Hanssens Oude Gueuze

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

Hazy orange with a white head. Aroma of lemon and earth. Feel is on the light side, and is heavily carbonated (as expected). Flavor is very tart, with lime in the finish. Not very complex. Finish is not as dry as in most gueuzes.

Copenhagen beer marathon 2004. Golden color, heavy SOUR funky aroma and taste, ful body, sour finish.

Horse-blanket, leather, musty, cheese-like aromas with an almost sweet undertone. Murky and opaque orange-tan coloured body with small white head that diminishes to ring. Fruit, malt, and floral tones play off each other nicely in the aroma with an omnipresent tartness. Dry in the mouth and puckering on the edges of the tongue. Bottle enjoyed with beerbuzzmontreal, MartinT, Rastacouere and a gang of bierophoux. Fresh batch received from Bièropholie in late summer 2006 approaches perfection especially at or near room temperature. Original score 9-3-8-4-17=4.1.

Cloudy golden-orange. Gentle white ring. Gueuzes scent can be smelled from far. Probably the most expressive cheese aromas I’ve experienced. Incredibly funky, horsey, sweaty, leathery, plastic-like even. Cider, basement, cobwebs notes etc. Superb yeast development. Fairly adequate malt base reminds of honey hence it’s not all about sourness. Truly a top echelon gueuze that does everything right and more. One I’d keep a stash of, this and cuvée rené. Dry oaky palate with loads of yeast complexities. Cider like dryness develops toward the acidic funky finish. FUNKY. I love it. Medium to full body, low-medium carbonation. How can you not admire a product that presents all those flavors that would be considered of in basically almost any other style with such gracious eccentricity and agility is something I can’t understand. Underated.

I’ve come to realize that this is one very irregular lambic. Where some bottles have been the funkiest gueuze examples I’ve had, others seem middle of the pack, so I have to reconsider my previous stamement, but I’m leaving the score of my first experiences. Let’s say this scores 4.5 on a great day, 4.1 on average and 3.6 on a particularly bad day.

Aroma of oak and fruit. Winey. Rubber in the nose. But when smelling from the glass instead of the bottle rubber seems gone. Slightly hazy, golden-orange coloured with a large whithe, frothy, lasting head. Taste is sweet, sour/tart. Tartness evolves towards the finish. Winey, fruity (citrus, grapes). oak. Some honey notes who make this beer quite pleasant. Still I have this feeling there is something missing. I guess it is lacking some complexness. Balance is good. Dry palate, just a little sticky.

Vintage unknown: Slightly dissapointed that there isn’t even a date on the cork. Brilliant Copper. Distinctively like an APA. Frothy head and lazy carbonation. Nose is distinctively less bretty than many gueuzes I’ve had the opportunity to try. Hot bacon and pork products are present though not as overpowering as say Girardin black or cantillon vignerrone. Musky fruit, crackling bacon A very simple yet pleasing aroma. Flavors are round for a gueuze. Lots of fruitiness. Leather and horseblanket play pattycake with a mellow fruity ale yeast that isn’t overpowering but isn’t letting go either. Distincitively mellow for a gueuze. Could be slightly "hotter" with bretts but will definitely do. Afterpalate of a very mellow merlot. Complex, slightly stunning but more like a very good table beer than something I would open for a very special occassion. This isn’t bad at all just not pulitzer prize winning. G-rat

Corked popped with release of carbon dioxide. Poured into wide mouth glass to reveal a beautiful honey orange haze. Aroma’s of barnyard sharp but not overdone. Nice sour apple flavors combined with citrus to balance this tart lambic.Carbonation is not overdone and mouth feel is medium.Highly recommended.

this is simply a beautful beer. the tar/sour flavor into a nice smoothness on your tongue. Not for the timid or novice, but certainly a world class brew.