What many of the historic or rebuilt breweries lack in size they make up for with French flair—with most brewing in copper, wood and iron systems that would have been scrapped long ago in the United States.
Defining Moment
In the quest to find the real difference between the two sister farmhouse styles, the brewers were asked the following question, “What are the main differences between bières de garde and saisons?” There was a surprising lack of consensus in the responses. One major point of agreement centered on the beer’s namesake, garde, which refers to the long “guarding” or lagering of the beer. The other commonality was agreement that bières de garde are fermented at high temperatures. It would be safe to say that the prototypical bière de garde has a moderately hopped amber grain bill, and a dusty yeast character. Things then get confusing, as the name also refers to the now-fashionable blonde and brune versions.
A great introduction to the original style is Theillier’s La Bavaisienne. The Theillier facility in Bavay, is a stunning brewery that has been running continuously in this location since the 1850s, making it France’s oldest farmhouse brewery. Michel Theillier, a seventh generation family brewer, runs the show at this very tiny location, which produces about 1,000 hectoliters per year.
Theillier has had some upgrades since 1850. They are on their second set of kettles as the original kettles were stolen during the Franco-Prussian War, roughly 25 years after the brewery opened. Fortunately, the upgrades have been slow—this brewery still has its original iron mash tun and a 150-year-old pump that Michel services himself (apparently the warranty has expired). Part of the magic of this extraordinary brewery is that its water source comes from a spring a mere hundred yards away in the back yard.
