Award-winning homebrewer Paul Zocco (Zok) shared this bière de garde recipe, modeled on Jenlain Ambrée from Brasserie Duyck located in far northern France, just to the west of Belgium. This bière de garde version is possibly the definitive representation of the style. Amber in color, this beer shows a strong malt-forward character with notes of caramel and toffee. Though some hops flavor exists, it is very subtle. Some drinkers have mentioned corky and musty notes, which are probably due to the aging qualities of this style of beer and possibly the cork used in its bottling.
This recipe is scaled to 5 gallons (19 liters) with a brewhouse efficiency around 80 percent. Zok recommends using soft, low-mineral water throughout the brewing process.
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