Posted by Greg Clow in beer, beverages on March 18, 2008 at 3:56 pm
While the weather may not be co-operating, spring is just a few days away, and as noted here last week, the LCBO recently unveiled their latest batch of limited-availability beers to mark the occasion. Unlike the winter, there aren't a lot of beers that are specifically brewed or branded for the spring season, so the release is a mixed bag ranging from bocks to Belgian ales to fruit beers.
There is, however, one beer in the bunch that is brewed in honour of the season: Jenlain Bière de Printemps (LCBO 65771, $2.45/330 mL), which those who haven't forgotten their high school French will recognize as translating to "Jenlain Spring Beer".
Brewed by Brasserie Duyck in Jenlain, France just over the border from Belgium, Bière de Printemps is a bière de garde, a style that isn't often seen on store shelves in Ontario, although a few examples - such as Gayant La Goudale, which I coincidentally featured in this column a year ago this week - make occasional appearances in better beer bars and restaurants via consignment and private orders. Historically, bières de garde were brewed in the cooler months of winter and early spring, taking advantage of natural refrigeration to help keep the wild yeast in line, and then they were cellared to be enjoyed throughout the warmer spring and summer months.
Nowadays, modern refrigeration means that the style can be brewed year-round, but if the marketing blurbs are to be believed, Bière de Printemps is brewed only in the winter and released each spring each year, making it a more traditional take on the style. That said, it's hard to be sure what qualities should be expected from a traditional bière de garde. Much like saison, a similar farmhouse ale brewed over the border in Belgium, the definition of the style is somewhat amorphous, encompassing brews that vary in colour from light golden to ruddy brown, and flavours ranging from clean, simple and fresh to yeasty, complex and slightly funky.
Bière de Printemps sits on the less complex side of the bière de garde spectrum, but that shouldn't necessarily be taken as a criticism, as it's still an enjoyable beer. It has a clear and bright golden colour with a large white head that quickly recedes, and an aroma that's sweet and herbal, with notes of lavender, honey and grassy hops. In the mouth, it's medium bodied and crisp at first, although it gets a bit sticky and cloying as it warms. The flavour is quite sweet off the top, with honey and clover notes, followed by herbal and slightly spicy hops coming through in the finish.
To my palate, it would be a bit more refreshing if the sweetness were reined in a little and the body were a bit more refined. But in general, it's worth snagging a couple of bottles to serve as a signifier of the warmer weather that is (hopefully) on the way.
