We decided to create a beer that we felt used the best elements of Bière de Garde: A high-gravity, malt-forward lager suitable for aging- with a rustic accent and a farmer's philosophy! Farmers, then as now, are a resourceful bunch, and they certainly brought that quality to their brewing. They were known to use whatever fermentables that they had available in creating their brews; whether it was barley, wheat, oats, honey, or even fruits and vegetables such as pumpkins and beets. We decided to honor this tradition by including a large amount of corn in the brew. We also included malted oats and wheat, and well as a generous amount of specialty malts, including honey malt, along with victory, vienna, biscuit, and red-x malts. Each malt contributed to to a sweet, malty complexity, while the corn helped to dry the beer out and keep it from being cloying. It is toasty, bready, and complexly grainy. This beer is rich and warming, but stops short of being hot, and really charmingly walks a delicate line between clean lager character and spicy saison complexity.