So it appears that boon has three levels for their gueuze and kriek. The standards at 5-6% abv, the oude at 6.5%, and the mariage parfait at 8%. Does anybody know what the main difference is between these beers? Is it just the age? Does anybody know how/why the mariage parfait line is at 8%? That seems like a pretty high abv for a lambic. In fact it is the highest abv beer under the gueuze style.
The regular kriek and framboise are sweetened, which is the main difference. There is no standard gueze for Boon, only the old "oude" which by definition must have blends of old and young lambic, some of which must be at least three years old, with an overall average age of 1 year in the barrel. For Marriage Parfiat, Boon uses almost entirely 3yr old lambic, with just enough young for carbonation, etc. As for the differences in strength, my guess would be that the original gravity of the beer is higher. It could also be that it's the same base beer, but the added maturity has caused greater attenuation, though I believe both are pretty close to 99-100% as it is. Anyone else got ideas?
This is the standard gueuze. Never seen it in a store before, but its a different label/abv than the oude
I don't see any mention of the standard geuze on Boon's site, so aside from a change in labeling I guess the only difference would be the ages of the lambic in the bottle.
