Guaranteed Not Fresh

On February 11, the Publican hosted a French Craft Brewers tasting.  Though 9 brewers were at hand, as far as we were concerned, the most, most important people there were our friends Annick Castelain – the owner of Brasserie Castelain, revivalist brewers of the biere de garde style) – and Loic Falce – the brewery’s export manager.

The Publican tasting gave some lucky Chicagoans the opportunity to taste all of Castelain’s imports in one place and to compare and contrast the uber food friendliness of their delicate and delicious beers.

Tasting Notes

ST AMAND: First brewed in 1978, St Amand is a little like a Belgian Brabant ale.  Yet, there is a rough graininess – that mellows a bit like a hint of whiskey – and tea-like autumn Alsatian hops. Michael Jackson describes it as having a “cookie like maltiness, plummy fruitiness and slightly iron like port wine notes.” It is a spectacular beer with steak and chops. St Amand will be on tap at the PUBLICAN, where Michael McAvena (Beer Director) is pairing it with small plates from Brian Huston’s (Chef de Cuisine) super kitchen.

JADE ORGANIC: Castelain is the pioneer in organic and sustainable brewing in France (in fact, in Europe). They introduced Jade in 1986!  Yes, 1986 people! Pale golden, vegan friendly, with a soft palate, fresh hops presence and brown sugar notes. Great with a French Flanders classic dish – and one that fits right in at the Publican: Hochepot (pigs ears, and tail, breast of beef, shoulder of mutton, salt pork, cabbage, carrots, onion leeks and potatoes). Try it on tap at The HOPLEAF as well.

CASTELAIN GRAND CRU: Recently won a GOLD medal in the Bière de Garde category of the 2012 World Beer Championships. Bright amber gem color. Lovely aromas of toasted fruit custard pastry and delicate peppery spice with a supple, fruity-yet-dry medium-to-full body and long, mouthwatering citrus soufflé, pepper, and grassy hop flourish. Delicieux! We, and cicerone Ria Neri, love it with chestnut agnolotti and organic scotch salmon at The Sheerins’ TRENCHERMAN.

CASTELAIN (le flagship): Pairs with classic dishes of Picardie, Champagne, and the Ardennes: endive au gratin, wild duck, eel au vert, terrine of fish, omelettes, and rumpsteak braised in beer. This beer has never met gastro-pub fare it hasn’t liked. It marries perfectly with Michael Dean Reynold’s seared diver scallops and warm winter squash salad, now on the menu at LEOPOLD.

From the Vanberg & DeWulf Portfolio: An Overview of Castelain and the Bière de Garde Style

Castelain is an artisanal independent brewer of the Pas de Calais region. Ben McFarland describes its history like this: “Much like its English equivalent, northern French brewing history is heavily entwined with the region’s rich industrial heritage. While the coal mining has waned, brewing goes on, and Castelain, brewing in Benifontaine since 1926, is a big brewer of the Biere de Garde. The biggest seller is this sweet, slightly bitter, and herbal blonde made four types of hops.”

Annick Castelain, the proprietor and granddaughter of the founder of the brewery, is a central operative in the revival of artisanal brewing in France. She is doing this against a backdrop where more than 90% of the beer consumed is made by industrial brewers. She is a rare woman executive in the French brewing community.

Despite different languages, the people of greater Flanders (partly in Belgium, partly in France) share a great deal of common heritage — cultural, geographic, and political. Among the French provinces, French Flanders is the one that possesses the longest and richest history of beer making. The first breweries here date from the time of Charlemagne. Five mills and four breweries were found at Lille which was then part of the royal domain of Annappes. As early as 967, the Abbey of Saint Bavas-les-Esquerines at Lilles ran two breweries.

Among the styles that evolved over time perhaps the most idiosyncratic, and enduring are the Bieres de Gardes. These are hybrid beers—being top fermented (like ales) and cool aged (like lagers). By maturing at cold temperatures for a month or more, Bieres de Gardes have a wonderfully refreshing quality that is unusual for beers with their depth of flavor. These beers were originally all made at farmhouse breweries in the winter months when work on the farm slowed. They were then stored (garder means to store) until the summer season. They were thirst quenchers for the farm hands after long hours in the fields.

“The Flemish are earthy lovers of life; the French have great style. The Flemish French have both qualities. People will tell you that Lille (the center of French Flanders) is an industrial city, an old textile town, but it also has fine Flemish architecture, beer of a matching flavor, local gins and its own hearty style of French food. The surrounding countryside varies from a former coal field to hop gardens to the poppy strewn Flanders’ field and sand-duned beaches of wartime memory as it fans out to Dunkirk and Calais in the west.” – Michael Jackson