Belle-Vue Sélection Lambic

Formerly brewed at Belle-Vue (InBev)
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium

rbesg06gt, 1999 bottle. hazy amber with a thin head. aroma of wet carpet, orange rind, various things that need a wash. very barnyardy, intensely sour with some bitterness as well. surprisingly syruppy texture, hints of sour lemon, beer vinegar, czech pivni syr (beer cheese). one of the best beers of a very long day. re-rate - another ’99 bottle, big thanks to jacob for this one. rasping, lots of brine, capers, fantastic

75 cL bottle (sample), 1999 vintage. Pours orange. Aroma and taste is citric and vinegar. Extreme sour into the finish. But it’s great, really great

1999 bottle. Hazy orange coloured with a small white head. Acidic roa of barnyard, wood and fruits. Acidic flavour of barnyard, wood and fruits. Very one dimensional acidic, and almost no complexity, I had expected much more.

1999 bottle number 07282. Received one from Hildigoltur and Engelsmann, thanks so much to the two of you! Shared with SuIIy and JoshuaB on 2/3/07

What to say about the holy grail of gueuzes?? My earlier placeholder review summed up a lot of it pretty concisely: it’s incredibly bright for its age. That is to say, not oxidized/dulled, not softened in its acidity, nor loose/flat in texture. In another word, fresh (though it’s 8 years old). Appearance is pointless to judge at 8 years of age. It’s unfiltered, bottle conditioned and a true lambic, that’s a five in my book. Objectively, it pours a small covering of white head atop a brassy-peachy gold body that is still sparkling at first. Lacing is light to moderate, clarity is high.
Something is so simple and elegant about this beer (and about great gueuzes in general) that I don’t want to ruin it with a rambling review. Suffice to say it has a wonderfully balanced bacteria profile. Quite bretty, but with strong lacto cheesiness and sourness. Lightly oily from pediococcus and acetobacterias, I suppose with a subtle, but very enjoyable funkiness. Acidity is still highly active, making me pucker before my palate can adjust. Fully attenuated as it should be, with a soft, unfiltered texture and tight carbonation (though the carbonation does not last very long at this age). Wet hay, barnyard (yes, it’s there), lots of lacto and peachy fruitiness.
What the 1994 Cuvée Rene would be if it didnt have the light oxidation and some crayon/vanillin-like flavors. Not overly different from some vintages of Cantillon that I’ve had. Strong funk at the heart of it, is what makes my favorite gueuzes (and why I prefer this, Cuvee Rene and Cantillon to 3F). Don’t know if I’d give this a 5 in a blind rating, but it would be up there, I imagine. Special stuff.

1992 bottle sampled at Montreal RBSG.
Deeply mysterious, funky, dry nose veiled in cobwebs, cheese rinds, strong fruity pungency and very light brett. Nice and powerful considering its age and a beer that opens up with breathing.
This one wasnt as brightly flavored as the more recent bottle, and I think I would have given this one somewhere around a 4.5 or 4.6, but I chose not to rate it because it seems pretty silly to rate a 1992 bottle of beer that you’ve never had fresh (relatively speaking), based on a little tiny sample.
Lots of fruitiness, oily aceto/pedio and lots of hard, dry yogurt and cheese rind. Very funky, with all sorts of odd bacterial nuances. Strong mouthfeel still, with only slight, slight oxidation. Fantastic in its own right and having the 1999 puts it in great perspective. I’m very lucky to have had them both.

750ml bottle. Hazy orange body with a thin white head. Aroma – ahhhhhh the real stuff. Lovely sour fruit, acid and wild yeast. Flavor is intense bitter, acid and very much alive inside you’re mouth. You feel the acid down the throat and inside you’re stomach. Wonderful, still not the best, but a good memory.

Bottle (Sydney Summer Gathering 2007): I think this bottle was somewhat past it’s prime. Nevertheless, a worthy lambic representative. The ring-head topped cloudy orange beer revealed an exceptionally tart fruity aroma that was joined by some solvent charaacteristics. In the mouth sour orange and lemon, in fact mighty sour with notes of funk and earthy minerals. It was all good stuff but slightly old and starting to become disjointed.

99 bottle: Peachy amber colour, with a pale tan head. Very fresh acidic aroma. Very strong sourness, like sucking a lemon, it’s like this beer got more sour with age, I would not have guessd it was 7 yrs old, it was just so vibrant and fresh tasting.

1999 ala Matt. Hazed amber color with a diminished fizzy head. Full acid and malt aromas permeate the nose. Very full feel for the acidity present. Lemony acid with a full malt backdrop, Leather and wood in the finish. Another great lambic.