I’ve got a really special one for you today. The Bière Du Divin is a special bottle release brewed by Divine Science Brewing in Orange County, California. It’s a spontaneously fermented Bière de Garde that is aged for six months using locally sourced bacteria and bottle-conditioned with sparkling wine yeast.
For those curious, the Bière de Garde translates to a “beer for keeping”, and is traditionally brewed in France–more specifically–in the Nord-Pas-de-Calaisregion. This style originated in French farmhouses, and was often brewed in the winter and spring to avoid the yeast challenges that arise during the summer months.
These “keeping beers” are often sealed with a cork and are left to mature for long periods of time once they’re bottled. This Divine Science Brewing Bière de Garde is brewed with millet, sorghum, rice, buckwheat, hops, Orange County bacteria, and sparkling wine yeast.
Recently Divine Science opened up their own brewing space and taproom, which allows them to now brew their special release beers in a dedicated gluten free facility. For now, their flagships are still brewed at a contract brewery. This bottle release was fermented and bottled in their dedicated gluten free space, and is safe for even the most sensitive of Celiacs.
The Bière Du Divin is packaged in 750ml glass bottles and enjoys a 6.2% ABV. This is their first batch of the kind, and a very special treat for me on a night where I couldn’t seem to decide between beer or wine. 😜 Check out the pour video below, followed by the full review.
The Taste Test
Gluten Free Bière de Garde
The first thing I notice while pouring this Bière Du Divin is the incredibly fruity aroma wafting towards me. This beer has a slightly hazy goldfish orange color (real goldfish…not the cracker!) and forms a nice head. The carbonation is audible and when combined with the fruity aroma, it feels very much like I’m pouring an effervescent white wine.
My first sip reveals a crisp light/medium-bodied brew that tastes very much like a beer/wine hybrid. It has the flavor profile and aroma of a wine, while carrying the appearance and mouthfeel of a beer. The carbonation sounds stronger than it tastes, and its super-fine effervescence leads the texture experience.
When I sip, I first notice the crisp texture and dry fruit qualities. The body tastes quite light at the beginning of the palate, but then it transitions into a little more substance and becomes a little more beer like by the end of the palate. The flavor profile is fruity, yet dry–and maybe even slightly tart. It’s quite a puzzle for the brain that what I’m drinking looks like a beer, but drinks like a dry white wine.
When the head bubbles down, it goes all the way down, and if it weren’t for the orange color, I doubt you would know you were drinking a beer at this point! This makes for an incredibly refreshing beverage, that I think–quite literally–everyone would like. It has nice balance, a light and crisp mouthfeel, no bitterness, lots of flavor, a delicious fruity aroma, and a moderate ABV. Plus it comes in a 750 ml bottle, so I know what I’ll be drinking all evening.
I think this gluten free Bière de Garde would make the perfect late afternoon/early evening pre-dinner drink, and would be heavenly alongside a light appetizer on a warm day. Get yourself off work, hit the patio, have some gluten free Bruschetta and a glass of Divine Science Brewing’s Bière Du Divin…it seriously could not get any better than that.
If anyone wants to hightail it over here with a plate of gluten free hors d’oeuvres, I will happily share this delicious Bière de Garde with you. Otherwise, if you’re in California, see if you can get a bottle of this. You won’t regret it.
Reminder that this particular beer was brewed in a dedicated gluten free facility, which is what you can expect from all limited/bottled/taproom releases from Divine Science.
For those of you who don’t have access to their limited releases, but want to read up on their flagships (which are in distribution and are contract brewed), here’s a few more Divine Science Brewing beers that I’ve tasted recently:
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