Girardin Gueuze Black Label

Brewed by Brouwerij Girardin
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Sint Ulriks-Kapelle, Belgium

Pours fizzy orange-amber with very little head. Aroma of sour apple, lemon, champagne. I haven’t experienced a lambic-gueuze before, and this is quite a experience. Strong citrus and sourness give way to to an almost soy sauce/msg type flavor which I think is what everyone is referring to with the term "barnyard funk". It is not, however, an unpleasant flavor, quite the contrary. I really enjoy this and will definitely sample more of this style.

Re-rate. This is one of the first lambics I ever tried, and of course I did not like it at the time. After developing a love for the style, this one is finally getting a fair shot with me. Pours a lightly hazy, dark golden-amber color with a small, frothy, white head. Droopy, sudsy lace does its best to stick to the glass, to no avail. The aroma shows sour apricots, lemons, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, worn leather, and some funky, acidic, barnyard yeast. The flavor is deliciously sour, with lemon and grapefruit each staking a major claim, followed by funky yeast and earthy leather and woody notes. Medium bodied, well carbonated, and puckering, the mouthfeel is just as a lambic should be. The finish is long, showing ample fruity funk and a drying dust. This is a great, classic brew.

Bouteille 375ml. De couleur orangé et voilée. Nez de levures fruitées sauvages, sûres et acides (pommes vertes, moyen de citron et de pamplemousse, léger de poires vertes, notes de raisins verts et d’ananas) et également boisé (fût de chêne) avec des notes d’épices (poivre) et de soufre. Moyennement ronde en bouche avec un pétillement élevé et une texture légèrement crémeuse et rappelant le champagne. Goût de levures fruitées sauvages, acides (acétique rappelant le vinaigre) et sûres (pommes vertes cidreuses, pommes sûres, citron, moyen de pamplemousse et de rhubarbe, notes de poires vertes et de raisins verts, traces d’ananas) accompagné d’un goût boisé (fût de chêne) dès l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute progressivement un goût de fromage vieilli ainsi qu’un léger goût de levures épicées (notes amères et de poivre) et asséchantes vers la finale et accompagné d’une aigreur fruitée assez prononcée et des notes de soufre. Post-goût long et assez sec, aigre de levures fruitées aux notes amères (pelures de pommes, zest d’agrumes, léger de moût de raisins), léger de vinaigre avec des notes boisées et de soufre.

A spectacular gueuze. Pure sourness and barnyard funk with faint fruity hints in both the aroma and the flavor. Heavily carbonated body with plenty of white head.

375ml bottle, caged and corked. Pours a golden orange with a large fizzy white head that recedes to a thin film that leaves a little lacing.

The aroma is sour and tart fruits (apples) with some sugary sweetness and champagne. A little yeast comes out as it warms.

The flavor is sour tart apples with a dry champagne-like finish. The mouthfeel is medium with sharp bubbly carbonation.

Overall, a good beer, but not one of the better sours I’ve had. I don’t care for the champagne and apples. It almost seems like a cross between champagne and cider. It’s not as complex as I was expecting.

Huge thanks to oakbluff for sharing this gem of a beer. Pours light orange in colour with moderate spritzy carbonation. Aromas of lemonm and old dried out wood. Fairly tart in the mouth with a bit more lemon, leather, barnyard funk, and wood. A good amount of complexity, but this gueuze is all about balance and drinkability. It’s too bad we only had a small bottle. Wonderful stuff.

Name: 1882 Black Label
Date: 04/14/2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

Dark yellow, strong sour horse blanket aroma, huge tart flavor, hint of sweetness hiding in the corner, nice musty finish, complex

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.6/5.0
Score: *4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Pours a copper burnt orange color with a fizzy head that forms easily, but doesn’t last too terribly long. Intense aroma, lots of wood, vinegar, sulphur, wet fur, hay, mustard. Almost fishy at times. Woodier than the Cantillon Organic/bio that I had, which is my other gueuze experience. Taste initially shocks me with sourness, which I don’t know if I’ll ever be at the point where that taste doesn’t shock me. There’s also a strong dry woody flavor to this and some sweet bread dough malt flavor. Finishes with that dry, almost toasted wood taste laying on the back of the tongue. A very earthy rather than citrus sour flavor overall. Finishes dry but cloying, perhaps a reflex to the sour flavor. Medium bodied, highly carbonated mouthfeel, and a little slick. I’d say this was pretty good, certainly very interesting, but still not a favorite style of mine.