Belle-Vue Sélection Lambic

Formerly brewed at Belle-Vue (InBev)
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium

1999 Vintage. Thanks to gypsy19 for this one! ~Moderate citric acidic sour scent with earthy tones, fruity citrus with apple and mild oak, light honey. ~Pours a very cloudy gold with no head. ~Sharp acidic tartness in the front that follows through. some apple and pear like qualities. Finish ends quickly. ~Light- med bodied. Puckering astringency. Dry finish. ~Enjoyable sour, but doesnt stand out like others that i have had.

1999 vintage. Bottle 641. 75cl. Pours a very cloudy orange with no head. Aroma is a sour burst (as soon as I uncorked it, the sour fruit blew me away from 3 feet away; the cork smelled awesome as well) of unipe sour fruits. Reminicent of the tart wild cherries picked from the unkept cherry tree in my childhood backyard. The flavor is very tart at first, then there are subtle orange fruits in the middle, followed by an intersting very dry finish of nothingness. Good carbonation for the age, medium viscosity. Very enjoyable. A lot fruitier than expected too. I didn’t know what to expect but I must say that I’m quite pleased by the experience. Overall, very good to excellent.

1999 vintage. Big thanks to Chad(cpferris) for finding the hook up for this one so we could buy it for our epic sour tasting. Pours Avery murky dark brownish yellow with some slight ripe banana hues and a one finger off-white head that quickly fades into a thin lasting ring. Very funky earthy aroma with lots of cobweb, bandaid, sweatsock, barn and horseblanlet. Slight vinegar presence with lots of earthy, soily character. Insanely intense tart and sour mouthfeel that is extremely puckering and acidic. It actually kind of hurts my teeth! The puckering flavor is there up front but explodes toward the end of the palate into something more extreme than I’ve experienced but in a good way. Very vinegary with an extremly sweet lingering finish. Pretty hats but after the initial shock my palate is beginning to adjust and I’m really enjoying it. My stomach is another story. Recommended if only to test your limits!

1992 vintage. Cellared for about 17 years. Orange color, very hazy, with a small off-white head that leaves small lacings. A very funky smell - horse blanket, blue cheese, dirty socks, mud, you name it. Some acidity beneath the funk. A very round smell and surprisingly appetizing. Citric notes and hints of wood. The taste is tart and very funky. Barnyard, mold, horse blanket and pungent cheese is almost overpowering at first. Some cleaner bretty flavors as well. But a punch of acidity breaks it all up and paves the way for some pleasant but muted aromas of lemons, oranges and peaches. Notes of wood and grass. Very complex and nicely layered. The finish is tart and very dry with long lasting notes of wood and fruit. Very round and well composed. A truly interesting and delightful taste. Medium body and still quite a lot of carbonation despite all those years in the bottle. Bone dry. A work of art. One of the best lambics I’ve come across. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

Last beer popped at the christmas tasting - thank god we ended here. I can tell by my handwriting that it surely was a very good idea. This bottle was from 1999 and no. 3794. The pour is hazy yellow with no really head but with a white edge. The aroma is sour and with clear buttery notes. Its acidic and fruity with notes of young plumps. The taste is pretty straight forward with a agressive sourness as in green grapefruits. Maybe a bit over the top. The palate is dry and nice. All together a very nice experience to get my tounge mixed up with this one.

Bottle, 1992 vintage. Pours a cloudy, orange-golden liquid with a quickly disappearing white head. Aroma is quite acidic, musty and a bit dusty with a hint of rubber. Taste is very acidic but still round, dusty and funky with some fruitiness and a lot of flavours. Very well balanced, a fantastic gueuze.

Bottle at Tom’s Tasting, April 2009. 1999 vintage, from DHVL. Many thanks to whoever brought this along. Murky orange. Almost no carbonation. Quite funky aroma but otherwise fairly mellow. Lots of citrus in the flavour. Also some rather petrolly, cider-like notes. A top notch Gueuze that has aged gracefully.

cloudy yellow pour. This was from my friend Ryans sourfest on Halloween. Cheesy aroma is evident immediately with some sour fruit and barnyard aromas too. Flavor is sour as hell. Lemony, acidic, vinegar, earthy tones, dry. Sour. wow.