Gueuze and Lambics

Matthew_Brown · October 29, 2012, 1:16am

Killer pic. Will have to post mine when I open my last. May have to invite you if I don’t get weak and pull it one random evening.

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · October 29, 2012, 5:24am

Caleb Kong:

1996 - Cantillon - Rose de Cambrinus

When I returned from one of my bi-weekly visits to Wine Warehouse with a bottle of Matt’s '96 gambrinus, my friend and I were giddy to say the least. This has got to be the longest conditioned bottle either of us had seen/touched/been given by far.

After a two day storage, upright, in the fridge, the rose poured a dark gold/light copper. As you can imagine, there was very little carbonation. Nose gave way to some serious barnyard funk, some musty, yeasty breadiness. Whatever sour red fruit that this bottle used to contained had been muted to a ghost. Never having had a lambic this aged, after our initial sip, the freshness of this beer that complimented the barnyard I was expecting amazed me. There was a tart citrus zest that had us puckering. And again, the sour raspberry that might be expected in a younger bottle was greatly diminished.

Just another thank you to Matt. This was one of the coolest beer experiences we’ve ever had and one that we didn’t imagine would come so early in our pursuit of lambics and lambic based beers.

Some more pictures?
Imgur: The magic of the Internet

What a treat! Sounds wonderful, and also like it was showing exactly as it should.
Question: did the cork say “1994”? Looking at your other pictures, it appeas that it did.

Caleb_Kong · October 29, 2012, 1:09pm

Noticed this as well and asked Matt. Case read a release date of '96. Wasn’t sure whether I should post the release or the bottling date so I just included a picture of the cork for sharper eyes

edit:
Also for those of you that want to keep a slimmer figure and a healthier lifestyle:

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · October 29, 2012, 3:50pm

NV Brouwerij Girardin Gueuze Girardin (black label) - Belgium, Flanders, Sint-Ulriks-Kapelle (10/23/2012)
– 375mL –
– tasted non-blind from a tulip glass –

NOSE: smells sour — lemony/orange tanginess; smells like it will be ever-so-slightly sweet; hint of sandalwood spice;

BODY: golden orange color of moderate depth; foamy head dissipates almost completely pretty quickly, but a persistent but very loose bead keeps a thin pad of head atop the beer; light to medium-light bodied.

TASTE: wonderful piquant sourness — lemony, but not quite as light as Cantillon;l perhaps this has a darker flavor akin to a hint of tangerine; slight hint of old wood; medium length finish of moderate intensity; totally dry; high-quality Gueuze.

Posted from CellarTracker

Peter_Tryba · November 24, 2012, 8:31pm

Boom!

Found some 5-year old Hanssen’s Kriek in the cellar today. This year’s bottle on the left for comparison.

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · November 24, 2012, 9:28pm

score!

Caleb_Kong · November 28, 2012, 1:01am

Anyone heading out this saturday for their local Zwanze Day gathering?

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · November 28, 2012, 2:04am

Huh?

Caleb_Kong · November 28, 2012, 5:46am

It’s hard to find a page with all the facts straight so I may be off on some points but every year Jean Van Roy of Cantillon produces a small batch of special lambic and releases it (kegged) at select locations.

http://www.cantillon.be/br/3_21

Mamouche was actually first released as the Cantillon Zwanze 2009 before they decided to release it regularly.

Hopefully I’m going to be able to make it to my local event (ChurchKey). Most locations will have several other special lambics/gueuzes and sours in general for the event.

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · November 28, 2012, 4:37pm

Let us know if you’re able to make it to your local, Caleb — and tell us what you got to taste!

Joe_Hauck · November 30, 2012, 12:38am

Nose of tart lemon zest and lots of funk. The palate is a lot more subdued than I expected from the nose with tart green apple, faint lemon zest and some unripe grapes. Finish is quite dry and seems dominated with a bit of bretty barnyard as opposed to oakyness. Light, crisp, and refreshing, but clearly young.

I don’t have much experience with Geuze and 0 experience with older Geuze, but this seems like it would be great with some age on it, letting the Brett go off for a while.

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · November 30, 2012, 1:57am

bottling date, Joe? From the big-ass bubbles in the glass in your pic., I’m assuming pretty young.

Joe_Hauck · November 30, 2012, 2:18am

C’mon buddy I’m trying, best before date of 2031, so probably 2012. Really good after an hour in and warmed to just below room temp.

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · November 30, 2012, 2:33am

Coolio! Nice to see you found the proper sweet-spot serving temperature! I shudder to think how much gueuze is consumed too cold.

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · November 30, 2012, 2:35am

right now:

Too effin’ lazy to do a TN.

The relevant part of it would be this: It’s fucking good.

BobH · November 30, 2012, 2:42am

Cheating on your wife, too. (beer wise, I mean). [pillow-fight.gif]

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · November 30, 2012, 3:13am

My lawyer has advised me to not comment on this matter.

Roberto_Rogness · December 3, 2012, 5:18am

Guys, time to round up the village, grab your pitchforks and torches and comment on THIS:

DougS · December 3, 2012, 3:51pm

I was wondering if anyone would reference that here. Obviously, we’re all 28 year olds who are just excited to be a part of something, and we’ve missed the fact that these beers all suck. Darn, I feel so stupid.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · December 15, 2012, 11:49pm

NV De Cam Oude Lambiek Jan. 2009 bottling - Belgium, Flanders, Gooik (12/15/2012)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind from a tulip glass –
– bottled in Jan., 2009 –

NOSE: expressive; lactic; citric; slight earthy/funk/oak;

BODY: yellow-orange color; no carbonation/head; medium-light bodied;

TASTE: grapefruit; slightly pukey and a bit waxy; strong flavor; comprised entirely of 3-yr. old lambic; entirely dry; 5.0% alc.; pronounced tartness/sourness; very good. As a lambic: 9.0 – 9.5/10.

Posted from CellarTracker