Girardin 1882 Gueuze (Black Label)

Style – Gueuze
ABV – 5%
Brewed In – St. Ulriks-Kapelle, Belgium
Availability – Year Round

Score – 8.2/10

Appearance
The green, 375mL bottle is adorned with a classy, yet understated black label. I’m not sure what the vintage is of this bottle, but popping the cork reveals REF C 2010 stamped on it repeatedly. Though I’m not sure what exactly this means, I assume the C X refers to a certain blend of a 2010 vintage?

It pours a hazy, light copper with a stark white head that is sparse and disappears almost immediately. The heavy carbonation creates a surface full of exploding co2 bubbles.

Smell
The aroma is dominated by a lemony, lactobacillus tartness. There is no sign of any funkiness or other yeast character. Overall the nose is very one dimensional, though promising.

Taste
The citrusy sourness is definitely still there, though much more subdued than in the aroma. There is an earthy funkiness as it reaches the back of my tongue that is initially pleasant, but as it finishes has a weird bitter, almost medicinal flavor. It’s subtle, but really detracts from an otherwise excellent flavor.

Feel
Everything about the mouthfeel is perfect for a gueze. Heavy carbonation, very light body, and incredibly dry finish.

Overall
Other than the strange bitterness from the brettanomyces, this is almost perfect. Unfortunately this really takes away from an otherwise excellent beer. I’m really interested to try a different vintage to see if this was just specific to this vintage.