Frenchies La Boussole

Style
Barrel-Aged Bière de Garde
ABV
7.6%

Bières de garde are one of the rarest beer styles brewed in Australia. In fact, with the release of Frenchies' La Boussole, you could buy more bières de garde from the Rosebery bistro and brewery than just about every other brewery in the country combined. What sets La Boussole apart from the others, however, is it’s the first out of Frenchies' barrel-ageing program.

La Boussole (French for compass) is named for the French frigate and sister ship to the L’Astrolabe, which sailed under the command of the famous La Pérouse who landed in Botany Bay shortly after the British colonialists in 1788. As an aside for all of The Crafty Pint’s legions of maritime history fans, a 16-year-old Napoléon Bonaparte applied to crew the La Pérouse expedition but was (luckily for him but unluckily for most of continental Europe and Northern Africa) left behind.

The beer itself has been created by ageing some Astrolabe in French oak barrels hailing from the Bird in Hand winery in the Adelaide Hills. The complete brewing and blending process is very complex but, essentially, it’s Astrolabe that’s been inoculated with brettanomyces, pediococcus and lactobacillus and aged in shiraz barrels then bottle conditioned for a few months.

What results is a truly exceptional bit of brewing which subverts expectations. Generally, if you’re going to drink a barrel-aged beer that’s been laced with brett, pedio and lacto you’re probably expecting some sort of orgy of sour barnyard funk. The first whiff gives a suggestion of the classic bretty notes but is more geared towards apple and caramel malt. What’s immediately striking about the flavour is how the funkiness is there, but it almost disappears into the background. On the forefront is dried fruits, cherries, leather and oak, then a finish that's slightly tart and wonderfully dry.

The addition of the wild organisms has upped the complexity without rendering the beer unrecognisable from its origins. It’ll be fascinating to see how this beer will evolve with a bit of cellaring. If it’s anything like its namesake, La Boussole will be destroyed on a reef near the island of Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands and its crew massacred by the locals. So let’s just hope it’s not true to form, hey?

Judd Owen

Published July 26, 2019

Name
Frenchies Bistro & Brewery
Address

The Cannery
6 / 61-71 Mentmore Avenue
Rosebery
NSW 2018

Phone
02 8964 3171
Open Hours

Tues to Wed: midday to 10pm
Thurs to Sat: midday to 11pm
Sunday: midday to 4pm

Regular events

Tuesday from 6pm Burger & beer for $26
Wednesday from 6pm
Pasta & wine night for $35
Thursday from 6pm Steak frites & beer for $39

IBD 2025
Podcast B2

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DDH Single Hop XPA & Milkshake IPA
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