Cuvée René...thoughts?

That's really interesting. This thread had me thinking I should pick up a few, but I probably haven't had it this millenium.

 

Great beer....especially for the price.

 

I'm a lambic/gueuze noob, I had one for the first time the other day. It was pretty good - definitely not as sour as I thought it would be (which may or may not be a good thing). Nice amount of tartness, a touch of bitterness, and a bunch of sweetness. Lots of carbonation, too. Had a funky smell; musky, fruity, slightly sulfuric. It was kind of strange, but not necessarily in a bad way, it was just different. I would definitely like to try more of the style since I basically have nothing to compare to.

 

I like this beer, especially when comparing prices. It aslo saddens me to know that Lindemans is (IMO) destroying a good product by adding all of that syrup, when their beer has such potential.

There are a few good gueuze that don't have the hype around them that should be easier to find and a little cheaper than the 3 you mentioned, Hanssens oude gueuze, Timmermans, Girardin black label, and St. Louis Gueuze Fond tradition

 

Of course he wouldn't, he was just being a dick.

 

Try Boon Mariage Parfait next amigo. It's around here in mass (not 100% sure in MI). It's a far superior Gueuze and not much more expensive than the Cueve Rene around here. Like night and day.

 

One note of caution on Boon...across his entire product line, he's moving to a sweeter finished product. It's more noticeable in some beers than others.

The van 't vat Kriek I had at the cafe at De Cam a few weeks back was a pale shadow of what I remember drinking in the past. Likewise a 2010 MP that we drank recently as compared to a 2003 (both in bottles). My conversations with brewers in Belgium confirmed that they noticed it as well. That said, they indicated that the quality of lambic he provides to other blenders is not changing.

Apparently, as his production levels get higher and his market broadens, he needs to appeal to a wider audience to support the business as a whole. He's not going the full on syrup route like Lindemans for their fruit lambics, but there is change afoot. Of course, your mileage may vary.

-Kevin.

 

Yeah, most of the time it just sits on shelves here. I always grab a bottle when I can't find anything else that I want to try.

 

Thanks Kevin. Love the Eddie avitar BTW.

Good to know about Boon. What you are talking is very applicable to Lindemans also and proably most of the Lambic producers to be honest. Lambic producers have faced a tough road in the recent past. In many cases sacrafices and tough decisions needed to be made to stay in buisiness. Corners were cut in ingredients. Sweetners were added to fruit beers. Decrease the cost in production and you can selll it at a lower price point and sell more. Dumb down the product with sweetners to make it more appealing to masses and you will sell more lambic within Belgium and have a chance to keep brewing. There is a Banana lambic for christs sake!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. The increase in demand overseas and the willingness of overseas customers willing to pay inflated prices for high quality product means that there is a market for traditional and quality lambic that doesn't really exist as much in Belgium. So lambic brewers can stay open without sacrificing quality and or dumbing down the product. Tilquin opening up is a great sign. There a lot of interesting stuff going on there now that is under the radar here which is quite exciting to be honest. Uli's stuff is excellent and I had a homebrew/homeblend kriek that was made with De Cam lambic that might have been the best Kriek I have ever had. Grassroots movement!!! This is what I hope anyway... The fact that that there are a bunch of American beer dorks 2000+ miles away debating all of this is good sign too.

 

It's the only gueuze I have ever had and I really enjoyed it. I haven't really looked that hard, but it seems to me it may be pretty much the only readily available gueuze around these parts. Its possible I have walked right by some at BOTW. Maybe another WNY BA can confirm, but I have never seen Tilquin, Boon, Cantillon, Hanssens, etc. in Rochester.

 

love it