Help! Lambics / Gueuze / Sour / Wild Ale / etc

Thanks for the information about Cuvee Rene. Been more than a year since I had one and you've just saved me the price of finding out the hard way that Lindemans has chosen yet again to convert their traditionally brewed beer into what is for me a non-starter when it is bottled under their own name.

As I said in the post that led to this subthread, for me its a personal choice as to how I modify the classification of beers in my head and develop my understanding of the world of beer with full recognition of the fact that others may not agree. If there are inconsistencies in what is basically an arbitrary taxonomy in the first place, well, such is life.

 

Since when? Link?

 

Jester King has a coolship and started using it in February.

 

Just go to a sourfest.

 

Sweet, looking forward to seeing how those beers develop.

 

This is bad news for me. I just bought a bottle yesterday to try it out, thinking it was non-sweetened. Mine says it was bottled on May 17, 2011. Was this before or after they started sweetening it?

 

I drank it and it was a very decent geuze. Sure it wasn't the best I've ever had but certainly good for the price. I did not detect any sweetness whatsoever. And Acesulfame Potassium doesn't seem like something that would get eaten up by any in bottle fermentation, since it's not a true sugar. So I'm calling BS on this.

 

I would recommend Duchesse and Rodenbach Grand Cru as excellent readily available beers in the style. I would definitely NOT recommend Jolly Pumpkin. They are very unbalanced, one dimensional beers.

 

who distributes? i had it on top at brasserie v in madison, wi last weekend and fell in love! very, very good.

 

It's imported by Artisanal Imports, and I wanna say it's distributed by River North in the general Chicagoland area (I could be wrong), but I couldn't tell ya beyond that...

 

$5.49 is what a 375mL bottle of Lindemans Cuvee Rene goes for in Texas. $10.49 for 750mL.

 

To the "is Lindeman's a 'real' lambic" conversation: no. Except for cuvee Rene they don't make "traditional" lambics, because traditional lambics don't use sweeteners, artificial or natural. Don't ever make the mistake of telling a traditional lambic brewer that his beers are sweet! They are "fruity," but by god, not sweet! The good people at Cantillon make it a point to make both distinctions (between traditional and artificial, and fruity and sweet) clear, and by their definition (which I am in agreement with) Lindemans beers should not be categorized as lambics. It is true that Drie Fonteinen (and other) real lambic brewers blend with Lindemans SOMETIMES, but they blend BEFORE the beer has been artificially infused with Sweet-Tart sugars.

 

Agree pretty much 100%. And, while I applaud Rivertowne for making a lambic and a gueuze, please, please, please do not judge the style on the Rivertown, Jolly Pumpkin or most other examples. In fact, in my opinion (and despite the fact that you may like a Rivertown or a Jolly Pumpkin over all others for your taste) I would try one of the traditional lambic and/or gueuze producers to try to get some kind of "historic standard" (yes, my words admittedly) and so that you can see what "the real deal" tastes like. Gueuze Tilquiin, as most have said, is relatively new on the American scene and a great example. It seems to be pretty readily available.

I'm all for trying the American versions of gueuzes and lambics. However, while everyone is entitled to their own taste, everyone should also make an informed decision and give themselves some kind of standard from which to judge their experiences. Try one (or more) of the primary Belgian producers. This is one of the very few times where I can say that, as a general rule, the Belgians just have it down. (And, just so it's known....I'm a guy that thinks at the current time America is producing the best and most creative beer on the planet and the Europeans, Belgians included, are actually looking to us for influence. But not on the gueuze and lambics). JMO

 

Many people will tell you that you should start with this or that as if you need training to approach sours. If you would give your 5 year old a gueuze he would slop it up. The simple fact is that they are delicious. Hobbyists, as I mentioned, will ask you to put training wheels on. Those folk have delusions about what beer is. The sorts who collect, dissect and give beer a bad name.

Walk into your local or not so local shops and ask what sours they have. Then determine if you want spend that much or not.

Petrus blows. That's my only warning.

 

$9?!?!? I haven't seen La Roja for less than $14 in several years.

 

$10 for a 375ml 3F Geuze is pretty standard. The "Golden Blend" is usually about twice that, and truly fantastic. There's a lot of debate on aging Gueuzes -- one school of thought is that it's already a blend of aged beers; the brewer/blender has done the cellaring for you and given you something they think is perfect to drink now. That said, you can't turn around on this site without running into someone that's trying to find or age a gueuze for decades.

 

Order some bottles from Cascade and you won't be disappointed, everything they do, everything, is amazing.
Or trade for some Russian River sours, or as I call them "beer treats" one of the reasons I love being from California, RR is almost always available.

And you being from Colorado I would visit Crooked stave, another brewery producing amazing sours/blends. Haven't had a thing from them less than stellar.

Love me some SOURS!!!

 

While I do love some Cascade (Apricot, thanks), I don't think of them as a good introduction to sours -- they tend to be way up on the ABV and some of them (Port, Bottleworks, etc) can be big, sweet/sour barrel-aged messes.

Russian River is a bit of an outlier too, Consecration is 10%, Supplication is really quite sour... Love both beers but not what I'd suggest as introductory. Temptation -- well, I don't think even I can find anything negative to say about that one.

 

Yeah I may have got ahead of myself. Been drinking and basically just suggested what I like.

Abv has never been a big deal to me, cuz I'm not guzzling, I enjoy my beer and know when, is when. The abv is why I love consecration, you only need a bottle. You think supplication is overly sour huh? man I think it's spot on, one of the best cherried sours. Now beatification, that's sour