Belle-Vue Sélection Lambic

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

Bottle. Vintage 1999, bottle #03958. Very hazy orange with a small white head. Wonderful aroma of citrus, barnyard, some oak, some leather hints and some sweetish malty notes. A sour funky flavor with a good dose of citrus, lactic notes, and some sweet honey-ish, maybe slightly malty, notes. Getting ultra-acidic and slightly astringent by the finish. Medium-bodied. I was hoping for more and I feel something is lacking in the flavor (the aroma is amazing) but it’s still a very good Gueuze.

75cl bottle at the Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation 2008. 1992 vintage: Hazy dark orange with brown center. Very thin but creamy off-white head. Classic gueuze aroma but on the low side of acetic. Summer fruits. Touch of malt and even cookie dough behind the horse blanket. A grassy vein runs through it. On the tongue the soft acetic aroma turns into a strong acetic tiger. Starts slightly astringent but by the end of the sip your tongue has worked out its relationship problems with this beer. Starts off too aggressive but works into a masterpiece. Nice lemon peel soaked in vinegar. Flavor is good but the aroma is great!

[1234-20080328] bottle. Interesting plasticy yeast aroma has sour hints of orange and pencil lead. Hazy, medium orange brown body with a quick white foam. Citrus pips has an incredible sour bite. Medium body is all sour. Phenomenal sour beer -- go-go magical 1-2-3-4! "Best... sour... ever."
(Vintage 1999; w/ blankboy, GregClow, HogTownHarry, jerc, tupalev)

A unique and delicious experience. From ’92 bottle at WSF. Pours a nice hazy orange with a finger of white lacy head. Fine nose of cidery must and grapefruit. Tastes tart and dry, more grapefruit, lemon, and a lightly dusty bitterness that keeps the beer smooth. Damn nice drink. Fairly acidic but not extreme. Classy, interesting, tasty.

HFS! Dr. Bill healed my soul with this, thank you doctor!! It’s absolutely one of the best. splendid hazy hue, footy, smooth, woody, astringent, lacking vinegar, containing everything a gueze should have, depth and complexity. Shared my sample with people which for me really means i thought this beer was special. An exceptional, transcendental lambic experience I hope to have again and see if I really did like it as much as I thought...
The Fond 1989, at WSF: is murky, muddy honey color. A subsequent bottle poured clear bright orange the first few glasses and then the bottom was all yeast, so be warned. The aroma is a bit off and varnishy, smells past its prime in one bottle. In the second bottle, the aromas are fine--just very funky and sour. Has lots of up-front acidity but is super-mellow. I think it’s really a gueze for those who love sour beers, and is quite assertive in character. A treat to behold, a bottle of mold. A yes. Again, looking forward to more.

Big thanks to beastiefan2k for sharing this. Deep amber-gold beer with a thin white head. Aroma is lightly sweet, with lots of apricot, melon, lemon and more tart fruitiness. Very sour, but this is balanced by a light kiss of sweetness on the back. Heavy rich pineapple character. Funky and rich with a bracing acidity that is complemented by lots of nice fruity complexity.

Thanks to beastiefan2k for sharing - hazy orange beer, with no head - strong cask/oaky aroma, with some citrus, earthy notes, high acidity - a very acidic flavor - strong oak components, with background vanilla and strong earthy/leather elements - the acidity borderline on becoming vinegary after a while, but there are soft flavors of citrus and apple that make the acidity work more than it would have otherwise - stil, the more I drank, the less bearable the acidity became - it tasted good, but I could only handle a couple of ounces.

From Schropphy, what a generous guy. 1999 vintage. The first pour is a very nice clear copper but there were plenty of beer clouding near the end of the bottle. Aroma is white grape like tartness (to a greater of course), with vinegar highlights. Then there is a tickling acidity on my nostrils. Also some light cork but it gets lost as the beer warms and the sourness grows. To encapsulate I would call it "white grape sour acidity." Taste is classic gueuze with a very strong acidity. It’s very tricky, its starts not strong but with each sip the acidity goes up exponentially. I need a little rest between sips to let my recuperate. Becomes mouth puckering after a while. Really dries you at the end. The white grape aspect really separates this gueuze from others. A very enjoyable experience, and again thank you very much Mike!
750mL cork&wire, bottle # 03803, Rodenbach GC smaller tulip.