Red Hill Brewery ‘The Red Rooster’ Biere De Garde

Rating:

12805896_484090891775061_1964001493189925161_n“Number Five in our Red Series. The “bold rooster” represents the Belgian Walloons ties to the Gallic rooster of France. Like the rooster, this beer style shares influences from both France and Belgium, traditionally being brewed to satiate the farm workers of Wallonia. A strong and malt driven brew, we had best not share it with our hop pickers until the harvest is done!”

Served in to a beer tulip. The body certainly offers a two-tone appearance with a tawny hue around the edges blending in to a chestnut brown center. The healthy two finger cap recedes to a thin bubbly overlay which retains reasonably well. Lacing leaves a bit to be desired though. The aroma is definitely malt driven with a slight funky yeast complexity that adds a touch of that tart and almost citric element to it. A firm nutty malt leads out with a subtle woody/earthy note following that actually comes off quite oaky. A lovely sweetness creeps through too, almost like fig jam or prunes, developing in to a kind of port-like aroma as it comes up to room temperature. Nice depth on the nose here. The mouth feel is a little dry and chalky with a medium-high Co2 level. The body holds a decent weight and it still seems to glide down effortlessly. The 7% ABV is quite well masked but does offer a warm vibrancy to the tongue. The flavour provides a dry and oaky character upfront with just a suggestion of citric funk cutting through. A smattering of sweet sugary malts wash over the mid with toffee, prunes and burned orange leading in to a dry and spicy finish. Good duration too, this lingering woody dryness has a lovely wine-like tannin to it. Quite complex. So, this is not your typical Walloon-style but it’s one that certainly entertains the taste buds while quenching thirst at the same time. As we’ve hinted at through the review, it’s definitely a lot maltier than the traditional BDG but essentially a tasty drop all the same. Fine offering.