3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze

375ml corked bottle from Beer Mania in Brussels. Maybe the perfect gueze. Tart, but balanced, and I actually found it refreshing.

2004 Bottle from the Beverage Castle in Tampa <P> Sharp funky/sour aroma smells of tart Chinese baby corn. Orange body holds a lazy dime thin white head that diminishes slowly. Tart and acidic with lots of funk laden fruit flavors in the fore. Some overripe citrus and pear in the middle and a mouth puckering sourness in the finish. This has to be the most uncomerical style of beer in the world. There is a very nice balance of sour, fruit sweetness, tart and bitter with none truly dominating and all getting a little stage time.

Bottled 28 February 2004. This geuze pours a deep orange gold color from a cork top 750ml bottle. Large sized white foamy head, with good lacing. Aroma is sweet and fruity (strawberries and bananas), touch of funk and some barnyard. A medium bodied geuze. Where does one start to describe this beer? It is very tart, crisp, dry and lightly funky, yet there is an incredible balance between the malts, funk, tartness and the fruits. Very dry, very funky and yet it’s a very drinkable geuze. Crisp and refreshing. Bright yeasts. Lively carbonation. This might be the most drinkable geuze I’ve tasted yet. I think it might even be better than the 1998 (50th Anniversary) Vintage I had a couple of weeks ago. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is crisp and dry. Aftertaste is tart and crisp.

Anytime you get to consume a top notch beer, especially a gueuze, it is always a good thing and it’s nice to share it with others. I had this with my buddy aspidities shortly after his b-day, and what a treat. Mind blowingly balanced, it’s not over-the-top in funk or barnyard or acidic, it’s fantastically balanced on all fronts. There are other gueuze with more firepower in the nut-check department that this, but it’s the ease this is consumed that is all the more important. A wonderfully complex, mouth watering beer that I am happy to have shared with an old friend.

Bottled Bruges de’ Beetje 03-11-05 Thought I would dip my toes into the world of acid beers in an environment that is a shrine to beer. Slight sparkle, hazy orangey colour, aroma of citrus and apples, incredible tangy bite that takes some getting used to, very different and most unusual. Will have to try more of these! Had this again 31-12-07 at home Even better than I recall lovely soft lemony notes and also in the taste, wonderful sourness and quite tart though not as harsh as I recalled (getting used to them now) 4.0

Hazy orange body. Dry citric aroma with grassy hops. Dyr flavor - grapefruit rind, acidic peachy yeast and a light pale malt. A nice refreshing guezue.

375 ml bottle shared by Vac & Zug4abby from their Belgium trip. Pours hazy holden with a moderate whitish head and spotty lacing. Aroma is dry with champagne, sweat, wet wool and funk - all of the things I love in a lambic. Flavor is also dry, tart, astringent and vinuous, dusty and earthy, champagne with a slight pepper finish. Medium body and very smooth, creamy carbonation. Very nice!

Bottle. Dec, 11 2000 Date. I can’t believe I’ve never rated this so I took advantage of the situation to buy a bottle for the purpose. Pours a murky darker copper color with a large white head. The aromas not only leap out of the glass, but fill the room as you pour. Fruit dominates the aroma. Apples, Strawberries, grapefruit and lemons along with straw and the cobweb aroma I’ve come to associate with this beer. I could literally sit and smell this all evening. The fruits show up in the flavor as well. Very dry with a low acidity. Sour but not shockingly so. Tart, barnyard type flavors. The carbonation is a bit bubbly but that will subside a bit by the time this bottle is finished. One of my all-time favorite gueuzes.