GUEUZE | 6.00% ABV
If you follow Barleydine you will already know my love affair for Gueuze. Hands down my favorite beer style. If I were to pick one style to drink for the rest of my life, it would be Gueuze. There is no other beer that comes even close to the complexity and authenticity of traditional Gueuze. They are loaded with unique flavors and complex layers of wheat, barnyard, sour and lots of funk. Upon first taste, many would wonder what on earth you would pair with a Gueuze given it’s most prevalent flavor is sour. Actually there are lots of foods, but the main flavor that one must lean towards when pairing a Gueuze is sweet if you plan to contrast or earthy as a compliment. Keeping those two flavors in mind and one can arrange a terrific pairing with this ancient beer style.
Notes: Pouring a hazy golden-amber color with loads of barnyard notes and lactic aroma on the nose. That lactic acid follows straight to the palate leaving hints of lemon, vinegar and tart fruity notes. The abundant wheaty body leaves the palate refreshed while the very poignant sour flavor leaves a nice long finish. Once accustomed to the unique and complex flavors of a Gueuze, one would concur that it stands to be one of the best beer styles available worldwide.
Pairings: Contrast – shrimp, sweet sausage, escargot, lobster, crab cakes, light salads. Compliment – Stilton cheese or other varieties in the Bleu family.
beer + food = Barleydine
My wife had one of these at The Kulminator in Antwerp. I also bought her a bottle of their kriek yesterday on my most recent visit to my local specialist beer store.
Great beer and some of the best lambics i’ve tried.