Gueuze Tilquin 60-40
Gueuzerie Tilquin

 

Bottle: Poured a golden color gueuze with a medium foamy head with limited retention and lacing. Aroma of tart notes with some green apple notes, oak and some barnyard notes. Taste is also a good mix of tart notes with some oak, some tart green apple notes, oak with barnyard notes and a light sour finish with hints of acidity. Body is about average with good carbonation. A really enjoyable gueuze with a good drinkability level.

I really love this style of beer. But this is underwhelming. It tastes flat.
Little bits of funk and goodness. But I feel like it’s a bit off.

 

never seen or heard of this before i snagged one in a little bottle shop on our trip to scotland, neat they did the 60-40 and the 40-60, which i guess i still need to track down, reverse proportion blends of one and two year old lambics, more of the younger in this one if i am understanding it right. this is from 2023/2024, so not old as lambic goes, but very mature, super impressive overall, probably more of the young one than ive had in other blends of theirs, so unique in that way too. lightly rusty orange in our flat bottomed white wine glasses, and sporting a fill inch of pure white airy head on top of the slightly frosted looking base beer, gorgeous and alive. the nose is bright and tart, clean white vinegar, musty basement funk at the same time, and a ton of cool fruitiness from dried apple and apricot to champagne grapes and zested navel orange, wow, really funky too, fills the outside air wild lambic weirdness, very fermenty, sourer than expected it seems, and my mouth watered like crazy to taste it. high minerality and more oak than anticipated in the flavor, this doesnt seem so young really, and there is a sharper acidity than i am used to from tilquin, but its not limiting as its only there for a flash on the swallow. some wheaty grain structure beefs this up a little, as does some pleasant and mild residual sugar, notes of marmalade and dried apricot meet aged hop herbal funk, light cheesiness, and a hard cider aspect as well. lovely carbonation to this, lots of funk as it warms, honey, wildflowers, white grapes, bigtime tannins, each sip brings something a little different. a very distinguished blend, will likely age extremely well, wish i could find another one to hold awhile. i always jump when i see new to me beers from these guys, and this did not disappoint. a fun and special one to share with my brother while he is in town. going to be a fun weekend of drinking beers together! highly recommend this to the lambic nerd, the higher proportion of young lambic in the blend makes it unlike others, a different side of their fermentation profile on display for sure, fantastic!

Gueuzerie Tilquin "Gueuze Tilquin 60-40"
375 ml green glass bottle, corked & caged, "Best before: 07/02/2034"
$10.99 @ Total Wine & More, Claymont, DE

Notes via stream of consciousness: Note: The Gueuze Tilquin 60-40 is made from a blend of 60% 1-year old and 40% 2-year old lambic. It's matured in oak barrels, and unfiltered and unpasteurized. There's also a 40-60 with a golden label that I'm assuming is just the opposite, and with a little less character. The cork came out quite easily, and it poured rather clearly. Looking down into the bottle there's not a lot of lees. It's a clear golden beneath a short head of creamy white foam. It smells like brettanomyces to me without even lifting the glass. It's clearly oaky, and backed by "horse blanket" and "barnyard". On to the taste... as is usually the case, the flavor follows the aroma. The oak is there, and lends it some dryness in addition to its acidity. It's not that sour. I wonder what the pH is on this but I don't have a pH meter with me. The brettanomyces bruxellensis delivers the "horse blanket" and "barnyard" along with some dustiness, grassiness, dried pine needles, dry leather, and some metallic character. It's quite refined, and about as smooth as a gueuze can be. I'm also surprised that it's maintained its head but again, it's not as tart as some gueuze that I've tasted in the past. In the mouth it's light-medium in body and mildly zesty with a very fine-bubbled carbonation and acidity. This is a joy to drink. It's perfectly balanced with a good amount of character and no harsh edges. It's one of the best gueuze that I've ever tasted, and I'm certainly going to call it world class.
Review #9,238