Blind Gueuze Tasting

Thanks a lot for sharing. Good stuff.

 

Really well done! One of the better/more thorough gueuze tastings I've seen. I share your opinion on the Hanssens. They've always leaned more acetic than I care for, but the 2015 is great. I had a 2014 within a couple days of the 2015, and the 2014 was definitely more acetic (with the variable of age, of course, but still). I'm also an Oud Beersel fan.

Batch variation is always a thing to consider (with this style especially), but in my experience, the best bottles of Cantillon have been amazing, the worst heading towards undrinkable. 3F at it's best is equally (if not more so) amazing, but at it's worst is still perfectly pleasant, perhaps if anything just a tad boring.

 

Glad to hear that the De Troch faired so well. Their Oude Gueuze is now getting distro across the U.S. (2014 just hit CA at the end of last year).

 

Great write-up and great lineup!
I've done a few blind Gueuze tastings before, not to this level, and I find that Drie Fonteinen always comes out on top, even with people not familiar with the style. The 3F golden blend is top notch and the best Gueuze (maybe overall beer?) I've had in the last year or so, just a tab on the expensive side though.

 

I can't imagine how anyone's taste buds could accurately taste 18 beers...let along gueuze. After just 4 or 5, I would think your ability to taste would fall off very quickly. The acidity just overwhelms the palate after a couple glasses. Were these really small samples?

 

I love posts like these. Thanks for putting in the effort and sharing. Not sure how relevant it will be to my future drinking pursuits, but I always find these sorts of posts informative and fascinating to read.

Speaking of fascinating, the most intriguing thing to me was reading about the Lou Pepe as divisive. I've never done a blind tasting, so take this for what you will, but I personally prefer the standard Cantillon gueuze to the Lou Pepe version. LP seemed "mild", for lack of a better term. I expected more complexity and depth of flavor, but it never really materialized. Don't get me wrong--it's, by nature, a complex, flavorful beer, but not particularly moreso than the regular gueuze. And especially not enough to be worth the considerable price increase. It's entirely possible that I simply prefer my gueuze fairly young.

Tilquin is an interesting case study, because unlike 3F and Cantillon, they don't ferment/brew their own beer. They purchase and blend it, if I understand correctly. I'm sure there are others within your tasting list that do the same, but I'm aware of that fact for Tilquin in part because they use Cantillon lambic in their blends.

My primary issue with Hanssons has always been inconsistency. I've had some bottles (and I'm talking about across their portfolio, not just the gueuze) that were amazing and others that I didn't want to finish. I've wanted to come back to them many a time, but I'm loathe to throw $12 at a single beer that I may not want to finish. But I agree--even the good ones have that vinegar quality to them. Which I like in the right amount.

Lastly, I think I may no longer be terribly interested in finding a DDG. I think I'm grateful ;-)

 

Thanks for the recap! Fun stuff!

No shocker that Golden blend took the prize. I think the latest batch is one of best gueuze I've tried. A+

 

Armand is a blender as well

 

They rebuilt their brewery back in 2013, so most of their lambic is once again their own. Don't know if they are brewing all of what is going into their barrels, but I'd imagine that at this point it is at least most of it.

 

Keep a look out for their Oude Kriek, which just landed in the US. Only 250 cases made it stateside, it is the first Oude Kriek they have made in 30 years.

 

I was always under the impression that their own lambic made up the majority of their blend, but I have never gotten any concrete info on it. I guess "most" was probably an overstatement.

 

This is excellent, thanks for sharing.

So I've had Lindemann's, Boon and Tilquin as we've found on store shelves and I loved them all. What is the means to acquire Drie Fonteinen? Do they sell in US? Not sure I've seen these stateside, unless the name just doesn't ring a bell. Cantillon I know is nearly impossible to find stateside anywhere unless you go to an exclusive craft bar and pay big bucks.