20/XII/23 - 75cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker), shared @ post exam drink Zytho class (Syntra Gent), BB: +5Y, bottled: IX/2022 (2023-1182)

Clear amber beer, small creamy off-white head, pretty stable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: nice and funky, brett, wood notes, dry impression, a bit malty. MF: lively carbon, medium body. Taste: nice, very acidic, fruity, funky, a little bitter. Aftertaste: lovely, funky, wood notes, bitter, fruity, dry, citrus, lovely, slightly sweet impression.

New geuze variation by Lambiek Fabriek, oddly associated with sports for some reason and made from specially selected 'ultra-soft' lambics, or 'mals' (low in sharp acids, particularly acetic acid) as this is called in traditional lambic jargon. Opens with a pop and some slow gushing but nothing to be worried about. Dense, thick and frothy, very firm and compact, egg-white head resting remarkably stably on a hazy warm peach blonde robe with pale orangey tinge and lots of tiny-bubbled sparkling. Aroma of oxidized green apple slices, dusty attic, dry haystacks, old dry timber, lots of the classic 'horseblanket' (Brett), plum skin, 'brut' champagne when warming up, subtler background hints of green tomato, tamarillo (leaf), barnyard, sour cream, dandelion, pickled onion. Crisp onset, estery notes of green apple slices, unripe nectarine and green gooseberries, tart but indeed in a soft, almost 'non-lemony' kind of way, with pronounced lactic acid setting in early; very lively, 'champenoise' sparkling with strong minerally effect yet avoiding painful numbing, very fit for an intentionally light-hearted geuze. Rounded, lean mouthfeel, green fruit tartness accompanying a soft bready core, dried by lactic acid but nowhere harshly so, remaining elegant and fruity, with volatile side notes of tomato peel, gherkin and tamarillo joining the ongoing 'green' fruitiness. 'Bretty' funkiness retronasally, classic horseblanket with some light barnyard here and there; the drying effect from the lactic acid is reinforced by woody tannins, while that champagne-like flavour returns at the back - but it is the tamarillo and gooseberry elements that linger the longest. Everything indeed remains soft for this style - which to the non-initiated will probably still be anything but soft - and with very little (though still some) 'end bitterness' from old hops, this geuze manages to retain its elegant, quenching, light-footed and spring-like character from the first sip to the last. Make no mistake, though: apart from outspoken Brett funkiness, there is also more than enough 'bite' left, in spite of the 'malse' lambics chosen, to make this 'sporty' geuze qualify as a full-fledged representative of its demanding style - and that for me makes this an exercise in balance excellently performed. Reminds me a bit of the first batch of Brett-Elle years ago, Lambiek Fabriek's firstborn, but with more tanginess and maturity - a beautiful illustration of how this lambic producer has evolved since then.

Shared @ Belgian Beer Geeks tasting. Thanks a lot! Hazy amber colour, white foam. Fruity, citrussy, tart, lemony and funky. Very nice.

Des cerises sures et légèrement sucrées se combinent à des notes de vieille ferme pour former un olfactif sauvage et fruité. Mousse énorme, rose et pétillante sur un liquide rouge et voilé. Pétillante et bien fruitée en bouche, elle développe toutes les caractéristiques des notes de fermentation spontanée avec un léger ajout de poivre. Les cerises sont bien en évidence mais sont parfaitement en équilibre avec les notes fermières et chevalines de la levure. Réussite technique fabuleuse. Goût balancé et équilibré. Même si ce type de bière n’est pas dans mes cordes, il faut quand même y apprécier une certaine perfection. O:8.85 V:3.12 G:8.74 C:4.9 G:17.75 T:43.36

Bottle shared at RBBWG 2023. Hazy light orange color, average sized white head. Smell and taste are moderately sour, maybe just lightly, basically like a soda. Very very drinkable, very tasty. Citrusy lemonade. Lovely.

Pours unclear blonde, no real head. Scent is funky, very oak-foreward, milder brett. Taste is full, tart, mature, oak, very brett-forward. easy drinkable. Medium body (quite dense for a geuze) with medium - medium high carbo. Enjoyable geuze, perhaps a tad more woody, but not overly specific.

9/XII/23 - 37.5cl bottle @ BBGG winter 23-24, BB: VIII/2023 (2023-1149) Thanks to 77ships for sharing the bottle!

Little cloudy blond yellow to orange beer, small creamy beige to yellowish head, a little stable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: funky, very fruity, lots of peaches, apricot, a bit earthy, some tobacco, lemony. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: good carbon, soft acidity, a little bitter, some tannins, earthy, a bit watery. Aftertaste: dry, spicy, soft acidity, lemony, pretty bitter, decent.