Blonde Melisse

Collab between two small beer producing companies located in the same area: Publitasting (lambic blender in Vichte) and Straete Brouwerie (new microbrewery in Waregem), with only 80 bottles made. Apparently not a 'pure' lambic - which would not make much sense anyway as Straete Brouwerie is a regular ale brewer - but a blend of De Troch, Sako and Eylenbosch lambics with a Straete beer, flavoured with a combo of three 'lemony' things: lemonbalm, lemongrass and actual lemon. If this does not tasty lemony, then I do not know what will... Foam creeps out of the bottle neck a few instants after opening, but no gushing. Medium thick, egg-white, tiny-bubbled and tightly knit, slightly irregular but stable head, very slowly and partially breaking over a hazed yellow-golden robe with warmer apricot tinge and some dots of proteins settling at the bottom of the glass. Somewhat introvert nose for this kind of 'versnijbier', at least more introvert than I was expecting, but gradually opening up when warming: unripe plum, dried lemonbalm rather than fresh, wet oak wood, Granny Smith apple, Conference pear, damp haystack, something very lightly perfumey in the way of lemongrass but hardly any actual lemon recognisable, very vague touch of Thai green curry linked with that lemongrass, funky armpit sweat, field flowers (buttercups), touch petrichor, sourdough bread, egg yolk, something earthy deep down below and a sulfuric note. Fruity onset, crisp but the lambic acids clearly softened by the ale, with a mixture of both - generally softly tart, but with a sweetish side as well, reminiscent of yellow plum, apricot, green apple and ripe gooseberry; lively effervescence, with a refined crystalline effect, smooth body, almost a bit creamy. White-bready core, with a deep and mild lactic tartness (white yoghurt) supporting ongoing yellow-green fruitiness but remaining soft all the way, even sweetish, with light woody notes entering in the final stage - along with the added ingredients, but again, in a rather 'blurred' way: I get a vague whiff of lemonbalm because I basically grew up with it, but its typical herbal effect is lacking; lemongrass adds a light fraîcheur but little oriental aroma (though this accent of green curry is still vaguely there); and lemon adds a citric effect at the back, going down the throat where it deposits only a faint - yet noticeable - trace of actual lemon flavour. Bready and earthy notes linger a bit. Very different from what I was expecting: I thought the lambic was going to be more crisp and edgy, but I guess the makers reckoned adding all these lemony flavouring agents to lambic alone (or a blend dominated by it) would render the whole thing too sharp and astringent - so they toned it down into what is perhaps best described as a saison-like 'versnijbier', with a very refreshing character, but also a much softer and creamier character than one would expect. Too much tripel and not enough lambic for me - yet summery, cleanly made and very elegant for sure. However, I am left wondering what a lemon lambic with added lemonbalm and lemongrass in a more outspoken way would taste like. Perhaps Oud Beersel or some other lambic producer will try to find out one day...