Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Well this is very good. Sturdy and assertive. Ample lemony twang. Pale woody dryness. Salty bite. Bitter grass, cobwebs, earth. Good body and depth of character. Quick finish. Refreshing funk, a little acetic kick. Really solid all around.
Kraddel (15844) reviewed El Criador Flamenca from Stekerij Ambreus 2 months ago
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 10 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9.5
Pours unclear blonde. Small white head. Scent is intense , wood , funk, oxidative sherry. nutty. Taste is full, very sherry forward. Loads of minerality, oxidative notes, nuts, mild bitterness, fairly intense sourness, which is balanced. Higher carbo - not too high though. Slightly oily mouthfeel. Very sherry-heavy without being simple or straight forward. I had very high expectations, and this did not let me down, at all !
gave a cheers!
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Geuze blended with lambics by Lindemans, De Troch and Den Herberg, also containing 4 year old lambic like the Limited Edition geuze Ambreus released earlier, but nevertheless a differently proportioned, specific blend - like two others made by Den Herberg itself and by Boon, all created to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the current exploitation by Geert De Poorter and his wife of Villa Servais. This was the villa of the Belgian cellist Adrien-François Servais in Halle, a building dating back to the middle of the 19th century which in its time welcomed famed musical guests like the composers Liszt, Vieuxtemps and Rubinstein; it has been an official heritage site since the eighties and was acquired and restored by the current owners ten years ago. They turned it into a classy hotel and event location and released a first 'house geuze' (blended by Boon) three years ago, reflecting their passion for local culture - so this year, with something special to celebrate, not one but three new ones were made. This Ambreus version produces a medium sized but rather quickly thinning and eventually dissolving, snow white, fizzing head, open in the middle but retaining around the edge, over a misty peach blonde robe with ochre-ish tinge and minute-bubbled sparkling which is actually hard to see with the naked eye. Aroma of freshly cut Granny Smith and Transparante apples, lemon flesh, unripe plums, pear blossoms, lemon butter, old oak wood, wet old leather (Brettanomyces), hints of raw rhubarb, sorrel, fresh pecorino romano, grape skin, quince, young grass shoots in spring, oxidising apple cores, hogweed, raw black radish, crumbling dry earth. Lemony sour onset, a bit puckering but refreshingly so, flavours of strong green apple (Lindemans mostly I think), unripe plum and unripe peach, with an astringent edge but also a softer side tucked underneath; very fine-tingling effervescence with persistent minerally effect reinforcing this astringency and sourness - piercing through a bread-crusty core. Lemon, green apple and green plum dominate till the end, with a lemon juice flavour even lingering beyond swallowing; oaky tannins are present but not too strongly so, while retronasal wild yeast aromas include old leather, dried garden weeds, a whiff of pecorino cheese and a funky hint of dried armpit sweat. Old hops provide a touch of balancing bitterness deep below but as said, the astingency and tartness of green fruits prevail. Very spritzy, 'green', lemony geuze, quite classically styled with puckering effect at first and quite some sharp acidity, but very minerally and refreshing as such. I was fearing that the De Troch lambic, one I find very easy to identify because of its characteristic 'bitter plant' flavour, would dominate too much, but as in the other Ambreus geuzes so far, this very outspoken lambic has been applied here in a most balanced, well-integrated way. There is some Lindemans mellowness too, but it seems Den Herberg is the most dominant lambic in this blend at least in flavour. Looking forward to tasting the two other new Villa Servais geuzes!
Sloefmans (15389) reviewed Vlierbloesem from Stekerij Ambreus 2 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8
Medium, off-white head, fed by lively carbonated hazy orange-amber beer. Putteke², horseblanket, floral, gurkins, really complex nose. Orangepeel, onion (especially retronasal), lemon, wheat, gooseberry, wet wooe, elderberry flower. Warming up something as almost decaying strawberries. Very spritzy carbonation, tittilating. Acidthinning and -burn. Good fruitgueuze. But I gladly would have skipped the onionflavour. Txs to Stef!
