Beer 361/365 – Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze

Style: Gueuze

ABV: 6%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Sour/Funky as hell, to be honest any Gueuze I have had so far is about the same.

Will I be drinking this again: Maybe! Not too expensive so I just might.

Grade: A-

11/4/2010: I am really trying to make an effort to appreciate as many styles as possible, and Gueuze is one that takes a lot of getting used to. Actually any of the “sour” type beers take some getting used to. Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze is the highest rated Gueueze on Beer Advocate that is also readily available, so why not go for the best if you are trying to get used to a certain style right?

The nose is very sour and funky, almost smells like a musty basement. The flavor is very tart, funky, semi-yeasty, some wood, and some sour lemon/sour apple in the mix as well. Like every other sour beer I have tried you start off hating it, and by the end you can’t stop drinking it. Typically I have a hard time picking out particular flavors in a sour beer, but Drie Fonteinen did a great job making all the individual flavors very pronounced. This is one of the most carbonated beers I have ever had. It was still bubbling away like a science experiment gone wrong even with only 1/4 of the bottle left. This is no knock though, as the airiness helps lighten the funk going on. Overall very good for the style. Would be interested to see what this would taste like with some age too it.

Picture of the day: A painful way to exit the field.

Beer 195/365 – Hanssens Artisanaal Oude Gueuze

Style: Gueuze

ABV: 6.0%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: My first Gueuze! (pronounced Gooze). Very sour, but in a good way.

Will I be drinking this again: Maybe? Tasted good but gave me heartburn like a mofo

Grade: B+

5/22/2010: So lately the big thing in beer as of late is “Sours”… American Wilds, Gueuze etc. I have not sampled any of these styles of beer, so I figured it was about time I try. I picked this one up on a recommendation by Phill out at Vintage Estate.

This stuff smells SUPER funky. If I were a noob beer drinker, I would have never drank this beer. It smells like its spoiled lemons and baby diaper, but thankfully the taste wasn’t as harsh as the smell. The taste is very sour lemons, but the sour taste is saved by the bubbly champagne type thing going on here. Very well carbonated, but very dry. The best analogy I can draw is, picture a bottle of champagne, mixed with unsweetened lemonade, with lemon heads soaking at the bottom. With all the said, I like this a lot. Its very different. I really couldn’t drink more than a glass and a half of this, and its a good thing I didn’t because damn did I get some major Acid Reflux action going on about an hour after drinking this. Is that normal?

Picture of the day: Where is that annoying Sham-Wow Guy when you need him.