If we allow ourselves to generalize for a moment and divide Europe into countries that prefer beer and countries that prefer wine, France is one of the easiest to put in the latter category. Except, in the north, in the areas that bump up against Belgium and the English Channel, there is a well-established style of beer — bière de garde — and La Divine St. Landelin is an excellent example.
Bières de garde are similar to Belgian saisons (like the ones from Oast House and Great Lakes Brewery), except with richer, sweeter flavours. Typically, there is a heavier hand with adjuncts like coriander and orange peel.
The spicy nature of the style equips it perfectly for pairing with food, and La Divine would go very well with summer staples like spice-rubbed grilled chicken, bruschetta or potato salad with an herb vinaigrette.
La Divine pours a clear, copper-amber with a moderate, white head. The aroma is of bread and sweet fruit with a touch of funk — like apples and pears that have spent a few too many days in the cellar.
The flavour continues the bread-like, malty-sweet theme with a zippy hop finish that nicely cleans the palate. The 8.5 per cent alcohol stays mostly hidden, even as the beer warms in the glass, which is critical for warm-weather drinking.
I’d hate to suggest buying a beer just for the container, but home-brewers will be interested to know that this one comes in a 750 mL flip-top bottle. The size and the stopper (as well as all the alcohol) make this a candidate for the cellar — “bière de garde” does, after all, translate roughly as “beer for keeping.”
Despite the monastic-sounding name, this beer is brewed by a large, secular operation; the Crespin Abbey was dissolved in 1802. Still, as with other vaguely abbey-style beers that you want to age, it’s best to treat the “best before” date as a “don’t drink until” date.
La Divine St. Landelin, $8.30 for a 750 mL bottle, LCBO #322040
In addition to covering beer, new restaurants and food trucks for Post City, David Ort writes about food and drink for several Toronto publications including Spotlight Toronto and his own site, Food With Legs. For more of his thoughts on food, beer and life in general, follow him on Twitter.