Belle-Vue Sélection Lambic

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

[1999 Bottle. RBESG Göteborg] Yellow colour, no foam. Sourish, woody backbone in aroma. Sweetish undertones along with cheeses and berries. Intense sour flavour profile. Body is weird with an acidic, metal touch. Long flavour.

(1999 Vintage) Hazy orange, no head. Sour, yeasty, rubbery aroma with some notes of wood. Really sour and lemony. Some sweetness is sensible.

Tried at Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation 27/05/06. 1999 Vintage. Hazy orange body, sour woody and slightly fruity aroma. Sour taste with a hit of sugar in it.

[1999 bottle at RBESG cheers Jacob! rating #600] Horseblankey, citrus, fruity ester aromas, strawberry, leather, some caramel and a little nuttyness comes through. very dry and sour, nice.

Bottled (Thanks Jacob, 1999 vintage, rating #1800). Hazy pale nutbrown colour, minor head. Sour apricotty aroma, with some earthy hints. Flavour is sour fruity, almost like a white wine. Extremely dry lambic, but still refreshingly full of fruits and sourness. Just lovely. Good way of celebrating 1800 ratings.

Bottled@RBESG’06. Vintage 1999. Orange color, no head. Sour, slightly earthy, trefoil and hints of hay and barnyard. Sour, fruity, very wineous taste. Acidic fruity flavors make this very enjoyable. Long fruity-sour aftertaste. Masterpiece - thanks Jacob!

Sour lambic, yeasty, fruity light carbonation, super easy to drink, could nose for hopurs, deserves 10 out of 5 as this is the finest beer ever ever ever ever ever ever........

Belle-Vue has sadly become yet another symbol of the crumbling lambic tradition and one more strike on the shortening list of obstructionists. Yet, like many of the brewery’s coconspirators its roots lies in a very tangible and rather exceptional product. I was lucky enough to try the Gueuze Sélection, one of the few remaining examples due for extinction. The vintage was 1999 and poured a burnt orange body wreathed in mirabelle yellow highlights and a ring of white foam. The nose is filled with a myriad of luscious fruits. Apricot, cherry, orange, lemon, apple and melon liqueur share the scene with a tint of vanilla and a chewy, cheesy character that I can’t quite put my finger on. There’s a definite individuality pronounced by the aroma, dissociating this gueuze from any other and defining the personality of the blender. I find it fascinating to notice within the style’s very restrictive palette, tones repeatedly emphasized by the artist and unique aspects found in none other. The flavor of Belle-Vue’s Sélection parades this even further with intensely and almost gratuitously sour mordant which serves to underscore the smelly socks, Comté-like pungency. Apricot and lemon tones echo what can be salvaged from the fruity fragrance as an attempt to leverage the lacerating acidity while its well carbonated texture tells me this lambic may still be on its way to a peak. While I prefer the refined and more balanced offerings of the region, it was truly an experience to remember.