Lindemans Oude Gueuze

 

          Last we

ek I picked up a few sour beers, in an attempt to educate my palate when it comes to the world’s different kinds of sour ales. Today I’m reviewing a style of beer known as a gueuze. At its heart, a gueuze is a type of blended beer from the Senne valley in Belgium. The whole thing starts with a spontaneously fermented beer called a Lambic. After being aged for 1-3 years, some lambic ales are bottled and sold. Others are blended together for sale as a gueuze.

The young lambic still contains fermentable sugar, helping provide natural carbonation. The older lambic provides drier, champagne-like character as well as more refined flavors. The younger lambic also retains a more assertive sourness. When the beer is blended, the decision needs to be made whether to use more of the younger lambic, or more of the older. This will determine in part, whether the finished product will skew more towards the sour, or more towards refined age. Lindeman’s Oude Gueuze is crystal clear and a golden amber in color. Head is light, and bone white in color.

          My first impression of Oude Gueuze’s nose is that it’s got a gentle earthiness. The immediate second perception is that of an assertive and enticing sourness. All of this is supported by a subtle barnyard quality. That barnyard quality presents itself in the form of aromas of horse blanket combined with a grapefruit scented citrus quality. What makes this beer’s aroma so enticing is how those earthiness and barnyard aromas are secondary to the beer’s overall tartness. They help give the nose character and complexity.

          Taking a sip, Lindemans Oude Gueuze is crisp, dry, and spritzy. Lemon tartness leads the charge. Oude Gueuze’s tartness is supported by a subtle flavor of malt in the form of soda cracker. At this point I’m also picking up a bone dry woodiness. Not the more intense flavors of oak, more of a general, neutrally woody character. All of this combines to provide an interesting overall flavor profile. Lemon tartness up front, with other flavors providing balance.

          Lindeman’s Oude Gueuze 2018 is a delicious, engaging example of a blended lambic. It’s tart, dry, and balanced with a subtle barnyard character common to so many of the best Belgian styles of beer. My only caveat for the average beer drinker is that the tartness is slightly more assertive than some people may enjoy. That being said, this beer’s other qualities provide great balance to that initial tartness.