Cuvée René...thoughts?

Not really, it depends a lot on the vintage. For the last few years Armand has used a large amount of Lindemans lambic in his Oude Gueuze. And they've been delicious.

He is of course a master blender, and he does use other lambics in varying amounts, but seriously Lindemans is much better than people on BA give it credit for. Cuvee Rene and Cuvee Rene Kriek are absolute steals.

 

What 3F gueuzes don't use any Lindemans?


750s of cuvee rene are priced quite nicely, but the 375s arent that much cheaper than the better stuff like Hanssens

 

Cuve rene are great and a fantastic price. I approve of this beer.

 

The only geuze I've ever had, since for some reason there aren't that many available in Florida, and I'm not willing to pay anything ridiculous. It is tasty. For sour beers I will always get either this or Rodenbach.

 

I have mixed feelings about it. I bought a shit ton of it for the cellar because it was cheap but if I could go back I would have spent the same money on half as many 3F/Girardin/Cantillon/Hanssens. Its good gueuze but when I recently split one with a friend I said "This is the cheapest real gueuze you can buy". He said "Tastes cheap". Its really good for steaming mussels and good for drinking, its just not as good as the others.

 

Not as good as other gueuzes but for it's price and availability it's hard to beat.

 

Not for a couple of years now, since the thermostat problem. But word on the street is he may have recovered enough financially to go back to doing some brewing again.

 

No, Natty Light tastes cheap.

 

Cuvee Rene is good for what it is, but like a couple of others have mentioned, I find it to have a harsh edge on it the others (Cantillon, 3F, Tilquin, Girardin, etc) don't have

 

Please tell me where you are shopping if Girardin Black Label is easy to find... LOL Nowhere to be found around here for a while now and freaking delicious. A Belgian friend in the know told me a while back that Girardin production was minimal at this point and to basically stock up.

 

You are right some of the best Armand blends recently have used a large amount of Lindemans lambic. The DHVL 20th is a majority of Lindemans and that is bit young but great stuff. It must be in the blending though. I have never had a bottle of Cueve Rene that has come close to some to the recent Armand stuff. I find the Cueve Rene pretty middle of the road to be honest. Honestly I don't drink Lambic everyday or even once a week. When I do I would rather pay the extra money and drink something real good not middle of the road. I would take a Boon MP any day of the week over a Cueve Rene.

 

I had an 05 over the summer, and it was something else. Around here, I typically see them with about two years on them, some up to five.

 

Incredibly under-appreciated (as opposed to underrated...which it isn't).

I know that a lot of people are skeptical as to how it ages, but the best bottle that I've ever had was from the mid-90's....



Also, Cuvee Rene Kriek is really nice as well.

 

When I spoke to Pierre, he mentioned that his blends are produced from 3F, Cantillon and Boon lambic. He is the only blender (to my knowledge) to whom Cantillon sells lambic. He also worked for a time at both 3F and Cantillon.

Armand currently blends using Lindemans, Boon and Girardin lambic.

-Kevin.

 

Not to threadjack, but this is true. After the disaster, he sold all of his brewing equipment to pay invoices.

He survived only through the generosity and lambic/gueuze community ties that he has with Lindemans and Boon.

At this point, his new brewery is installed and just about ready to go (saw it myself). Since it is lambic brewing season now, I expect he's tried it out (or will shortly). It's a great return for him, but since the new stuff is all up to current EU codes (i.e., no copper in the kettle or koelschip, closed mash tun), it may take him some time to get back to where he wants to be.

Please BM if you want more information.

-Kevin.

 

This is an older article but says "We buy wort from Boon, Cantillon, Girardin, and Lindemans, and put them in our barrels here." Probably would use Drie Fonteinen once Armand is brewing again, that is if Armand isn't using it all himself to build up supply.

http://belgianbeerspecialist.blogspot.com/2011/05/gueuzerie-tilquin.html

 

I too have had excellent vintage bottles. I don't think that this due to the aging processes however. I have been told by old school lambic people that the quality of the wort and blending was much better on Cueve Rene back in the day and that that the wort/blending in the 2000's was not as good. In effect it was a better product back in 1994 and therefore tastes better now, not that it developed that way in the bottle. This may be changing going forward as as many have stated above that the quality Lindeman's wort has improved dramatically in the last couple of years. Maybe if Lindeman's can get the blending of there wort right... Easier said than done though.

 

The question is, if you had not led in with the "this is the cheapest" comment, would he have said that. I'd bet anything he wouldn't have.