French-Style Bière de Garde

Jim and Jason Ebel, the brothers behind Two Brothers Brewing, traveled to northern France to create a collaborative beer with French craft brewer Castelain. Naturally, they made a biere de garde, the earthy style generally recognized as France's only indigenous beer. Named for one of Chicago's early breweries (Diversey and Lill), Diversey & Lill(e) — which is also a nod to Lille, France, a city near the brewery — is true to the crispy bitter style, except that it is dry-hopped with American hops

At the Lost Abbey, we pride ourselves on producing beers of the highest quality and distinction. Avant Garde is our commitment to brewing beers to no particular style. Some might want to label this as a beer brewed in the Biere de Garde tradition of Northern France. We would prefer to say it was brewed in the Avant Garde style of beers that will reward all those who seek the not so ordinary. Deep gold in color with hints of biscuits, caramel and fresh baked bread, this beer is sure to delight the senses and palates of consumers everywhere.

Traditional Amber Beer from the North of France. Its toasted taste comes from the use of roasted malts. Gold medal at the Concours general agricole of Paris in 2007 and 2009.

Special beers for Spring are an old tradition among France’s famous farmhouse bière de garde breweries. Typically, the brewers offered their very best stuff in this season, usually under the name Bière de Mars (March beer). In the days before refrigeration, farmer-brewers always brewed in the colder months to avoid problems with their yeasts, which tend to be rather cantankerous in the warmer weather. The first and best beers of the season were brewed in early winter, when cellars were coldest, using the freshly harvested malt and hops of the autumn just passed.