Schoune Gueuze La Spontanée 2005
Ferme Brasserie Schoune

 

Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a hazy yellow color with a white head. The aroma is lemons and wheat with a little bit of barnyard funk. I also get some cocoa in the aroma, which is very unexpected.

The flavor is tart lemons and oranges with some barnyard elements. The cocoa that was in the aroma is also present in the flavor, very odd. More funky than sour.

Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

A very nice gueuze.

Thanks for sharing this obscurity, Nathan.

Pouring clear with a dense white head with excellent retention and lacing, this is one good looking beer. The nose, OTOH, is weird. My first descriptor was a blend of mangoes and diarrhea, but with time, the aroma of shit faded (I honestly can't believe I just typed that), leaving a mostly tropical fruit (mango) with moderate sweetness, a little tartness and no funk. More like a fruit beer than a gueuze, this beer opens with a rather big sweetness along with a rather prominent mango nose. The mango character isn't particularly fresh either, rather like a dried mango. Rather sweet, there's a rather dull, oxidized malt character. sweet on the finish with a little tartness, this is rather awful as a gueuze, but is strangely compelling. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and a rather sweet finish, this is decent.

This beer fails in every possible category, but it strangely did not disappoint me as much as I thought it would. I did drink my pour and might have gone back for seconds, but the precious nectar that was Beatification beckoned.

750mL 2005 vintage poured into 4oz sniffer

Appearance: Pours a cloudy golden/peach colour producing a nice fluffy white head. Plenty of carbonation with little lacing on the glass.

Nose: Green apples, hints of tangerine & slight barnyard/wet horse blanket that grew as the beer warmed up.

Taste: Apple tartness and hints of sourness in the forefront, brilliant yeast notes. I'm already wishing I had some Stilton!

Mouthfeel: Effervescent, crisp, slightly thin (probably due to the Brett yeasts). Excellent tartness (Latic Acid) on the back end and finished very dry.

Drinkability: A very nice showing indeed, and I was very surprised to see a Canadian Gueze! I would love to find more and think this would make an excellent food pairing beer.

Cuvee 2005 bought at La Trappe a Fromage in Gatineau. Worried about how it's held up. Pours an effervescent peach (love the colour) with a finger thick head that quickly settles to a tight film. Quite attractive. Some flakes of sediment.

Aroma is mostly apple. A traditional cider. Tart with a barnyard aroma in the periphery.

Tart Granny Smith apple, bordering on sour, right up front. Reisling-like grape character takes center place with drying yeast flavours darting in. Horseblanket makes a last minute experience before crisp hopping cuts things off and prepares the mouth for the next sip.

Nice mouthfeel. Highly carbonated but not bubbly, just a steady crispness. Light and quenching in the finish.

Highly drinkable. It's been awhile since I've had a Gueze so hopefully my judgement wasn't too clouded.

Cellared since 2006, served in a Duvel tulip glass.

Pour a golden yellow, lots of head but dissipates down to a consistent film that stays during the whole experience.

Aroma, some spice, some trademark "schoune" house yeast esters and phenols. Also present was a light apple scent and a musty biological scent.

Flavor of slightly oxidized malt and a fair amount of schoune yeast caracter. Quite tart but not overly so. Sour apples, accidic wines (alsase or vinho verde) come to mind as well.

This ale survived its journey well. I would seak out and buy those random leftover bottles in corner stores.

Bottle: Poured a pale yellow color beer with a very small bubbly white head with no retention. Aroma of slightly sour with some farmhouse funkiness buried in the back. Taste is quite awful with a strong watery feel and some sourness but clearly not enough to call this a real gueuze. Carbonation is so low that I had to go back and convince myself that it was actually a gueuze. Body is also defiantly too thin for the style. The only reason I am not rating this beer any lower is that I can feel some (thought not enough) farmhouse funkyness, which make me think that there is something to do with this beer if the brewer has enough ability and willingness.