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle. Color: Hazy orangish golden, white head. Aroma: Hay, gooseberry and citrus fruit, tartness, rural funk, some wood. Taste: Over moderate tart, rural funk, oak wood, fruity citrus, lemon-like hints. Minerally, hay. Medium body, average carbonation. Very tasty, nice complexity. Will try to get some more to cellar.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8
Bottle end of the bottle at Brugge Beer Festival. Cloudy orange amber colour. Proper lambic aroma. Wow sour. But then some sweetness. Lovely lemon flavours. Some cereal wheat flavour. Yes very decent. Liked it. Sour
finish.
EvNa (6056) reviewed Vlierbloesem from Stekerij Ambreus 5 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8
Bottle. Color: Hazy golden, white head. Aroma: Rural funk, subtle elderflower. Taste: Rural funk, over moderate tart, fruity notes of gooseberry, unripe grape, citrus. Also some floral elderflower, but not as much as I would like. Medium body, average carbonation. Ok overall.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
The follow-up to Ambreus' first geuze, blended with lambics from the same sources, only this time incorporating more old lambics, including a four year old portion, unconventionally (but often with great results - see De Cam's Gooikoorts geuze, for instance). Distinghuished from the regular by the dark label. Thick and firm, regularly shaped, egg-white, even-bubbled, dense, crackling head gradually thinning, long retaining but eventually dissolving on a misty, warm apricot-orangey glowing peach blonde robe, the mist perturbed by countless tiny bubbles everywhere. Quite powerful bouquet of lime juice, sawdust, dried orange pith, green apple, barnyard, old cheese rind, unripe plum, horseblanket (Brett), background hints of withering garden weeds, wakame, raw mussels, manure, wet concrete and something very vaguely sweetish (peach). Spritzy onset, evidently sour with lime, green gooseberry and green apple notes, lemony and sharpish at the edges but mellowing down a bit further on, even though very prickly carbonation does accentuate it; mellowness comes more from a bready malt underbuilt, still strongly dried by lactic, malic and lemony acidity - as befits a good geuze. Woody tannins create even more dryness at the back while subtler minerally and earthy to 'funky' (Brettanomyces) elements fill the finish, which otherwise remains crisp and citric, with this lime juice effect lingering; old hop bitterness is present, but very subordinate to citric and malic sourness, dry breadiness, woodiness and earthiness. In all, this limited edition does feel a tad more sophisticated than the already - to my taste - successfull regular Ambreus geuze, a bit more distinguished and a bit more refined, but it still remains a very classically shaped geuze in all respects, ticking all the boxes and remaining firmly within the expectation pattern of the style without adding anything to it. Predictable, in that sense, but utterly solidly made so cheers to that. Really looking forward to the kriek that is to follow...
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Pours clear yellowblonde. Small white head. Scent is full, heavy and complex. Emphasis on wood and brett, but also a lot more, harder to pinpoint acid bacteria-like aroma's. Promissing ! Taste is full, citric tart on top, slightly acetic below. Loads of wood and brett again. Less complex and significantly less heavy than the aroma - but still that doesn't mean it's not complex or heavy in character. Bready, cookies even, shines trough. Less wheat-oriented than average. Slightly to acetic for my taste perhaps. Tart and very dry. Pretty solid Geuze ! Great as a special edition as this would indeed not be an everyday-er to me, but certainly fun to try.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
0,75l bottle at tasting at home. Orange cloudy color, small white head. Smells oak, vanilla, funky, grassy, spices. Very nice smell. full body, soft carbonation. Tastes funky, spices, oak, peppery, tobacco, walnuts. Finishes lightly dry and lightly sour with notes of walnuts, oak and funky notes. Very nice one, great balance, reminds me of some 3f blends, very very promising
8, 8, 8, 8, 8.5