St. Louis Gueuze

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

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.

Corked 375ml bottle. 09/ 2003. Best before 10/2005. Rusty gold colour. Sour aroma with a tinge of salt. Sour start. That hint of salt in the middle. Sweet finish. Different flavour profiles but not overly complex. Harder to rate a beer when it is only ther third of a style that you have had.

Bottled (BB 08/2008)
A bit hazy amber color, very small white head. Tart and sugary aroma, hints of horse saddle. Leathery flavor with tartness in the background ... artifical sweeteners dominate the flavor. There is similarities to those orange-flavored vitamin C -pills. Short finish with plumish notes. As expected from St. Louis -series - not the real MacCoy.

Pours a slightly cloudy caramel color with a thin white head. The aroma is slightly sour and fruity. The flavor has the same mild sourness and fruits, nothing too wild or authentic in there. The body is light with a dusty texture and soft carbonation.

375 ml bottle from LCBO, served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass.

App.: Deep golden, clear(!), minute white head. Aroma: Light acidic/grassy notes, slightly spicy and peppery, a bit of apple/pear, the tiniest hints of funk, light brown sugar, a bit of bread and yeast, stale apple juice. Palate: Medium-ish body, soft but fairly full effervescence. Flav.: Lots of stale apple juice, cherries, apples, pears, and other fruits, a hint of spice, a bit of cardboard, some grain/cereal, a wee bit of yeast, no funk; a bit sweet, lightly tangy, no bitterness, leaves an impression of old apple juice.

A Gueuze this is not! And artificially sweetened?? Since when do beer drinkers watch their calories??

Really didn’t enjoy this one too much. way too fizzy for me and by the end of the pint i couldnt wait to get something strong in my mouth.

Draft @ Capones: Poured a cloudy golden yellow with a white head. The aroma was apples, bread, yeast and tart. The flavor was mostly sour apple and wheat. Overall, very average

pale amber colour, big head, rhubarb, orange and candy sugar aroma, sweetish and quite flat with only few sourness to deal with, slightly disgusting