St. Louis Gueuze

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Ingelmunster, Belgium

Blonde gueuze with a white head. Aroma of rubber and lactic acid. Sweet and chemical, with cigarette, like a vanilla nicorette! A drainpour. 2-2-1-2-3

Dark gold in colour with a lacing white head. Faint gueuzy aroma of lactic acid, not all unpleasant. In mouth, rather mild fruity taste, with little acidicic points, but thin and plain. Much better than the 250 mL bottles rated before. (375 mL corked bottle, LCBO Spring 2005). 6-3-6-2-10

Relatively fresh bottle from LCBO summer 2008, BB April 2009. Golden gueuze with thick darker off white head. Aroma is pleasant horseblanket and ground cherry, but in mouth, artificial sweetener overwhelms the palate. 7-3-4-3-8

Head is initially large, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy medium amber, moderate density of small and medium sized particles. Aroma is moderately yeasty (cobwebs), lightly hoppy (flowers), lightly malty (toasted light bread), with notes of straw and honey. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, creamy texture, lively carbonation, lightly astringent. A little too sweet, and the aroma isn’t especially gueuze-like. The assertive bitterness in the flavor profile is a bit odd for the style but it’s not something I dislike.

375 ml bottle, corked/caged, 1995...cork dark and brittle. Color odd for style: dark bronze, very clear, no head to speak of. Nose vinous and caramel-laden, bit of vinegar...again, nothing like what I expect in a gueuze, though it’s interesting and powerful. On the tongue, grapy and sweet to begin with, some slight sourness and currant notes towards the end, virtually no carbonation, soft and a bit syrupy. A bit leathery and woody also...not really gueuze, closer I’d say to a well-aged Old Ale, but lacking the complexity of the better examples of that style. Interesting for sure, but not really good.

Bottle. From Ølmanden. Frothy white fair mostly deminishing head. Orange yellow not nice colour. Light malty and not very sour flavor. Moderate swet and almost no sour-notes. Average finish. Oily palate. More like a Faro than geuuze

Tap in Antwerp at: Le restaurant Noorderterras on the harbor. Light amber color with a frothy beige head. Light sour fruit aroma. Tart, lightly sweat sox, lightly fruity. Medium body with mildly prickly carbonation. Finishes rather dry. Quite pleasant.

From a 375 ml corked and caged bottle courtesy of pintbypint. The body is a light orange color. The head is white and huge. The aroma is apple cider and some honey sweetness. There are also some herbal notes. The taste is a tame white grape juice. There is also an apple cider character with a hint of cinnamon. A subtle and interesting versoin of the style. However, I would like a little more character of sourness.

Green apples are lightly tart and contrast with citrus and wheat aromas and a mild lambic character. Clear deep copper coloured body is topped by a decent, fine bubbled white head that recedes to a thin but lasting cover with plenty of lacing. Candylike sweetness undercuts the tart green apple flavour with a mildly musty herbal finish. Some notes of pears and peaches are apparent especially in the aftertaste. Light body with strong, sharp, pointy carbonation that prickles the tongue. Snifter. Just above fridge temperature. Bottle (Bièropholie, Nov-05).

Bottle. Very low white head. Hazy light yellow body. Vinegar aroma. Acidic grape fruit flavor, simple and easy.