Brouwerij Lindemans is coming up from the cellar in April! I started with the Faro and now we tackle the Cuvee Renee. A refermented in the bottle Gueuze that the label declares “Improves in bottle with age”
I always dread corked bottles. You never know if the cork will behave or if there will be a geyser. But this cork came out easy and cleanly. No trouble at all. It pours a really clear orange with a bit of lacing around the edge of the glass after the initial pillow of foam recedes. The aroma is pure funk. I get grass, hay and barn wood. And this probably sounds strange but I also get that smell just before rain starts. Weird.
Boy, this a puckery inducing beer. My first thought was of sucking a lemon. It has that citrus note that is punctuated with tart. It is twisting my mouth into different shapes. It is really sharp at the front of the mouth which makes finding other notes a little harder. But I do get some oak wood notes. Very minor but there. A little bit of apple cider vinegar as well. I have had beers that are more sour but this is definitely at that end of the spectrum. Not an easy drinker and a sharp contrast to the sticky sweetness of the Faro from earlier this month.
Both were bought at the same time. So I will “assume” that they were close vintages. And yet they couldn’t be further apart to me. This is super tart and that doesn’t let up much as it warms either. In fact, I start to get more grapefruit pith notes now. My palate is in a state of sour shock.
The Verdict – Part of me thinks that this beer has turned a little too vinegary and that I may have held it a good half year too long. But the acid isn’t super high and I still do get some citrus notes and the barnyard funk is in full bloom. So, I am conflicted. Let’s split the difference and say that this would have been better back in January.