$28.95 for the 750 mL bottle. I might like this in the end, but I don't think that it will be very good value. Anyway, I'm invested to this point, so here we go. Capped and corked, the beer opens with a really healthy pop. Good gun-smoke. Carbonation is HIGH - not exactly a gusher, but this beer is extremely carbonated. Orange body. Lace is very good as well. Pretty. The carbonation makes for a lively mouthfeel. I'd heard rumor that this was really tart, but it isn't, at least not on my palate...
Notes on beers in the style
Gueuze
St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition
Mini-champagne, green glass, dimpled bottom and gold foiled neck. Green's on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. Light, honey colored body with some nice dense head and some pretty good retention and even a touch of lace. Some spotty head on the surface. Nose is a standard, lightly sinus clearing acidity with green apples. Obviously a pretty acidic profile with a lively, highly carbonate mouthfeel which adds to the experience. Finish is fairly short, clean and shows some sodium hydrogen carbonate....
Boon Geuze
375 mL, corked & caged bottle. SB 47 on the cork. Classic, approachable Gueuze. Pour is a mid-orange with a fizzy head as a result of an aggressive pour. Good clarity. As expected the head dissipates quickly to leave no lace. Color is sharp. Nose is a very light, funk with simple green apple notes. As always the beer reminds me of a easy going, West Country cider with more carbonation than that original. Tasty, light funk with a very easy and approachable sourness. It has the effect of...
Chapeau X’mas Gueuze
Surprised to see this on my recent visit to the Charleston Beer Exchange, Charleston, SC, USA. $6.99 for the 12.7 fl oz, dimpled, green, corked and capped champagne type bottle. The guys at CBX were a little surprised that I bought this (and so was I), but although I have seen some of the De Troch lambics in ATL, this is one that has not been here yet. Poured into the Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs chalice, the body is copper colored with very little head, lace of retention. A few floaties....
Lindemans Gueuze
I'm really not at all sure what is going on with the Gueuze from Lindemans in GA, since it used to be all over the place with the Cassis and the Peche etc., but of late (the last 18 months to two years or so) this seems to have all but disappeared form stores in GA. This is one of two bottles that I have rescued from a couple of relatively obscure stores in the last couple of years. One came from Showcase Beverage in Carrollton, GA, USA. 355 mL bottle, foiled, capped and corked. Dimpled...
Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze
Greens on Buford - 750 mL corked & caged. SB15 on the cork, bottled on 11th December 2000. FWIW, this is listed on the bottle as 5%, not 6% as in the BA db. Good pop on the removal of the cork, and a little white gun smoke. Poured into the Terrapin snifter, the color is a mid orange (Olde English marmalade color) with a decent 1/8th inch, fine bubbled head on the surface of the beer. A smidgen of lace. Nice farmyard manure in the nose. Mouthfeel is a little more prickly that I was expecting...
Girardin Gueuze 1882 (Black Label)
375 mL corked and caged bottle poured into an oversize wine glass. Much darker color than I was expecting with a bright orange hue. Initial fizz of carbonation soon fades to not much at all. Well, if this isn't dry, farmhouse scrumpy cider without the apple taste I don't know what is. All the characteristics are there - dry and puckering aftertaste with a sour lip-smacking effect on the mouth. Not my favorite drink by some distance, and I am at a bit of a loss to see why the Gueuze style gains...
Lindemans Oude Gueuze Cuvée René
If you want to know what traditional, real farmhouse cider from the West of England tastes like, the closest you can get in the USA is this stuff. If you were to remove the carbonation and add a hint of apple flavor to a Cuvée René, you would have yourself a pretty decent impression of a dry, farmhouse scrumpy. Champagne like, effervescent pour with a fast receding head. Dry, and mildly acidic and sour. Clear yellow pour. A departure for most beer drinkers, but a nice refreshing summer drink....
Oud Beersel Oude Gueuze Vieille
$4.95 Greens, Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA, USA. 375 mL bottle, corked and caged, SB 40 printed on the cork and a best before date of 26/01/2025 (looks like this can safely be cellared for a period!) Aggressive carbonation on the pour with a huge head forming in the tall, thin Pilsener glass that I chose. The lacing is impressive on top of the slightly cloudy, lemon body. Aroma gives off the earthy, organic notes that one would expect, and that is reflected in the taste too. Obviously very...