Yeast suggestions for Biere De Garde

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Biere De Gardes are not horsey at all. You must be mixing it up with some Saisons. Biere de Gardes are more malty.

BJCP guideline

Flavor: Medium to high malt flavor often with a toasty, toffee-like or caramel sweetness. Malt flavors and complexity tend to increase as beer color darkens. Low to moderate esters and alcohol flavors. Medium-low hop bitterness provides some support, but the balance is always tilted toward the malt. The finish is medium-dry and malty. Alcohol can provide some additional dryness in the finish. Low to no hop flavor, although paler versions can have slightly higher levels of spicy hop flavor (which can also come from the yeast). Smooth, well-lagered character. No diacetyl.

I use WY1007 for my Biere De Gardes.
 
A LOT of people, including pro brewers make this mistake for some reason. I have had several commercial "biere de gardes" that were just saisons. I think they get confused with the fact that they are both traditional farmhouse styles, but when we think farmhouse we are thinking saison.

I think of biere de garde as a slightly toastier than saison grain bill, but with a much cleaner yeast profile, and still that beautiful saison high carbonation.

At most I think you can have SOME yeast character, but mostly we are talking about some spice flavors from it, not the bright candy citrus or the brett funk you might find in some saisons or belgian farmhouse style ales.
 
But if you are looking for something horsey, go with a traditional sacc fermentation, and after that add some brett to secondary. Brett is what is responsible for that horseyness, and it will only* do it after a traditional sacc fermentation. The fermentation creates esters and phenols that brett uses to make the horsey stuff, thats why beers that are only brett don't taste like "brett beers" they actually taste really fruity most of the time!

That could actually make an interesting Biere de Garde, make a biere de garde - I recommend Jamil's recipe, and then add brett after. It will really let the brett character shine without the belgian yeast muddling it up
 
I've brewed one Biere de Garde (1-gallon test batch) and had one commercial example of it, made by a brewery in Montana, so take this for what its worth.

I used Belle Saison dry yeast and kept the temps in the low to mid 70s, racked it off primary after 2 weeks, lagered it for a few weeks, and my Biere de Garde turned out very similar to what the commercial example tasted like. Dry, a bit malty, and alcoholic.
 
I think of biere de garde as a slightly toastier than saison grain bill, but with a much cleaner yeast profile, and still that beautiful saison high carbonation.

I'm definitely going for that toasty flavour with vienna and aromatic malts but I also want to get that horsey flavour even if it means just fermenting it as an ale and ending up with a mixed style. Maybe I could do something creative like ferment it at 28c, add some brett and then condition it at 18c.
 
I'm definitely going for that toasty flavour with vienna and aromatic malts but I also want to get that horsey flavour even if it means just fermenting it as an ale and ending up with a mixed style. Maybe I could do something creative like ferment it at 28c, add some brett and then condition it at 18c.

It could definitely come out great. That's the beauty of homebrewing! You want to make that? Go for it. I nice toasty saison-ish beer with brett funk sounds great though. I would try to get the beer down to almost bone dry too. You could maybe try a 3711 fermentation on the cool side, so you get some of that saison spice, but a little more subdued. Then add some brett(not sure what strain, I'm just getting into that stuff). Cold-ish condition for a few months with the brett and see what happens.
 
Biere de Garde is pretty much a malty Saison with a plain yeast. Nothing 'horsey' about it.

Now, some Commercial brewers have been producing what they call Biere de Mars, which uses a Brett in secondary. This is really not to style guidelines, as the Biere de Mars was a beer traditionally drunk in March, and due to cold weather was more of a cleaner lager ferment.

With the 'Horsey' description, I suspect you are looking for the new commercial Biere de Mars style with Brett. Unfortunately you cannot get the favor with a single yeast, and it is not a quick beer to make.
 
I agree with @beergolf
Biere de gardes are the French maltier cousin of saisons. White labs "French saison" wlp570 of I remember right, would be perfect. Wyeast also had a biere De grade. Otherwise, I'd just use a saison yeast that isn't as tart and bright while including some Munich or something
 
I made one with S-33 dry yeast which I saw somewhere described as a clean belgian strain. It does sometimes have poor attenuation but it definitely had the characteristics I was looking for. No horsiness though.
 
Biere de Garde is pretty much a malty Saison with a plain yeast. Nothing 'horsey' about it.

Now, some Commercial brewers have been producing what they call Biere de Mars, which uses a Brett in secondary. This is really not to style guidelines, as the Biere de Mars was a beer traditionally drunk in March, and due to cold weather was more of a cleaner lager ferment.

With the 'Horsey' description, I suspect you are looking for the new commercial Biere de Mars style with Brett. Unfortunately you cannot get the favor with a single yeast, and it is not a quick beer to make.

Biere De Mars is it! I imagine I couldn't lager with a brett anyway so I'll ferment it like an ale and call it a toasted saison. The two I've been looking is the WLP653 Brett lambicus which has 'intense brett character' and WYeast 3726 Farmhouse Ale which is only 'slightly tart'.
 
It could definitely come out great. That's the beauty of homebrewing! You want to make that? Go for it. I nice toasty saison-ish beer with brett funk sounds great though. I would try to get the beer down to almost bone dry too. You could maybe try a 3711 fermentation on the cool side, so you get some of that saison spice, but a little more subdued. Then add some brett(not sure what strain, I'm just getting into that stuff). Cold-ish condition for a few months with the brett and see what happens.

Truth be told I might just pitch the slurry from my WL English Ale and then add some brett after that, the brett will be eating up the fruity esters and turning them into funky flavours so how bad could it be?
 
I have plans for an amber "bière de garde" soon to fill a little Cognac barrel that formerly held a barleywine.
I'd like to make it dry so I would use Wyeast or White Labs french saison as I want it to be quite dry, and maybe finish it with bretts claussenii for some subtle funk.
 
Biere de Garde is pretty much a malty Saison with a plain yeast. Nothing 'horsey' about it.

Now, some Commercial brewers have been producing what they call Biere de Mars, which uses a Brett in secondary. This is really not to style guidelines, as the Biere de Mars was a beer traditionally drunk in March, and due to cold weather was more of a cleaner lager ferment.

With the 'Horsey' description, I suspect you are looking for the new commercial Biere de Mars style with Brett. Unfortunately you cannot get the favor with a single yeast, and it is not a quick beer to make.
No. It is not a saison due it has no sour notes and a malty charakter. Yeast is not the head.
 
Regarding the use of Brett- wait till gravity gets near terminal, then add Omega bit 'o funk. Great stuff for some Brett flavor, but much more subdued. Granted, not a BdG yeast as stated above, but likely very tasty
 
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