I’m not too sure what’s going on with Colorado’s Flying Dog Brewery. Well, they used to be from Colorado anyway. Once upon a time, Flying Dog brewed their bottled beer in Denver, but after acquiring the Frederick Brewing Company a few years ago, they moved all production to Fredrick, Maryland. Flying Dog has seen much growth in sales in recent years, and the Frederick facility allows them to brew more beer than they could in Denver.

Flying Dog certainly has some impressive brews in its repertoire. Lately, though, they’ve failed to impress this reviewer with their latest releases. Their Woody Creek Wit was less than spectacular, and now I find myself a bit underwhelmed with their Garde Dog Biere de Garde.

Garde dog is made with German pilsner and Belgian biscuit malt. The also use a bit of rye malt, some flaked wheat, and malted white wheat. “French Hops”, grown in America (would that make them “Freedom Hops”?) and spices balance things out.

Here’s what they say about it:

Biere de Garde or “beer for keeping” is a traditional French farmhouse ale brewed in March for drinking during the spring and summer months. Like another great French tradition, surrender your taste buds to Garde Dog’s toasted aroma and spicy, malty sweetness.

Of course, Napoleon and Louis XIV might have a few things to say about that “other tradition” mentioned here. And considering that Garde Dog falls short of what I’d expect in a true biere de garde, I would dare say Flying Dog’s bark is worse than its bite, as well.

Flying Dog Garde Dog Biere de Garde pours to a light golden color with a medium head formation of tightly packed suds that quickly subside after the pour. A light malt nose is softly accented by some decidedly rustic and earthy yeast notes. So I go into this one with a bit of hope and a great deal of thirst. Sadly, sipping the beer revealed a somewhat more bland palate than the nose promised.

The beer is clean like a lager for the most part, with a crisp biscuity malt palate. If you let it warm in your glass a little, you’ll get some grainy rye and drying spice, the latter especially more so in the finish. A touch of hop bitterness is present, but only a touch. All in all, not a bad effort, and I’ll give them credit for producing a relatively clean but flavorful, delicate brew. But not an exceptional one by any means, either.

This is no Jenlain French Country Ale, and I would certainly like a little more character here. All in an all an average brew for me, and really a bit of a disappointment.