Have been trading a bit recently and have amassed 6 Loons: Fou, LPF, Rose, Iris, Kriek 100% and Gueuze 100%. I know I can check out the ratings and reviews for how they are tasting but I wanted to start a discussion on: 1) What was the oldest Loon you've ever tasted? 2) Do some drink far better fresh? Say Iris with its Dry Hop additions? 3) Peak tasting for these as well as other Loons not listed? Appreciate the insight and hope to start a discussion since I definitely plan on bringing in the New Year with at least one of them. Cheers!
Aged beer is entirely a personal preference. You would really have to take good tasting notes to decide for yourself what you like best. Unfortunately with more difficult to obtain beers it's hard to have a reserve stash of sufficient quantity unless you have a fairly disposable income. Another grey area is the wild nature of the yeast, how they live in each bottle could be different. The other variable of aging a beer is the condition of the cap and cork. Cork is a natural material, so one bottle might have more oxygen exchange than another. So the three year old bottle might be different from the same lot you purchased A good cap can hold for years. My favorite vintage beer believe it or not was a bottle of Budweiser. Although it was oxidized heavily, I could still taste real European noble hops and it brought a smile to my face. As for the Iris...I would say drink it fresh if you want to have the upfront spicy character from the hops. Age it awhile if you want it to mellow out, but even then it might taste exactly as you remembered. It real boils down to how much oxidization you feel enhances a particular beer. Many years ago we had a holiday tasting. A man generously donated three bottles of Hair of the Dog Fred magnum sized bottles. The first bottle being the youngest made the same year of the testing. The other two bottles were twelve years old. Oddly enough one bottle didn't really taste any different but one bottle most people thought was too oxidized to be enjoyed.
I just looked at Iris and I think you're right on with those thoughts. The description on their website makes it sound like it's not really a "true" lambic if that makes any sense.
What makes it not "true" is that there is no Wheat used in brewing, only barley. Iris ages wonderfully. Really really wonderfully. It's also awesome fresh!
1) 19 year old (1995) Kriek. 2) With the exception of the Grand Cru Bruocsella, I like them all both ways. 3) Personal preference but: -- Within 1 Year of Bottling: Lou Pepe Kriek & Framb Blåbær Fou Foune -- Within 3 Years of Bottling: Kriek Rose de Gambrinus Mamouche Fou Foune (yeah, I know, sue me) -- Within 5 Years of bottling: Iris 50N -- Let you know when I find a limit: Gueuze (LP, Standard) St Lamvinus Vigneronne Iris (yeah yeah...) -- *AFTER* at least 3 years Grand Cru Bruocsella
Is Fou Foune typically drank sooner rather than later? I have a '15 coming and I happened to get married this year which is why my intention would be to let this one rest til 2020. Is that sacrilege?! Sounds like if Im going to put a dent in some/few, start with the Rose/Kriek/Fram and let the Gueuze/Iris stay put for a while. Don't know what it is about these particular bottles but when I have one in my hands I feel like I should have bubble wrap on the floor just in case I drop it because its just so precious of a thing. Also get the feeling that I should wait for only special occasions to drink them.
Fresh Fou Foune is a thing of wonder. Soft, round, jammy... so awesome. The punch you in the nose apricot aroma fades pretty quickly (12-18mo drops off a ton) and you're left with a much different beer. One of my friends is a total Fou addict and he likes it in the 18-24mo range best. 5 years... I would really recommend against it if you've never had Fou Foune before but hey -- it's unlikely to ruin it. I've got a bottle of 2010 that ended up in the "too special" pile and now might be a little past it's prime but I'm sure as hell going to drink it! The beers without fruit age more gracefully than those with but I can't stress enough that it's all a matter of personal preference.
It's amazing what ends up in the "too special" pile and then lost in time! Maybe well celebrate our one year with Fou instead and save the Gueuze for 5.
I had a 2011 FF last weekend that was amazing. We did a side by side with 2015 and the 11 won by a mile. Apricot was still present but the funk had turned up deliciously so! I'm now looking for the oldest FF I can get! Oldest one I've had was only an '09 LPK, waaaay to sour. Any of the LP fruits were better fresh IMO. Older Iris was my preference (oldest tried being a 2013) vs fresh. Rose was amazing fresh, too sour after a year.
So I drank my '15 and am so glad I did. It was juicy, enough acidity has developed, bright, and whoever said round (atpca) I'm not sure what that means but I agree. It was definitely the best choice for my first Cantillon. It did take me two days to decide which one I wanted to drink on New Years though, labor of love haha. Next up which should I drink out of Iris, 100% Gueuze, 100% Kriek, LPF and Rose. They will all be a year old by the time I decide to drink one. I think it might be neat to hold on to one for a long time just deciding which one... Good problem to have I guess. Leaning towards saving the LPF for the long haul.
I drank a 2014 recently and it was right at about that 18 month age. Phenomenal, the best Fou has tasted to me. It's great fresh and the apricot really shines, but I feel like it can be lacking a little in lambic complexity. But at 18 months, there was still plenty of fruit flavors and more funk and other good stuff going on. Everything was perfectly in sync. I also drank a 2012 back in December and would say that is a little more age than I'd prefer. Still great.
Oldest I've had is a 2002 sticker LPF. Way too tart and acidic. Not sure the how well it was stored and if that played a factor. I've heard LPG does much better with long-term aging.
Anything with fruit or dry hops is designed to be had fresh, is my understanding, but, I think they have an expansive definition of fresh. I've never felt terribly robbed of fruit after a year and change, on those. I'd still go "fresh" on the Iris but I agree that a little hop fade is an acceptable sacrifice for the lovely rounding off of what is otherwise a robust gueuze. But I don't go out of my way aging any of those because I have a stock of gueuzes and lambics. I've had up around 10 years out of my cellar, fantastic. I might've bought something older once or twice. I love it young, too.
For my personal tastes, while I love most of the one offs and seasonals I've had, nothing beats the base Gueuze. Last weekend I went to a bar in Stockholm that had a vast selection. Had the '01 and '02 Gueuze and they were both fantastic but remarkably different (that '02 is the best lambic I've ever had). Both were far better than any recent vintage I've tried. Is that a product of cellaring or differences in the spontenaity - who knows? But it was enough to convince me to put my 750s away for a long, long time. Hope that helps.
Chiming in with my preferences. From what I've experienced the only fruited ones that age well are cherries and grapes. Non fruited ones seem to all age well. RdG fruit fades after 2-3 years. Kriek develops nicely and gets more sour (matter of preference). FF fresh as possible... the difference between a couple of years and a couple of months was pretty big. Iris actually develops nicely even though you'd think a hopped sour would only be good fresh. Vig and St Lam age just fine as well, even a 1999 Vig was drinkable (probably peaks some time before that though). Had a 2003 Lou Pepe Gueuze, that and Classic Gueuze you can probably age forever. I never super liked Grand Cru even aged a long time but I imagine if you're a fan of it you'll like it more with age. CdSG will be an interesting one to age.
