Dekoninck Gueuze

Brewed by Brouwerij F. Boon
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Lembeek, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

Golden pour with a tight white head. The nose is light and softly funky. A nice spritzy palate with a bit of light grapiness. A touch of tartness with a nice funky nice. A little bit of soft tartness. A touch of light flinty character on the finish. Me likey.

Bottle at Andys tasting. Pours a hazy muddy deep golden copper with a massive sptrizy head- fades. Aroma is citrus lactic acid, ashy horse funk, leather, citrus lemon orange mineral- pez and earth. Flavor is lemon-lime, horse funk, strange acid funk, brett, earthy leather and slate in the end with more mineral and lemon lactic acidity in the end- not really complex- a bit messy. Ok.

Bottle at a somewhat impromptu tasting at Andy’s place while Eugene was in town visiting. Pours a hazed gold with a medium sized white head. Cheesy, fuzzy musk, mustard. Spicy, a bit of toast. Interesting. Long funk and a touch of acid. Cheesy and light alcohol on the finish.

1993 Vintage, 750ml bottle; Sampled July 2010 at De Heeren van Liedekercke
A bit of nail polish aromas emanate from my glass or, upon further reflection, it seems like it smells a bit more like a grappa. The body of this beer looks flat, but it is topped by a half-finger thick, lightly tan colored head. An astringent ply-wood like aroma is joined by a musty cedar note; this last is what I have been struggling to identify in the nose, but now that I have it is quite distinct and noticeable. The beer is brilliantly clear, with a light amber hue. Nutty oxidation derived aromatics accentuate woody notes in the nose.

There is a soft lactic tartness to this up front and it finishes with a light acetic character that reminds me of cider vinegar. Some wood notes add structure to the body and this does actually have some carbonation to it that also adds to the texture. Some sediment in my second pour adds to the acetic character though it is still fairly soft. The finish has a touch of nuttiness to it and a light apple note that also speaks to some oxidation.

The age has definitely reduced the complexity, not to mention the carbonation, of this Gueuze, but it also seems to have rounded things out a bit. This is very interesting as there is just a hint of oxidation here that does weird things to the wood influence.

375mL cork&wire shared by Andy, thanks again! Cloudy golden color, small long lasting head. Aroma is dry, leafy, lemony and very tart. Its authentic gueze yet subdued. Flavor is sour with light residual sweetness getting in the way a little bit. Has a good tart finish and authentic lambic aftertaste. Just some of that weird residual sweetness needs to go away. Otherwise, it comes off as a good lambic with the Boon stamp all over it’s profile. Would love to drink this again. BB 18.02.28.

Bottle at home, Vintage 1976. This was one of the origional bottles before the production was contracted out to Girardin and Boon. I had my doubts about how well this beer had held up over the years. There was no reason behind it, just a hunch. Upon opening I was very pleased to be proved wrong. It was definately past its best being 34 years old but it was still very drinkable with all of the usual Gueuze flavours but a hefty amount of sherry/madera notes. Soft palate but still quite sour. The carbonation was very lively but settled down after the first glass. I wish that I could of tried this beer 15 years ago as you could tell that in its day it would of been a very good lambic.

From bottle, 75 cl. Thx to Ulli. (end april 2010) Pours golden-orange color, with a small white head. Aroma sour, some bread, bit wood, citrus fruits. Nice taste with notes of wood, soft, fruity, bitter. Dry and crisp. Delicious!

Bottle. Sour vinegar/grape malt aroma. Hazy golden yellow color with large head. Tart,sour vinegar malt flavor with slight dry and bitter finish. Lightly acidic. Very nice.