Here’s a list of words to describe the Belgian style of beer known as gueuze: complex, funky, idiosyncratic, multifaceted, delicious, pungent, satisfying, intense, crisp, dry, acidic, refreshing, tart, fruity, oaky, sour, musty, vinous, lemony, strawlike, cidery, grassy, haylike, ideal for a warm summer night.
Gueuze, in other words, is not your average beer. It’s made by first brewing a lambic, a style of beer wholly unique from the more common lagers and ales.
Lambic is made — like all beer — by first combining malted barley, wheat and water into what’s called a mash. The mash is then filtered to produce a liquid called wort. After that, though, the process veers from the standard path.
Next you add old hops that have lost their bitter taste, but not their ability to act as a natural preservative. You boil the wort for several hours, then pipe it into a shallow copper vessel where it can cool and airborne wild yeasts can inoculate the liquid, fostering what is called spontaneous fermentation.
Then you move the beer into stainless steel vessels to control its temperature and sugar content, before storing the beer in oak or chestnut barrels. Now you have lambic. You age that beer for one to three years. And then you use your nose, not a chemistry kit, to blend together 1-, 2- and 3-year-old lambics.
The young beer supplies the natural sugars that foster continued fermentation; the older beers contribute the bulk of the aroma and taste. The beer is then bottled and stored horizontally for several years during which, like Champagne, it continues to ferment.
There are 86 varieties of yeast and bacteria known to find their way into lambic, giving the beer its cornucopia of flavors. The category of yeast called Brettanomyces, Greek for “British fungus,” for instance, imparts funky flavors such as barnyard, cloves or cheese. Acetic bacteria add the acidic tinge to the beer. And Pediococcus adds a smooth, complex sourness.
5 to try
Cantillon Gueuze 100% Lambic: A cloudy blond beer with a complex bouquet of lemon, straw, funk and flowers. The beer is a perfectly balanced meld of sour apple, lemon, earthy and sweet notes.
Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze: A golden beer with barnyard, grass and lemon aromas. The beer has distinct biscuitlike notes, with hints of horse blanket, lemon and pineapple.
Girardin Gueuze 1882: A straw-gold beer with barnyard and citrus aromas. The beer is sharp, with notes of funk, yellow grapefruit and lemon.
Hannsens Artisanaal Oude Gueuze: A bright orange beer with a bold, horsey aroma. The beer is tart and dry, with funky, lemon and sour apple notes.
Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene: Bright yellow, less acidic than most, with notes of tart apples, lemon and a hint of horse blanket.
