Tried the 2013 Bruery “Rueuze” a few weeks ago.
I liked it/definitely enjoyed it. Will I buy it again? Hell no … at least, not for the $19 I paid for this bottle; this just doesn’t compete with the Belgians. Now, maybe if this ran about $9 or $10 then, Yeah, I’d buy it occasionally. But, really, I’d usually prefer to put those dollars towards a Belgian lambic. The $19 was worth spending one time just to satisfy my curiosity, though.
As an American sour: 6.0 - 7.0/10.
continuing to catch-up on old TN’s:
2012 Brouwers Verzet Oud Bruin - Belgium, Flanders, Anzegem (11/18/2013)
– crown-capped 375mL –
– tasted non-blind from a tulip glass –
NOSE: expressive; faint strawberry; tart; a touch funky; very nice
BODY: bottle was a gusher upon opening; despite the incredibly active secondary going on in the bottle, this has only a very thin head around only the outer edge of the glass; auburn color; clear, with a little sediment present; medium-light bodied
TASTE: very tart; airy/mousse mouthfeel; sour oak; tart oxidized apple; nice little mineral note and also a hint of puke as this approaches room temp.; my gosh, this is some really good beer!; finish is pretty short, so I’ll continue to stick with the “drink soon” rec. I gave myself half a year ago. Continues to be the best Oud Bruin I’ve tasted. As an Oud Bruin: 9.0 – 9.5/10
Uinta Birthday Suit - 19 last night at Christmas dinner.
Very delicious with some wine & cherry brandy character. Not as sour as I thought it would be.
$19?!?!?! Can’t find it for less than $25 on shelves here and at a bar it’ll run you $40 or more!
Good lord don’t spend that kind of money on this one!
Brian, I know that you have it good in the UK right now, but you will be home soon and are in for a rude awakening price wise for anything sour. $19 is not a bad price for this beer and is around the price of all the Brewery sours ( I love them all btw). Belgians are going to run you the same and more in most cases for anything of quality, so get used to it. Hell RR 375’s are $13 even at the source.
What do you plan on drinking when your supply is gone?
His urine! ![[rofl.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/a/a7452fcd8e675af869f8da01174474a545b03944.gif "rofl"){kind=small}
Yeah, I know it’s rough these days. I’ll be drinking the following Belgians at the same $19 price point, +/- $5:
Beersel
Hanssens
Tilquin
Drie Fonteinen
Boon
Girardin
Timmermans
^^^^^^^^^
That’s pretty much “everyone except Cantillon.” If De Cam ever starts distributing in the States, then you can add them to my list, too. There’s other foreign producers, too — some Belgian, some not (De Molen, Haandbrygerriet, Petrus, Panil, and Rodenbach all come to mind immediately ---- I’m sure there are others that I’m not presently recalling). And, Yes, those are all avail. for $25 or less per 750mL.
As for domestic sours, I’ll stick with Jolly Pumpkin, RRBC, and Cascade over this Bruery “Rueuze”. I do have a bottle of Bruery’s “Sour in the Rye” that I’m excited to try. Don’t get me wrong — I think the “Rueuze” is a good, tasty, enjoyable beer, but the price is just absurd, imo.
I’m just giving you a hard time. 
Tilquin and Drie Fonteinen are more than $19 here, more like $26- Hanssens too iirc. I could drink Beersel Kriek all day which is the best deal around if you ask me. Boon isn’t bad (nicely priced as well) but not on par with the others. For the record Rueuze is the weakest of the Bruery lineup for my tastes, Sour in the Rye, Tart of Darkness, and Oude Tart are 3 of my favorite beers- not for everyday use at the price point though. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
2010 Weyerbacher Brewing Co. Riserva - USA, Pennsylvania (11/29/2013)
– caged and corked 750mL; signs of seepage –
– tasted non-blind –
– sour ale with raspberry puree, aged in oak barrels –
NOSE: friggin’ awesome nose; very complex and expressive; winey; raspberry; hint of funk and Yankee Christmas candle
BODY: hazy tawny-red color — kind of like a 10 yo Tawny Port;
TASTE: holy schiekes, Batman!!! This pucker is sa-our!!! Probably the most tart beer I’ve ever had; raspberry is up-front, and obviously raspberry, lending a pleasurable sense of sweetness to this beer — that aspect might even be a bit too prominent for me at this point: perhaps I’d prefer this with a few more years beneath its belt. Thanks to Peter T. for finding this beer in a deep dark corner somewhere, and to Bob H. for doing some legwork for me. 
