Drie Fonteinen- Oude Gueuze.

The camera is kind of not working so great again...But I'm sure you get the idea!
In one of the books I have about beer, the author discusses the 'oude' designation. It means 'old' and was one something that was sought after, as it indicated a quality beer that had been brewed and aged properly. But the term has fallen out of favor these days, as a younger generation doesn't want to drink something old. This can be seen in alot of American beers which has born on/bottling dates and advise drinking within three months for maximum freshness.
The bottling date on this beer advised to drink within the next ten years, and I am sure it could go 20 or even 30. But it'll never get a chance because I drank it.
This beer pours out a nice orange/golden color with a fluffy white head. The aroma is fruity, light oak, sourness, earthiness. The taste continues with fruit- tart citrus, green apple, vanilla, oak, very complex. Sour and acidic but less so than Cantillon. Very dry, refreshing, and extremely drinkable. A bit of lacing in the glass, with a copious amount of carbonation. Very vinous and reminiscent of white whites and champagnes.
My rating: a world class gueuze.
Abv: 6%.
Website: 3fonteinen.be.
Price paid: in the neighborhood of 15 at Twin Peaks Liquor.
Number of cans of Bud Light you could buy for the same price: 24. A whole case!

Brouwerij Girardin - 1882 Gueuze black label.

First off, great stuff! Gueuze is a blend of 1, 2, and 3 year old lambics. Lambic is a type of beer produced in Belgium that is spontaneously fermented, meaning no yeast or other organisms are added by the brewer. It is left open to the air in the building and the environment, where all the organisms needed for fermentation naturally occur. Sipping this beer is like slipping back in time, when fermentation was not understood and all 'beer' was spontaneously fermented.
After inoculation, the beer is aged in oak casks that are also home to all the organisms that can ferment this beer. And fermentation can take a long time, in this case up to and beyond three years.
Another thing that makes Gueuze unique is its method of carbonation. No priming sugar is added. It is not force carbonated. Rather the one year old beer in the blend still contains some unfermented sugars that are eaten in the bottle, producing a very effervescent, champagne like carbonation. In fact, I have read that Gueuze producers consider there to be very little difference between their end product and champagne.
This beer opens with a nice pop of the cork. It pours out golden with streaming carbonation and a white fluffy head that dissipates as the beer is drunk. Nice lacing. Nice citrus aroma, some light funk and oak.
Great mouth feel, with citrus and a pleasant acidity in the forefront. Also the light funk/hay, oak, vanilla. Very drinkable, each taste begs for more!
I have always considered Cantillon and their beers to be the standard for all things lambic, and I would say this beer is right up there with them in quality. I would like to do a head to head tasting some night between several different brands.
My rating: a unique and world class beer. Seek it out.
Abv: 5%.
Volume: 12.7 fl oz.
Website: www.specialtybeer.com/beer,index,girardin_gueuze.html
Price paid: around 9 at Harvest Wine and Spirits.
Number of cans of Bud Light you could buy for the same price: 14.