Girardin Gueuze Black Label

Brewed by Brouwerij Girardin
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Sint Ulriks-Kapelle, Belgium

375ml bottle @ In De Wildeman in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Pours golden orange with a loose off-white head. Aromas of cider vinegar, straw bails and light malts. The palate is sour and dry initially giving way to a delightful citrus fruitiness (apples, lemons, pineapple) and a just-right amount of sweetness. Medium bodied with a crisp champagne-style liveliness. Amazingly refreshing and drinkable. Top quality.

37.5 cl into snifter. Cork says "Ref A X 2010" which I am guessing means best buy 2010. Descent white head that fades fast, nice orangish golden body. I am not even going to delve into the details here, this thing is sour, puckering, funky, not over-carbonated (like many in the style), oaky, inviting, dry, and very balanced for a sour. Overall: buy one. A bit of a weird almost chemically tang bite in the flavor for a second or two, but it disappears quick enough to not take away from the quality too much.

From the Vegas trip stash... 1st Gueuze I think. Poured out a hazy light orangish beer with a big thick white cap that gets it done. Initially it blew me away but soon after I realized that as much as I appreciate the aroma, there just was not any appeal personally. An odd musty barnyard smell, sour lemon and pretty much outright rank which I guess is good in this case, cold tongue sandwich, cherries, slight sweetness. The taste was more of the same with more sourness, lemon, apple, grass, lots of yeast, mild but good spices, misc. wood and the expected stiff funk. Super tart and sour! The mouth feel is very tart and drying with a spicy, musty, tart finish. Very interesting. Will I rush out for more? No chance.

(37.5cl bottle thanks to petematte46) Rating #100. Pours a pale opaque yellow with great head and lacing. Nose is alcohol, sour cherry, and funky. Taste is bitter/sour and puckers the inside of my mouth. Finish is fantastic. Really appreciative of this one.

Flavour and aroma wise one of my favourite Gueuzes. Very funky with a balanced acidity, lemon, cheese, animals, hay and acidic apples. Mouthfeel is a bit watery but its forgiven as it actually adds to its drinkability. Lovely luxurious dry finish.

Bottle (recolte 2005): Orangey coloured, visible carbonation, cloudy, small - slowly collapsing - loose white head; solid nose: citric acid, horse blanket and a distinctive touch of wood; solid dry sourish flavour, a bit fizzy, medium bodied; lingering finish: citric acid, green apples, wood and lactic acid. Excellent, complex Gueuze, moreish..........

holy shit. this was legit. extremely well balanced. sour apple, white grape, this beer was fucking tight. goddamn i could drink this every minute of every day.

Bottle wired and corked into tumbler. Pours a hazy copper with a very lively, soda-like white head that dissipate but leaves a good thin layer to protect this lambic. Tons of yeast floaties in there too. Aroma is apple cider vinegar, white grape, leather, some baby powder, and other funky notes. Taste up front is sparkling apple juice then moves to ultra sourness- insanely sour. Finish shows off with fruity notes of raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Very drinkable and fun to try. I’m not a lambic expert but this seems well executed and I like it.