Oude Geuze Coigneau
Brouwerij Boon

 

 

 

what i assume to be a rare boon bottle, large format, bottled in 2023, scored collecting dust on a little shop in scotland, lucky me! never heard of this one before, but i believe its done with a resurrected ancient hop varietal that it takes its name from, and this is uniquely hop forward for this style, an absolutely stunning bottle of lambic that is truly special, one of my favorites in ages in this style. pretty honey color on it, fizzy and giving rise to a tall bubbly white head, but like champagne it relaxes back quickly, light haze to this, lots of bubbles though and very well conditioned. the nose is profound, sweet and sour at the same time, woody and old but also bright and fresh, less of the isovaleric aged hop thing, more of a fresh herbal thing there, making this distinct from other blended lambic right away, and the funk from fermentation, not from hops, stands out in this. subtle candied lemon, white wine vinegar, fresh apricot, marigold and daffodil, confectionary sugar and honey, piquant bacterial tang, old brett, green glass stink in a good way, white pepper and mellow licorice, raw wheat apparent, light toast, summery white wine, green gooseberry and green apple, caper and olive, and some alcohol too, unimaginably complex. the flavor is just as dynamic, sweeter and heavier up front, more grain and wood, later its more sour and funky, with the hops floating from elderflower and apple blossom to straw and peppery at the end, trace bitterness but this isnt about that. strong white wine, unique esters of pear and even like ginger or something, the perception of sweetness to the senses but its not actually sugary, a sort of brassy minerality to it which lingers, tart but not overly acidic on the palate, super funky and wild, recognizable as boon lambic but very distinctive overall. these hops impart very unique fruity and botanical notes to an already lovely base blend, and this is way up there for me in the boon portfolio. one of a kind, surprisingly not talked about more, about as good as it gets! a beer i will not soon forget. man i hope i get to have this again someday...