Some quick thoughts and a Cantillon Classic Gueuze

I've got a busy couple of weekends coming up (and one past) with beer tastings, and I wanted to get a few posts in during this time. Tomorrow night marks the 1st Anniversary of BeerThursdays, which promises to be truly epic with rare and aged beers being pulled from a few people's cellars. The following weekend I'll be hosting my second tasting (and only 8 months after the first one!) which will be coming mostly out of my own cellar, so keep an eye out for posts from me and Adam on some special beers in the near future.

And now on to the gueuze! It's safe to say I've been on a bit of a Lambic bender lately, so I picked up two bottles of this on my last trip to State Line knowing that it can disappear quickly, and I would want to age at least one. As I was listening to this week's Sunday Session from The Brewing Network, one of the hosts got talking about his love of gueuze, and how, in America, we usually get a smaller pour (8oz or so) because of the price of good Lambic beers here. It was really how he stated his point that got to me; that in Belgium you can go into a bar and have a "big glass of gueuze" like you would expect to have any other beer here. Fast-forward through a day and a half of "big glass of gueuze" running through my mind and I'm standing in my kitchen staring down a 375ml of Cantillon Classic Gueuze. This shall be my big glass of gueuze.

Poured into my Duvel Tulip, it sat, a hazy pale gold with bits of orange. A one finger white head quickly faded to a ring with a thin coating over the middle of the glass thanks to the etching in the bottom. The smell is sour and earthy with a grassy finish. There's also an really acidic smell that seems to fade as its allowed to breathe.

The first sip is tart, but balanced. The malt presence is a nice counter to the acidic sourness that dominates the finish. It seems less carbonated than I expected, but the carbonation that's there is sharp and helps to ease your palette into the complex flavors ahead. The earthiness of the aroma is back as I get further into the glass, bringing the grass with it. The balance stays throughout the glass, with each sip bringing malt, sour and slight hop character (Czech Saaz?) into alignment.

The swallow is delightfully dry; making it tremendously drinkable. More drinkable than any sour I've had, certainly more than the ultra tart beers of brewers like Russian River. I love those beers, and they have been a treat every time I open a bottle, but they are sippers. Gueuze is for having a pint with dinner, and I delight in that.

If this is the sort of thing I can expect to drink large quantities of on a regular basis in Belgium, I may move there and never come back. I hope I've effectively got everyone thinking about a "big glass of gueuze," and dare you not to go pour yourself one.

- Dan

Big glass of gueuze.