Belle-Vue Sélection Lambic

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

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

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UPDATED: JUN 8, 2011 750mL 1988 ed courtesy of ygtbsm94. Unreal. This poured a cloudy grapefruit juice with a thin, white head and no lace. Aroma is not too funky but is more horsey, barnyard, and cheesy with a big kick of cider vinegar, lemon tart, lemon peel. Taste is a bit more acedic than other geuzes, which I like, and goes so insanely sour that is becomes spicy on the palate going from lemon peel and bright citrus/grapefruit rind to cloves, nutmeg, and chilies. Really outstanding. 6/8/2010 8/4/9/4/17=4.2

750mL 1999 ed courtesy of ygtbsm94 at RBSG Philly 2011. The pour is a flat glowing deep orange. Nose is not really doing it for me: heavy acetic with mild acetone and paint thinner. Lots of impending spicy acetic acid. Taste is mouth watering sour, the opposite of a Cantillon geuze, with puckering lemon warhead acidity and lacerative acetic spice approaching Hanssen’s Geuze. Not my thing, but glad I was able to try it. 6/3/2011 6/4/8/4/14=3.6

750mL bottle at Woodshop 5.0, rated 2/20/2010. Pours a cloudy golden yellow with a thin head. Aroma is sour and citrusy. Taste is tart and funky with moderate acidity and some juicy orange peel. Fantastic!

In short: A simple bu super nice Gueuze with a slightly higher acidic level than average
How: Bottle, 1992 vintange (!), split two-way by and with JorisPPattyn at his house. Un énorme merci Joris!!!
The look: Cloudy dark blonde body topped by a small off-white head
In long: Nose is certainly not the most funky of the famous gueuzes. Relative to the style this one has moderate barnyard with notes of cheese. Taste is slightly sharper and more acidic than the most respected gueuze. Rather big body for the style too. Lactic acid, saw dust, dried cheese, lemon juice, wood. Certainly not the most complex respected gueuze I’ve had but this is nonetheless a very effective one. Imho the Belle-Vue Selection is not quite up there with the regular cheap gueuzes (Cantillon, 3F, Hanssens, Girardin) but it is a serious offering nonetheless. Too bad this shitty brewery stopped making their only excellent product. What we pub-crawler out-of-shape beer-geeks need is more Belle-Vue Selection and no natural selection.

750 ml bottle; 1999 vintage; shared by Mr. MJ himself during SBW ’09; side by side with the Horals Mega Blend; cloudy dark orange with thin white head; mild funky cheese with lemongrass and acidic fruit peels; touch of vinegar with sweet oak, vanilla, cloves and bananas; sweet texture with delicate sourness and funk; musky lemons, wheat and cheese; incredibly flat and smooth; nothing overpowering and a delicious blend of dry oak and funk; wow, this one was a game changer for me and really opened my eyes to lambics; enjoyed the beer as much as the conversation with MJ covering lambics and how they are produced; an amazing beer!!

RBWG 94’ bottle pours light gold, medium white head. Aroma is super funky. Tart lemon and lime, mold, earthy. This stuff is the funk.

RBWG’10 1994 vintage. pours cloudy golden, no head. Aroma, vinegary, light grainy nose. Flavors, lots of vinegar, acidic coating in this one with some funky dry lingering fruitness. Overall, the beer remains very enjoyable but the acidic side just becomes overpowering.

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)