Hanssens Mead the Gueuze

Formerly brewed at Hanssens Artisanaal
Style: Mead
Dworp, Belgium

After un-twisting the wire that holds the cork, it shot out and put a dent in my ceiling. The aroma was quick to reveal itself as the contents of the bottle attempted to escape to my counter. I was able to capture the contents into a glass. The appearance was a somewhat hazed golden color. The barnyard and earth were rather forward in the nose. The flavor, sour, with some notes - or rather wafts, of Mead. The palate is astringent. Overall, I wonder why I continue to taste these things. I don’t seem to enjoy them. It does seem to improve as it warms. Drink it at cellar temperature. Actually, this is good at room temperature. I am adjusting marks...

Cloudy blonde. Aroma is a strange mix of brett and mead. So fizzy, I can hardly taste anything. First brett, followed by bizarro sweetness and then more sour. The flavours just don’t co-exist.

Jesus, I think the cork is still stuck in my ceiling. Popped like a shotgun. A clear light golden straw. The aroma is apple cider vinegar and honey. These do not go well together in the flavor to me. Very acidic and tart.

I am suprised that this beer doesn’t have a higher rating. Absolutley fantastic straw colors with some nice yeast haze. Brett predominantly shines through in the aroma. Nice bacterial sourness with lots of grass in the back of the mouth. Some sweetness from the honey although I can’r really isolate any apiatic notes. Some hopiness -- a little more than anticipated. A wonderful artisinal brew.

You know, I've been wasting so much time drinking my mead in a separate container from my gueuze. I mean, I have to pour one glass and then the other glass. Then I have to drink one then the other and so on. It all gets very tedious. That's why I'm glad the good ol' boys at Hanssens put this stuff together...

Anyway, it looks like if you mix mead and gueuze together, the cork will explode violently once the crown cap is removed. At least, that’s what happened in my case. The color is a typical-for-gueuze slightly hazed pale yellow but the head, while initially huge, has no staying power. It’s very interesting how the people at Hanssens managed to make a beer with all the qualities of mead and all the qualities of gueuze. I, for one, enjoy it thoroughly. The nose is slightly tart with a hint of lemon juice along with some sweetly floral notes. The flavor follows on the same path with the more sour notes up front and some friendly sweet sugary notes popping out in the finish. This isn't exactly my favorite beer--not even close--but I’d recommend it to lambic fans if only for the novelty. Mead fans? Yeah, mead fans should stick with mead. In the battle of gueuze and mead, gueuze wins by a hair (20%?).

Bottled: Light orange coloured. White head. Lasting. Quite strange combination. The sourness is batteling the fruit and honey aromas. Not unpleasant but very very different. Flavour is citric and sour. The sourness is well balanced by the honeysweetness. Is dry and fruity in the end. Not a beer I would run for, but its definately not bad.

Bottled. Hazy pale yellow. Honey aroma. Funny combination with the sweet, eucalypthus-like honey and the really tart gueuze. There are some pine needles and a very dry acidic finish. This is a blending of two good things that doesn’t work- It feels like I’m drinking two liquids at one time.

Golden clear with lively bubbles and a small white frothy head. The aroma is barnyard, cobweb, and some sweet honey. Very interesting mix of mead and gueze, the funk is very well balanced with the mead sweetness. Some acidty and quite carbonated. Light to medium fizzy body. Very interesting.