Girardin Gueuze Black Label

Aroma:Lemon,citrus aroma... Appearance:clear gold,good lacing head... Flavor:Lemon,citrus flavor...

A beautiful beer. I’d have to agree with Oakes sentiments (see his comments from 11/2001) Complex, tart but not overly so. A slight sweetness to soften it a bit. Extremely refreshing. An unexpected but wonderful surprise given I grabbed it of the shelf without any foreknowledge of its existence

Bottle, thanks Muenster! Pours a cloudy orange with a small white head. It’s very, very hot outside today (101) and this glass has no problem warming up a little bit. The nose is very intricate with nuances of oak, apples, pear, malt vinegar, barnyard, etc. Quite tasteful. The sourness in the flavor is appropriate with a light fruity sweetness underneath reminiscent of white grapes and apples with additional flavors similar to cedar, grass, goat cheese, and more. I enjoy a soured beer fairly well and this was a good one with a reasonable tartness and a respectable complexity.

375 ml bottle. Opened with a poof, and climbed out. Poured a hazy orange toned color with a foamy white head that went down rapidly. Tart, sour, maybe lactic aroma (almost typed odor). Body is a bit thinnish. Carbonation is mild, not quite creamy. The flavor is tart, and, well, makes one think a bit of old stuff that has been around too long. Bits of orange and unfamilar spice. May have been a mistake to have the Peche lambic first, but this is starting to grow on me. Maybe a good gueuze to break into the style with.

Cedric said, and possibly shouldn’t have, "would you like to see the Manikin Pis in double vision?" At the Poechenellekelder we sampled Gueuze and other Beligian beers for a couple of hours. Fortunately, the sample of Girardin came early enough to remember. A nice dry gueuze, as if we have many experiences to compere it to, nevertheless very enjoyable.

Bottle gift from stegosaurus from once upon a vine in VA. Deep golden pour with a champagne and bread aroma. Sour tasting with a lemon/alcohol finish. Was not bad for this style.

375 ml bottle

The past two gueuzes I have tried have not agreed with me at all so I opened this one cautiously. I wasn’t as worried about the cork as what it may do to my stomach. It turns out this one was a bit more agreeable especially since I balanced it with plenty of water. At $8.99 I am unlikely to pick this up often but perhaps it will be one that I pick up for special occasions or to introduce people to the style.

Aroma / Appearance - A half finger offwhite head graced the top of a carbonated active body. It looked to be dark orange as much light trickled through. As I expected the nose was very sour and tart. Lemons, oranges and hay formed the relatively simple grouping but it was enough to make me want to give it a try.

Flavor / Palate - The tart dry sourness reminded me of the sugary substance that is left in an empty bag of sour patch kids. It fades fast with a slightly harsh mouthfeel attacking the throat. Oranges and hayseed are left behind. As I worked my way through the bottle it began to take on a corky characteristic. Other than that I found it almost perfect. Next up perhaps I will tackle a Cantillon gueuze.

[Sampled at DØE-festival, Valby, 2007 with svoger AT THE LAWN.]
One of my new favorites. Grapes, wood, fresh sourness, acid, acid fruits and complex.