Grains De Folie: Triple Gueuze
La Brasserie de Fleurac

33cl brown bottle purchased and consumed at Brewberry in Paris. They call this a gueuze, so I'll classify it as such here, although that description would make the brewers of Cantillon or Tilquin more than a little uncomfortable.

Indeed, it pours a ruddy hazed brown colour, immediately clearly not a gueuze, with a thin fine head of off-white fed by aggressive carbonation. Body is fairly light with fine but weak streams of carbonation. No lacing. It doesn't look that bad, but it's clear from the offset that this is a very liberal interpretation of a gueuze.

Nose is fairly good, however. Solid tart backbone, with a vinous quality that makes it smell more like a Flanders Red. Bit of oaky barrel character and a little vegetative sharpness. It doesn't have the plasticky funk of a real gueuze—this follows more the vinous, grape and cherry route. Very pleasant though.

Taste is similar. Very vinous entry, more cherry and oak with tannic characters coming through strongly in the middle. Acidity comes through on the back, mingling with the tannins makes it slightly bitter and crisp. Barrel notes noticeable towards the back as well. The crispness helps punctuate the ending, even as the tannins roll on. Très bien.

Feel is full and round, but light, and with a crispness from the acidity.

Overall, this is a very nice beer. It's not as good as a true gueuze, but the tartness is nicely realised, and it's a fairly smooth, well-blended package all up.