Poured from 750 mL champagne bottle into flute
Poured from a 750 mL champagne bottle into a flute. No real head forms. Thin, white lacing. Mild carbonation. Beautiful, deep golden color. A bit cloudy. This Gueuze looks very crisp, bright and refreshing.
On the nose, it is dry, tart and fruity. Green/granny smith apples and a citrus of lime and lemon both come through, as well as some spiciness I can’t quite identify (cumin, lemon zest, light pepper smell) as well as honey and a strong sour, yeasty aroma.
What you smell is almost what you get. Supplement some bitterness on top of a strong, tart citrus flavor and some serious yeastiness and you get this Gueuze. Very sharp and tangy, not at all sweet, a little barrel taste. The bite is refreshing and complex. The longer I let this explore the less I seem to understand it: the sign of a truly complex beer. Good balance of flavors and very indicative of lambic style. The complexity and the inability to get a handle on this makes it all the more delicious.
The mouthfeel of this lambic is not too thick, but it feels thicker because of the minimal carbonation. Very pleasant, soft, billowy almost—a trait I’ve been finding more and more in lambics.
This beer goes down extremely easy and improves with each sip. The first taste confuses, the second entices, and the third entrances. This is one for the beer Gods. Endlessly complex. A true experience.
A-, and on The Drunkard’s Progress Scale, “Step 3: A glass too much” is what it will take to get my head around this one.
