Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René

Brewed by Brouwerij Lindemans
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
St Pieters Leeuw-Vlezenbeek, Belgium

Yeah . . . I wish this were better. It’s good, kind of lemony and leathery, sour, a bit funky. A dry finish. I guess I’ve just had better Gueze, and, perhaps expected to much?

Pours a cloudy golden-peach color. Aroma is very fruity. Like wine more than beer. Flavor is dry and sour. A bit of bitterness in the background. I don’t really know how I feel about this. Mostly notes of orange, lemon, maybe pear and apricot. I feel like this is probably a good example of this style but....not for me. I’m not sure I can finish this. Too sour and and acidic.

nice golden/orange pour, a great lambic nose. Lots of dry funk, and wet hay, a real treat. Flavor is much of the same with a crisp sourness, and a lovely funk, and a great sour bit in the finish. A really nice lambic, much better than i expected.

Bottle from Liars club. Deep amber with a small fizzy white head. Sour aroma. Nice taste that isn’t overly sour with notes of pear and apple.

(Bottle, Akkurat, Stockholm, 10 Oct 2008) Golden colour with brief, white head. Tart, fruity nose with notes of green apples, plums and a harsh, but not very complex acidity. Fruity, tart taste with green apples, yellow plums an a harsh, dry acidity in the finish. Definitely better than their sweeter stuff, but it doesn’t really reach the heights and complexity of the smaller lambic brewers and blenders. Still a nice beer though.

355ml bottle. Hazy pale gold body, small dense foam atop leaving lace. Nose is particularly yeasty, unripe apricot and citrus seem to add to the fact that this smells of a young champagne. Dough and yoghurt mixing with kumquat citrus, some Granny Smith apple and vinegar for good measure. Very lively, zesty body; seems to explode with flavour in my mouth. Dry, lean, very tart, fair bit of grape-skin-like tannin. Bitter orange/kumquat is the first thing I taste, somehow mellowed with a lactic yoghurt quality. Unripe stonefruit seems to pop to mind (apricot?) that really reminds me of a young Hunter Semillion, but that seems to be only the tip of the iceburg; almond bread, cherry pip, tart raspberries, sharp cheese. Finish is tannic, bone-dry, lingering citrus zestiness. Wow! This is an adventure beer! The comparison to a dry sparkling white wine seem to be right, but theres so much more to it than that. And I felt slightly bad when I had my first smell/taste because it didn’t seem right, but this seems to be a beer that changes in the glass itself!

750 ml. bottle into wineglass. Pours a great rich golden color with an orange hue, pretty clear Nice white head that fades fast but leaves a nice wall of lace on my glass. nice traditional sour lambic aroma - nice with sour white grapes with some citrus (bitter orange peel) - more fruity and complex version of champagne aroma. Very similar flavor - not really funky but sour and bone dry. I am really turning on to this style (though I find it delicious and refreshing, I don;t find it super complex... obviously I need to develop my palate some more). Nice fervent carbonation in a light body, though not overly carbonated - carbonation works well with body and flavor and tingles on my upper lip after sipping.

Sample @ BBF ’08, Boston. Pours a cloudy cold with a champagne-like white head. Aroma of Belgian funk with yeast and grape notes as well. Taste is light fruit on the front with a sour and yeasty finish. Very nice.