St. Louis Gueuze

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Ingelmunster, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

50cl bottle@carlsenskvarter,Odense. Clear gold with surprisingly large & lasting white creamy head. Aroma is both sweet & sour - mostly sweet. Notes of corn & fruit. Vague vinegar notes. Sticky & very easy drinkable gueze.

Achetée à la LCBO. Bouteille verte avec autocollant pour souligner le sucre ajouté (étrange emphase). Bière de couleur ambrée avec des tons orangés, claire. Donne une mousse assez généreuse au service, mais qui disparaît presque entièrement la minute suivante. Le parfum est dominé par les pommes surettes, fermentées. Sent plus le cidre artisanal que la bière. Odeur sucrée et mielleuse. Goût sucré (miel floral), par-dessus une base un rien surette. Dominée par les pommes et les poires. A bien le goût un peu médicinal des levures de type gueuze. Laisse un arrière-goût inhabituel, difficile à cerner : maïs, herbes de cuisson (thym, basilic), girofle, lilas? Ce n’est pas une complexité, mais plutôt une ‘imprécision’ dans la facture… La bouche est ronde, pétillante et crémeuse. Rafraîchissante. Ce n’était pas mauvais, mais ce n’était rien pour inviter à être bu encore ou en grande quantité.

Green bottle, 375 ml, best before 04-2009, purchased at the LCBO, savoured on March 22 2006; eye: copper with a reddish hue, clear, voluminous beige head that falls rapidly to leave a blanket on top of the beer, lacing, good effervescence; nose: lambic, light fruitiness, horse blanket; mouth: surprisingly the expected acidity is barely present, relatively thin, definitely uncommon savours, horse blanket, stale apple, sugar is present throughout the sip, a bit of hops, finale in horse blanket with stale apple, slightly bitter, mildly sweet, medium body, rather carbonated; overall: disappointing FRANÇAIS Bouteille verte, 375 ml, meilleure avant 04-2009, achetée à la LCBO, savourée le 22 mars 2008; œil : cuivrée avec une teinte rougeâtre, claire, mousse blanche abondante qui tombe assez rapidement pour laisser un petit tapis, dentelle, bonne effervescence; nez : lambic, léger fruité, cheval; bouche : curieusement l’acidité tant attendue est à peine présente, relativement mince, définitivement des saveurs non fréquentes, cheval, pomme éventée, sucre est présent tout au long de la gorgée, un peu de houblon, finale en cheval avec de la pomme éventée, très légèrement amère, moyennement sucrée, corps moyen, plutôt carbonatée; en résumé : déçu

375 ml bottle from LCBO, served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass.

App.: Deep golden, clear(!), minute white head. Aroma: Light acidic/grassy notes, slightly spicy and peppery, a bit of apple/pear, the tiniest hints of funk, light brown sugar, a bit of bread and yeast, stale apple juice. Palate: Medium-ish body, soft but fairly full effervescence. Flav.: Lots of stale apple juice, cherries, apples, pears, and other fruits, a hint of spice, a bit of cardboard, some grain/cereal, a wee bit of yeast, no funk; a bit sweet, lightly tangy, no bitterness, leaves an impression of old apple juice.

A Gueuze this is not! And artificially sweetened?? Since when do beer drinkers watch their calories??

Bottle. Very sweet, light smell of cherry, fruity, sugar, light acidic, smell of champagne. Small white fizzy head, dark orange normal clear body. Started moderate sweet. then it gets moderate acidic, the duration is average. Light to medium body, dry, lively carbonation. Really refreshing beer, nice one for the summer.

Draft. Sweet, yeasty aromas and a nice, dingy orange color. Fairly mild palate and light sour cherry notes. Good, light carbonation. Plenty of sweet fruit on the finish. Not dry at all or astringent. Gueze isn’t for everyone, but I’ve come to like the style, and this drinkable, mild example is one reason why.

375ml bottle from the LCBO. Pours a translucent amber with a small white head. Aroma: Weird, rotten funk, dry hops, and something else that’s pretty bizarre that I can’t quite put my finger on, dull kind of synthetic, paint like. Flavour: All of those weird elements above, VERY sweet, sour, a little berry, toffeeish malts. Creamy mouth-feel. It’s not totally nauseating, but I don’t know. It’s pretty borderline sickly sweet. Every time I take a sip I have this weird gagging-like reaction and stick my tongue out (I honestly can’t help doing it). Rotten apple aftertaste? Wow, what an experience, too bad it wasn’t an all together pleasant one. I can’t finish this. This beer is kind of like a car crash.

375ml bottle
4.50% ABV
I tried this beer on March 3, 2008 after purchasing from my local LCBO outlet. The beer poured a translucent orangy-red colour with a generous white bubbly head which quickly disappeared. The aroma was faintly sour apples. not as strong as others have suggested. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied, almost creamy, and highly carbonated. The flavour wasn’t all that sweet...very reminiscent of the crabapples I used to eat as a child on the way to school. Not a lot of malty flavours or hoppy tones in this one.