Posted from CellarTracker
Well, I’d take those Belgian Gueuzes for $26 over the Rueuze at $19 most days, but that’s just me. Except for the domestic sours I mentioned above, it just frustrates me that American producers don’t price their sours competitively compared to their Belgian counterparts. I bet this will correct itself over time ---- American sours may get a touch cheaper, but what I’m even more sure of is that the Belgian sours will get more expensive. I plan to buy Belgian sours very heavily the next few years before this price explosion happens.
Glad that you liked that Weyerbacher. I thought I had drunk all of mine, but luckily I found one more while rooting around last week.
Also, the talks of price point amuse me, because I have a totally different take. While I was a beer guy prior to a wine guy, I turned to wine almost solely bout 15 years ago. I rediscovered beer at Ommegang about 7-8 years ago but only started drinking my cellared stuff in the last 3 or 4 or so. Now, the cheapest wine I regularly buy is Skewis which is a $40 bottle or so, and my Bordeaux and Burgs go up from there. If I rink a $30 beer- heck- I am saving a minimum $10 is the way I look at it. So, I see all of these prices as cheap- quite frankly I barely notice the prices, actually.
NV Oud Beersel Framboise - Belgium, Flanders, Beersel (12/7/2013)
– caged and corked 375mL –
– BB: May 11, 2016 –
NOSE: intense raspberry
BODY: dark raspberry red color; thin, fine-bubbled head; light bodied
TASTE: ripe, clean raspberry; hint of oak; not very funky or leathery; very dry — the strong raspberry flavor might trick you into believing it’s sweet, but it’s not; 6.5% alc. not noticeable; very very nice framboise here.
2010 Brouwerij Timmermans Oude Kriek Limited Edition - Belgium, Flanders, Itterbeek (1/5/2014)
– caged and corked 750mL bottle –
– tasted non-blind –
NOSE: maraschino cherries; hint of sewage, initially; expressive.
BODY: red-orange cvolor; no head; light bodied.
TASTE: very sour; cherry-rhubarb pie; clean; 5.5% alc. not noticeable; incredibly sour. Needs time. As a fruited lambic: 8.0/10
NV Cantillon Brewery Cuveé Saint-Gilloise (June 27, 2012 bottling) - Belgium, Flanders, Brussels (1/17/2014)
– bottled: June 27, 2012 –
– 2 yo lambic, dry-hopped with Hallertu hops –
NOSE: hoppier than typical — reminds me of hops used in Pilsener; orange oil; Murphy’s oil soap; grapefruit; moderately expressive.
BODY: hazy bright orange color; no head; light bodied.
TASTE: tart, but not as tart as I’ve come to expect from Cantillon; pretty clean; more orangey than lemony; grapefruit; overall soft expression.
2008 Cantillon Brewery Grand Cru Bruocsella - Belgium, Brussels, Anderlecht (2/13/2014)
– tasted non-blind from a tulip glass –
– bottled: Sept. 7, 2012 –
NOSE: expressive; high-toned; lemon oil; orange oil; smells like it will be very sour
BODY: no head; clear; medium-light yellow-orange color; light bodied
TASTE: a bit pukey; farmhouse funk; hay; hint of novocaine, or some other oral anesthetic; malt vinegar; 5% alc. not noticeable; quite nice, but probably my least-favorite of Cantillon’s bottled offerings that I’ve tried. This is made entirely from 3 yo lambic. As a lambic: 8.0/10.
I want to keep this offer to strictly interested parties, so I’ll post it here…
Any stateside folks interested in a group buy from Etre Gourmet or Belgium in a Box? I know BiaB has a good deal in a quantity buy on Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze right now, something like 17 750ml bottles for 99 Euros.
We can have it shipped to one person who can then distribute. Even with high shipping rates and shipping within the USA the bottle price is still lower than domestic retailers. Ideally no more than 2-3 people per case.
That’s a really good deal, Nolan. The deal is for: 17x 750ml, and 1x 375mL.
I’m interested. The timing is pretty bad for me right now, with me moving back to the States in a couple weeks, but if it’s a time-sensitive deal then we can move sooner rather than later.
Brian, I have a local friend interested in at least a few of the Drie Fonteinen, so that might leave 12-14 to split between us. Let me see how long that pricing is good for and I’ll let you know.
Sounds good, Nolan.