Boon Oude Geuze Mariage Parfait

Brewed by Brouwerij F. Boon
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Lembeek, Belgium

Yellow pissy colour, a slight haze too. Weak white head. Nice complex aroma, a bit different to Boons other stuff, more vinous and woody, got the usual citrus and funk thing happining though. The body feels more like that of a dry scrumpy than that of a classic gueuze. Lots of cidery flavours too, maybe a slight touch of alcohol detracts from the complexity. Bit of citrus in the finish, not much tartness anywhere to be seen. Not as good as I’d hoped, and a bit of a strange one in all.

Yellow hazy color, nice head, good retention sustained by an impressive carbonation. Funky aroma of horse-blanket, wood, and cirus. Flavor is not so tart for a gueuze (my main complaint) although very dry and a little medicinal (acetaminophene?) and some alcohol. The finish could be more precise, a bit too round for my tastes. I’m not too sure I understand why the alcohol content is so high; it does not serve it well. Ok, but not my favorite.

2003. Strange clear off white colour with a bit of a head. Nice citric sourness in the aroma. Some funk taste but light overall with a nice sourness.

12.7oz bottle, Best before 25.11.2026. Clear orange with a one finger fizzy white head that fades to a ring before long. Aroma has very tart lemon acidity with lots of old woody dryness. Green apples with cobwebby horseblanket notes. The flavor adds some stale hop bitterness--more than I would have anticipated (3 on a 1-10 scale)--with more fruity sweetness than I had thought from the aroma. Still lemony tart and acidic, but still much more drinkable if new to the style. Dry finish. 8% ABV? You’re kidding. Medium body lightened by the moderate spritzy carbonation. Very good lambic.

Hazy/milky yellowish gold, nice white champagne head. Nose is giant acidic lemon up front, wood and very bright fruits come in, some horsey/urine notes. Flavor is lemon & bracing acidity, grapefruity distillate, some wood, grapes. Some sweetness comes in at the end. Almost some of the rich malt of a flemish red but super fermented out. I find these malty notes very interesting as I’ve never tasted anything quite like it before. Very highly carbonated.

I love the sours, and this one had to really develop before it became completely drinkable. Initially, the flavour was very abrasive and acidic. With time, it opened into a complex and tart blanket of flavours. Not a Girardin Black label, but not bad.

I was a bit surprised that this wasn’t better. Quite dry with a fruity nose, but the taste was one dimensional, stale hops, a bit of bitterness and high acidity, distinct alcohol burn. Sure was pretty, though.

Bottle at Kulminator. Came in a little serving basket with proper glassware at the right temp. Gotta love Kulminator’s perfectionist attention to detail. I wish I had had the traditional Oude Geuze Boon side by side so I could see what the Mariage Parfait was all bout. Tasted like all the other delicious geuze I’ve had with the exception of the geuze I had at the Geuze Museum, which is also known as the Cantillon Brewery.