Hanssens Oudbeitje

Brewed by Hanssens Artisanaal
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Dworp, Belgium

amber-orange colour, absolutely no foam, strawberry jam aroma, notes of apricot and honey plus something rather unpleasant, a bit oily, dry and very acidic/sourish, the finish is long and very dry with notes of honey - extreme, aggressive and quite dubious (thanks to Laurent Mousson for this one)

Bottle from Stirhcley Wines and Spirits, Birmingham. Iridescent peach colour, with no head or fizz. Sour fruit aroma, with only a hint of strawberry. An assault on the tastebuds: fragrant fruit, sweet and sour in large and equal measures, intermingled. Hard to pin down: some farmyard funk and some milky feeling, as the sour recedes and the smoothness creeps in. Demanding but rewarding.

Sweet aroma, strawberries, some sourness. Orange body, no head. Some horseblanket, but the strawberries dominates the flavor, a bit too sweet.

Pours yellow- orange. No head, even with an angry pour. Aromas of horse-blanket and strawberries. Classic lambic tartness with a hint of strawberries. Unbelievable sourness that smacks you in the back of your throat as you swallow. I wish I’d had this beer on some of our 100 degree days this past summer.

definitely different, for me, strawberries don’t work as well as, for example, raspberries. However, this is still a nice lambic.

Golden color, heavy sour aroma, heavy sour bitter strawberry taste, medium body, sour dry bitter finish.

Strawberries waft above leathery, horseblanket lambic aromas with a waxy note. Clear, still, deep copper, unpasteurized apple/pear juice appearance with no head to speak of. Strawberry sweetness counterpoint tart lambic acidity and funkiness wonderfully. It’s really a shame that this is so still and lifeless in the mouth as the falvours and aroma are indescribably good. Bottle enjoyed with MartinT and Rastacouere at Spuyten Duyvil (Brooklyn, New York).

Strawberries and flowers on the label, with an utterly unpronouncable name...what is in store for me, within this bottle? Pop goes the c ork, and out wafts that distinctive lambic aroma, musky, sour, then light strawberry notes...and I haven’t even sniffed the bottleneck, let along poured out the liquid...so, let’s...bright golden color, nearing a rich orange, with no head, no carbonation at all. Aroma: as said before, sourness strikes first, followed quickly by sweet strawberry, but at times it feels like a faint echo. Taste: odd, and something of a challenge, for if your palate isn’t in the mood to put up this tangle of murky, heady, yeasty sourness, only slightly offset by tasty fruit, this is gonna be no picnic. It’s a real lambic, though, no sissified sweet thing, this makes you pucker, wince, gulp, then finally, relax and be all mellowfied. Becomes more palatable further in, and I can’t say whether it’s been tamed, or it’s conquered me! Medium body, long, tart finish, a real master of the mouthfeel. The label tells me that this is a Limited Edition Year 2000, at least 3 years old,and I have to wonder if it’s age affected the head/appearance?