Pucker Up for a Belgian Treat - Gueuze Beer

I just love the face my wife makes when she sees me bring up a particular style of beer from the beer cellar. She sticks her tongue out, grimaces and utters the universal sound for revulsion and disgust ...

"Blaaah."

I really find it quite humorous and therefore try to do it as often as I get a chance. My wife is a beer-lover, mind you, but she draws the line with the particular style I'm referring to here. I'll have to admit that it is a beer style that you tend to either love or hate ... with vehemence. What is this beer that evoked such a strong reaction, you may ask? What beer strikes fear in the heart of some, whilst making others seek it out at almost any cost? It's the terribly tart, masterfully musty Belgian treasure known as Gueuze.

Gueuze, sometimes spelled Geuze, is a spontaneously fermented mix of old and new lambics that is then aged, often in oak barrels, producing a more intense, sour and dry character. Don't you love it when something is defined with something else that equally needs definition? A lambic is a Belgian wheat-based ale that is characteristically tart, even sour, due to the use of wild yeast strains found in the air, and/or in the oak barrels used for fermentation. These wild strains are called brettanomyces. The aging process aloows the beer to mellow a bit before it's consumed. Many lambics are produced with fruit added during maturation. You'll see these lambics labeled as Kriek (cherries), Frambroise (raspberries) and Peche (peach) to name a few. Gueuze, therefore, is often much more intense in flavor (sourness) because of the "young" lambic being mixed in with the aged.

I enjoyed a classic Gueuze last night from Brouwerij Oud Beersel, called Oude Geuze Vielle. I thought I'd post my formal review here for your entertainment: