Comparison
Bière de Garde vs Old ale
What is the difference between Bière de Garde and Old ale?
The short answer
The main difference is dryness: Bière de Garde has far more of it than Old ale. Bière de Garde also leads on bread & biscuit, carbonation and phenolic spice.
Generated from the two style records. No editor has written this comparison up, so it carries no verdict beyond what the data supports.
Where they overlap
They share comparable bitterness, sweetness, body, overlapping strength ranges — the boundary between them is narrower than the comparison suggests.
Side by side
| Bière de Garde | Old ale | |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Farmhouse ale | Strong ale |
| Fermentation | Top-fermented (ale) | Top-fermented (ale) |
| Origin | France | United Kingdom |
| Category status | Established | Established |
| Strength | 6–8.5% ABV | 5.5–9% ABV |
| Bitterness (IBU) — IBU measures iso-alpha acids in the lab. It does not track perceived bitterness, which residual sweetness, body and roast all alter — compare the sensory rows below for how each actually tastes. | 18–28 IBU | 30–60 IBU |
| Colour — These are the same depth in the glass; colour is not what tells them apart. | Gold to chestnut brown — 6–19 SRM, 12–37 EBC | Amber to dark brown — 10–22 SRM, 20–43 EBC |
| Original gravity | 1.060–1.080 | 1.055–1.088 |
| Final gravity | 1.008–1.016 | 1.015–1.022 |
| Serving temperature | 8–11°C | 11–14°C |
| Carbonation | 2–3 vol CO₂ | 1–2 vol CO₂ |
| Glassware | Goblet, Tulip glass | Tulip glass, Snifter |
| Clarity | clear | clear |
How they taste different
| Character | Bière de Garde | Old ale |
|---|---|---|
| Dryness | Moderate | Not characteristic |
| Bread & biscuit | Moderate–High | Not characteristic |
| Carbonation | High | Low |
| Phenolic spice | Trace–Low | Not characteristic |
| Acidity | Not characteristic | None–Low |
| Funk | Not characteristic | None–Low |
| Chocolate & cocoa | Not characteristic | Trace–Low |
| Nutty | Not characteristic | Low |
| Caramel & toffee | Low–Moderate | High |
Which should you choose?
- You want more dryness → Bière de Garde
- You want something more restrained — less dryness and bread & biscuit → Old ale
Derived from where the two actually differ. Neither is better — this is a question of which difference you want.