Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

The Colruyt supermarket chain has presented many interesting beers that were custom made for them but so far never a lambic (at least to my knowledge) - so this is one interesting one-off, apparently created because one of Colruyt's former managers (and grandson of the founder of the chain) is an old friend of Frank Boon and allegedly even helped distributing Boon's products in the earliest phase of the brewery's history. For this "special family blend", the two old friends joined forces and selected the lambics that constitute this one-off - but alas the proportions of the different ages or other production details are nowhere to be found, so that I cannot know in which way this one differs from the classic geuze Mariage Parfait, which has the same ABV. Comes from a terracotta-labelled corked bottle with hangtag showing a picture of the two gentlemen in the Boon brewery between the foeders. Cork under high pressure but no gushing. Regular, fairly thick, crackling, sparsely lacing, firm, egg-white head on an initially clear, warm 'old golden' robe with orangey tinge and steady columns of enthusiastic sparkling rising up and feeding the head; misty and more deeply ochre-orange further into the bottle. Aroma of dried lemon zest, oxidized apple slices, dry wood, dusty attic, green plum, wood sorrel, cava, unripe peach, gravel, a volatile note of manure faraway in the background, unripe orange, dandelion leaves, limestone, old dry sherry note but very faint. Crisp, 'juicy' onset, 'malse' lime-like sourness engulfing impressions of green plum, crabapple and crushed green gooseberry, dryingly tart with the tartness being accentuated by strong, very minerally effervescence, but nowhere harshly astringent. Supple middle phase, a bready core further dried by these acids, with the lactic aspect remaining vivid and fruity; gooseberry, sour apple and sorrel elements are joined by a drying, tannic woodiness but the 'chlorine' typical for older Boon lambics remains weak, though noticeable. Mellow, hay-ish Bretty funkiness is mixed in while underneath, a relatively long-stretched, 'green-weedy' and leafy bitterness from the old hops unfolds - but not necessarily more so than in other Boon geuze variants. Lingering limestone-like minerality, unripe orange-like sour fruitiness and a palpable alcohol effect (this is an 8% geuze after all) reminiscent of old dry sherry and warming the throat a bit, adding, in a way, a vague sweetish touch to the finish. The warming effect lasts for a bit but nowhere does it interfere with the other flavour components - as in Mariage Parfait, but having tasted this one now, it has a different, somewhat more 'mellow' and less 'aged' character, even though it is, unsurprisingly, quite similar. The differences, however, suggest that this one does contain more two year old lambic than three year old - or that at least this proportion is somewhat less tilted towards the older lambic than in Mariage Parfait. Not the most distinct geuze, in that sense, but certainly a geuze made with decades long expertise - quite accessible (for its style at least) and highly drinkable in spite of its above-average strength. And a solid Boon geuze of whatever variant is always a treat to me so I enjoyed this one quite a lot. Glad I took the detour to the Colruyt of Sint-Denijs-Westrem to fetch a bottle after a first unsuccessful attempt at the Colruyt of Zele...

Just fantastic face punch of Tart funk.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Lots of barnyard, cobwebs, modestly funky, green apples and muscat . The palate is fairly carbonated, but really lacks depth. It’s totally pleasant and balanced and acceptable but nothing gets me excited

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle. Mitchell’s Wines. Mostly clear orange amber. Good off white foam. Nose has ginger biscuit malts and orangey brett. Taste is a little sweet and malty first with a prickly bitterness. Foamy and fresh on the palate. Nice bretty orange peel bitterness to finish. Has a feel of a fresh Orval about it. Great stuff.

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 5 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle shared at mini-tasting. Clear golden color, small white head. Aroma is lightly malts, pretty bretty, citrusy notes, horse blanket, hops. Flavor is lightly malts, citrus hoppy, horse blanket, herbal slightly, but again lovely bretty. Too high carbonation, but I'll forgive them for the beer is absolutely marvelous.

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8

Bottle shared at mini-tasting. Clear darker orange golden color, medium sized white head. Aroma and flavor are malts, decently bretty, a bit yeasty, a bit bitter, nice rather dry bitter finish. Quite nice, I like it. Orval-ish. Well brewed.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Bottled. Lemon and fruits obviously, tart as heck, probably too much for me. I appreciated it but don’t like the style

This version is especially minerally and chalky. Also slightly funky.