Oude Geuze Barrel Selection Oude Pijpen
(has 3 batches)

Thanks! 375 ml. bottle sampled @ Samson en Geert bierproeverij. Hazy orange, little head. Nose is massive lambiek cellar, old, cobwebs, old wine, dried oak. Massive funk, high carbonation, works wonderful, dry cellar, weeds, funk, old oak, hay, cobwebs,… Just wonderful.

New and limited variation on Oud Beersel Oude Geuze, released a couple of weeks ago and distinguished by making use of lambic (in the traditional - and legally prescribed - proportions) that comes from very old wooden barrels of 650 litres (called 'pijpen') which were originally, i.e. between 60 and 120 years ago, used for port wine and ended up in the lambic world and eventually at Oud Beersel. From a 37.5 cl bottle with the obvious cork and muselet, bottled in late November last year so still very young for a traditional geuze, but I'll take the risk... Egg-white, somewhat irregular, moussy head, slowly dissipating and showing holes in the middle with dots of lacing, eventually all but disappearing, on top of a misty, warm peach blonde beer with ochre edges, showing graciously curling strings of tiny, vivid bubbles here and there. Classic, very mildly funky but first and foremost very elegant, almost discrete lambic nose with indeed a notable presence of vaguely vanilla-tinged oak wood and dusty old furniture, yet subtly so, with a remarkable nobility and restraint to it, drenched in impressions of lemon cake, spritzy fresh lemon zest, old dry white bread, old wrinkled green apples, unripe peach, some damp hay and barnyard, artisanal cider, homemade rhubarb crumble, overripe white grapes, freshly cut thistles and some very volatile, very subtle background whiffs of Handkäse or tangy feta cheese, moist white pepper and spring farmland. Extremely crisp and spritzy onset, lots of champagne-like, refined carbonation, highlighting a snappy lactic and subtly citric acidity, hinting at diluted lemon juice as well as woodsorrel leaves, unripe grapes and a dash of redcurrant, with a very subdued sweetish peach note deeply buried underneath. The acidity dries the mouth but retains its colourful lemon zest-like liveliness throughout, over a supple, notably bready malt soil, carrying the crisp lambic esteriness to a bone dry finish, where a relatively strong tannic woodiness tightens the palate; the acidity helps to keep this effect crisp and utterly quenching, while all the way at the back, that typical Oud Beersel hop bitter undertone lights up, very earthy and dim as it should be in a classic geuze, but nevertheless outspoken enough to be very tastable - and functionally blending with the wood and the acidity to dry the finish completely. Interesting and very elegant geuze, cider- and lemon zest-like in its playful crispness - making it ideal for the sunny spring days that are upon us here in Belgium - but becoming dead serious in its finish, where complete dryness provides a totally quenching, satisfying experience. Still a bit too young, sure, but already very bright and characterful, which I imagine will only increase with some extended cellaring. Nice - and especially nice that Oud Beersel comes up with another new geuze one year after that Henri Vandervelden tribute. This beautifully gracious geuze was launched together with the equally impressive Grand Cru version of Bersalis Sourblend - big cheers to the passionate guys that saved this old lambic brewery from oblivion!