St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition
I’ve had a couple sour/tart beers in my time (both by design and not), but I’m pretty sure that this is officially my first gueuze. It’s a style that I had known about prior to a couple of purchases last week. It was also one whose notoriety as a tart beer kept me at bay for quite some time.
This St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition is the first of two beers — the other a Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze to be reviewed later — that I bought last week while feeling a bit adventurous. I don’t know much about this beer other than that it’s brewed by the good folks who also handle the Kasteel line of beers. Beyond that, it’s a traditional gueuze and comes at 5% ABV. Oh, and it’s pretty damn tart.
St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition
Appearance
The beer pours a hazy golden orange with a slowly fading white cap.
Aroma
Bright lemons, tartness, a slight funk and some grass/hay all come together in a nose that was a bit more fruity than I had expected.
Taste
First and foremost is the potent tartness that will leave quite a pucker after the first several sips. Once you get used to that, there’s a good deal of lemon fruitiness, a slight funkiness and hay mingling together. The sour tartness is strong up front and lingers for a good long while. Beyond that, there’s not too much else in the beer.
Overall
The only other really tart beer I’ve had that may be similar to this is a Cantillon Kriek which was wonderfully tart and fruity. This one, however, was mostly tart and lemony. It was still a beer that I enjoyed thoroughly and I might pick it up again depending on what sort of mood my palate is in.
Rating: 3.75/5