Hanssens Oude Gueuze

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

375ml bottle. Pours a crystal clear, bright orange body with lots of initial rising carbonation. Thin, fizzy, loud, white head that leaves a good amount of runny, soapy lacing. Aroma is sweet and sour fruits (apples and grapefruits mostly), acidic vinegar, dry wood, and champagne. Very strong. I don’t get the cheese that some others have noted, but I am a novice when it comes to this style. Flavor is initially sour, but really mellows out and shows a light maltiness through the finish. Lots of citric flavors up front that diminish smoothly into the finish, but remain present. Theres an ever present tartness that I’m liking because it never gets lip smacking tart. A light woody note at first and a subtle drying finish. The lingering flavor is a mix between an earthy funk and sour tart. Palate is light to medium and surprisingly has a flat carbonation. Overall, I’m not very experienced with rating this style of beer, but this one seems to be pretty flavorful and well balanced. It stays sweet and equally sour without ever leaning too much towards one or the other. A good introduction.

From reading some of the review here, it seems that the quality varies greatly from one bottle to the next. Mine poured a slightly cloudy blonde with a thick creamy head. There was some bottle stink at first when I opened the bottle, but after that the aroma was quite nice. Malty, and a little bit fruity. The flavor is where this all falls apart. It is incredibly vinegary, like an old kombucha. I’m not sure if I can finish the bottle. I probably won’t.

(Big bottle from Pelgrim) Aroma of old cheese. No head but troubled golden color. Really nice raw geuze taste with a refined sour and bitter palate. Overall a nice geuze, but nothing all too special at that.

Cask at Map Room. Pours a golden honey color. fizzy disappearing head. Nose is moderately funky with vinegar and lactic dominating, minimal brett. Taste is pretty tart and grass, cutting away to a very raw grain taste. It is pretty one dimensional and I’m really not impressed.

The last beer I drank at beer week. Dead flat in the mouth, almost no head, almost no hops ... an aged gueuze. Funky smell, moderate complexity. More detail: Looks just like a gueuze ... hazy gold, no head, no lace ... not pretty. Mouth of a queuze ... no carbonation, almost dead flat. Nose of a gueuze ... not supposed to be nice and, I guess, it’s not. Funky. Taste is interesting and moderately complex, citrus and sour, but not really complex enough for interest to outweigh intrinsic gueuze nastiness.

Date: 19/1/09 Beer info: Bottled in green 375ml corked bottle 6.0% abv BB 07/08/2027 Sampling Notes: Served chilled in pilsner glass. Decent pop upon uncorking, pours a hazy gold body with a bit of white foam that eventually dies down into a dense ring. Vinegary nose, gets right up into the nostrils, some oakiness and sherry-nuances come with it, big minerally saltiness, sour/fermenting apple and lemon. Plenty of acetic acidity on the tongue, goes hand-in-hand with the lively carbonation and light body for a serious mouth puckering sensation. Balsamic vinegar aplenty on the body, green apple, soggy wood, sour grapes, grapefruit with an underlying grainy, honey sweetness adding a small bit of balance. Doesn’t seem as complex as previous ones, still amazing and a journey within itself, but somehow not as refined and coherent...if that makes any sense! Aroma 7/10 Appearance 3/5 Flavour 7/10 Palate 4/5 Overall 14/20

750ml bottle at Novare Res. Pours a slightly cloudy golden color with a vanishing white head. Aroma of funk, yogurt, and cheese. Flavor is tart, sour, with a note of yogurt/cheese like flavor. Extemely acidic even by lambic standards. Gave me a sore stomach, i enjoyed it a lot, but the aftermath kind of ruined it.

375 ml corked bottle kindly provided by Beer2000. A coarse fingerthick big-bubbled near-white head upon a slightly hazed orangey-golden body. A minty, light acidic fruity sourness in the aroma. Taste starts tart and citric, followed by a rustic, sour berry/sweaty horse flavor. Notes of cheese, wood and mouldy cellar. Tart and fruity-acidic finish. A very nice palate cleanser, still a notch too challenging for my tastebuds.