Hassens Oude Gueuze

Brewer : Hanssens (Belgium)
Style : Gueuze/Lambic
ABV : 6%

For those of you who stumble across this silly little beer blog and have no idea what I'm talking about when I use the  word "gueuze" let me take a minute to  explain.

Gueuze is a blend of young and old lambic. The yeasts are rejuvenated and carbonation ensues. The old lambic is more refined in character and helps take some of the edge off of the young lambic. The hops used are old, and act only as a preservative, so hop character is not a part of the style. The wild yeasts not only ferment and sour the beer, but they bring the funky, unpredictable flavours that characterize all lambic beers. A quality gueuze will be blended to eliminate some of the less desirable flavours. Above all else, a gueuze should be sour and very complex. The best examples are the most complex beers in the world, and put most champagnes to shame as well. The finish should be bone dry.

This definition was taken from the Ratebeer site, not straight from my head. I'm no beer geek by any means. 

I can't say that I've gone to a beer store with the intentions of buying one of these tasty drinks, but I was on a mission to pick up a bunch of sour beers this Saturday and I wanted to throw a little something different into the mix. I'm glad that I did.

This was a pretty intense, sour, funky beer (if you can even call it that). It has a lot of  fruity qualities and a lot of sour qualities as well. The funky sour taste was intense, making my cheeks pucker with each sip, and the tangy fruit flavors had me coming back for more.  I wasn't sharing this one with anybody, plus no one I was with could probably stomach it. I'll be touching this style of gueuze again for sure. 

Grade A

Song of the Day : Brad Paisley---Cliffs of Rock City