3 Fonteinen J & J Oude Geuze Blauw

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

This is one sour ass beer. A weak orange colour with a great deal of haziness and no head, yet highly effervescent. Tart fruit and vinegar make up most of the aroma with some floral hints. Flavour makes you pucker the lips quickly as there is a lot of tartness in the flavour.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

Thanks to Greg for this amazing opportunity! .. Pours a deep yellow with a thin creamy white foam, light sticky lacing . .. aroma of sharp funk, hay, light yeast, funky wood, and an athletic horse .. . an earthy bitterness and a mildly sweet funk hits first, then mild acidic notes follow- from light fruit, hay, wood, oak, grapefruit, and sour wood .. this beer is so amazingly easy to drink and so complex at the same time, even the drops from the bottle a week later are amazing, what an experience and what a masterpiece of brewing and blending!! .. . Look at her. Isn't she perfect?

Well, I wouldn't say perfect. I mean, look at the size of her head. She must be enormous... But easy to find.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 10

Quite a gusher, half a second after popping the cork it starts to gush up and out. Luckily my glass was nearby so I didn't really lose any beer. I wasn't even able to get three fingers of beer into my tulip glass before it was full of foam though. The head is a light tan color and it sits on top of a lightly hazy, orangish tinged, light amber colored brew. As the head slowly subsides it produces spotty lacing patterns on the sides of my glass. The aroma is sharp and acidic with a substantial funkiness to it. The tart aromatics are certainly not one dimensional either, it is a mix of lactic, acetic and other funky acids. This smells of ripe cheese (more emmental than cheddar), plus it has a backdrop of funky, more farmhouse cheese notes. This has a substantial barnyard Brettanomyces influence here; goaty, sweaty, with lots of fungal woody notes. Speaking of wood, this seems to be much more wood influenced than your typical Lambic, it is spicy and almost has a cedar like note to it. If you really dig for them, there are still some noticeable grain notes here; these notes are in the finish and are dry, with a distinct character of fresh crushed wheat berries.

The beer is quite well carbonated, which adds a wonderful texture to this brew. It dances across the tongue in a light, airy manner, yet still has a fullness to it that keeps it from being anything near watery. Sharp and acidic, yet not over the top in it tartness; lactic acid notes form the larges component of the sourness, but there is flavors of lemons, sour grapefruit and a hint of acetic acid notes that help to round things out. In the finish there is a woody component that seems to provide some tannic structure as well as some light oaky spiciness. I like that body that this brew has, overall it is light and drinkable, but there is some influence here (tannins from the barrel seem the likely source) that provides this with a certain viscosity and heft that allows for a greater palate presence. The texture actually provides a really nice balance to the tartness, it almost mimics a sweetness in some ways, but most definitely keeps the sourness in check. The wild barnyard funkiness is not as noticeable as it was in the aroma, but still does contribute with notes of woody mushroom, lightly phenolic soaked cotton balls, some fermented bread like yeast character. Funky, phenolics & esters provide a sharpness to the middle of this brew all the while coupling with a substantive astringency. A flavor that is reminiscent of tart grapefruit becomes more noticeable as the beer warms up and overall the beer becomes much rounder and balanced.

This is eminently drinkable, the extra carbonation and slightly greater complexity (especially in the aroma), make me understand why this is better rated than its partner. I am especially relieved to get a Gueuze with actual Gueuze like carbonation levels, though this one might have been a wee bit overdone. The carbonation really is such a defining characteristic of a good Gueuze as it helps to bring to life so much of the aromas and flavors of the brew.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

PP Strong Ale Fest 07. Bottle, 6-9-2003 from JohnC. THANKS.. This Lambic-Gueze pours a deep orange gold color from a 750ml bottle. Large sized white foamy head, good retention and excellent lacing. Aroma is fruity, tart and sweet, funky and fruity. A medium bodied Gueze. The malts are fruity and sweet. There is a ton of funkiness, tartness, and sourness going on here. Yet it all stays balanced and clean. This beer is loaded with very complex flavors combinations, the interplay between the tart and sweet is amazing. WOW. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is crisp, dry and tart. Aftertaste is tart and sour, but clean.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Hazy orange colour, big creamy white head. Aroma is big sourness and earth along with some wooden hints. Flavour is very sour along with wooden hints. Big sourness in aftertaste. Really pleasant and lovely thing.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Hazy orange colour. White fluffy head. Frresh aroma of hay and grapefruit. Grapefruit and lemon-peels in flavour with a strong barnyard character. Fruity dry finish of grapefruit and hay.