Hanssens Oude Gueuze

Brewed By: Hanssens Artisanaal in Dworp, Belgium  

Purchased: 750ml (1 Pint 9.4oz) bottle bought at Binny's in Naperville, IL; 2014 (bottled September 2012????)

Style/ABV: Lambic Style - Gueuze, 6.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

I picked up this beer on clearance at Beeennnnny's for like $15 or less. Hopefully it doesn't suck. About Hanssens Artisanaal:

Hanssens Artisanaal is a brewery based out of Dworp, Belgium. The brewery started back in 1896, when Bartholome Hanssens bought an old dairy farm, and started the "Saint Anthony" brewery, brewing brown table beer using water from the stream behind the brewery/farm. During World War II, the brewery was compromised. Following the war, Bartholome shifted focus to brewing lambic beer. In 1929, Theo Hanssens took over the brewery; and in 1931 he turned the space into a house where he designed bottle drying racks and other features which are still in use today. Theo was succceeded by his son Jean in 1974. On January 1st, 1998, Hanssens Artisan BVBA was founded by Sidy Hanssens. In addition to brewing a Gueuze and Kriek, the Hanssens introduced the "Old Beitje," or strawberry lambic, to the lineup in 1999. For more info, you can check out the blurb on the brewery here.

The Oude Gueuze Lambic is a legit Gueuze: a blend of various Lambics that are matured for up to three years. This is then bottle refermented for conditioning and aging and all that jazz. 

Hanssens Oude Gueuze

As you'd expect, this yields a hazy and beat up orange body in the glass, kicking up a finger or two of off-white and short-lived head. The head does settle into a nice cauldron effect, and there is some nice carbonation here. It looks pretty standard. I will note that the cage and cork came off comfortably, but also seemed secure. This also didn't even think about gushing.

This has some pretty intense sourness on the aroma, with lactic lemon, pickled fruits, white cider vinegar, and deep notes of sour lemon candies, intensely sour green apples and cherries, tangerine, orange/lemon, and a faint and chalky note that is reminiscent of chocolate. This is also quite funky, with some musty cellar, old attic, and Brett coming along for the ride. It's like dusting off an old leather photo album.

I'm a little surprised at how this isn't quite as sour as the aroma implies. This tastes refreshing and funky, with all the lemon trappings and musty basement funk you would expect. It is sour, but the sourness is manageable. It kind of reminds me of a "natural" sourness, if that makes sense. Like biting into a green Granny Smith apple. This has nice lactic lemons, tangerines, white grape notes, and some hints of dusty and sour cherry/lemon candies. There's a big wet rain and basement funk character, and the finish is surprisingly bright and refreshing. If this is truly a 2012 vintage, it is drinking pretty nice right about now.

This is medium-light bodied, with above-average complexity and good palate depth/duration. As this warms up, the funk starts to crawl out of the woodwork. I'm also picking up some nice woody notes as I work through this. At 6.0%, this works as a sipper. That's a nice thing, especially since a bottle of this isn't cheap. I feel like the discount price of $15 that I paid is right on the money....I'd have a hard time paying a whole lot more. I digress. Up front: tart fruits, lactic character, wet rain, woody funk, lemons, tangerine, white grape; the mids roll into that dusty cherry and lemon candy, with some big wood character, wood tannins, more fruity notes, some jammy fruits; the back end drops Brett funk, funk, wet rain, basement/attic funk....pretty nice and the finish is fairly refreshing. This is super dry on the finish and pulls at the enamel. Not as sour as the aroma leads on but still pretty intense.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. A solid Gueuze for sure...this is actually really delicious, and has some nice woody tannins and funky character. It also opens up a bit as it warms up, and drops some really solid sour fruity notes when it is a bit cooler. This would pair well with mussels, seafood, white pasta, a nice crostini or bruschetta, or pasta with some strong cheese on top. 

Random Thought: Tomorrow night I will park my ass on the couch and watch some football. Realistically, I gotta pick Seattle....but it should be a good game.