Beer nr3 : Belle-Vue Gueuze

Hello bloggers,

The third beer i am going to talk about is Belle-Vue Gueuze. Belle-Vue Gueuze is a 5,2%  type of lambic, a Belgian beer. It is made by blending young (1-year-old) and old (2- to 3-year-old) lambics into a new beer, which is then bottled for a second fermentation. Because the young lambic is not fully fermented, it contains fermentable sugars, which allow the second fermentation to occur. Lambic that undergoes a second fermentation in the presence of sour cherries before bottling results in kriek (fruitbeer) , a beer closely related to Geuze.

Since gueuze is made by blending lambics, it tastes different from traditional ale and lager style beers. Because aged hops are used to produce these lambics, the beer has little to none of the traditional hop flavor and aroma that can be found in most other styles of beer. Furthermore, the wild yeasts that are specific to lambic-style beers give gueuze a dry, cidery, musty, sour, acetic acid, lactic acid taste.

The history of the Gueuze beer goes back to medieval times, but the commercial production of gueuze commenced in the 19th century. Philemon Vanden Stock, (father of Constant Vanden Stock: former chairman of RSC Anderlecht.), started the Brewery Belle-Vue in 1913 in Brussels. Brewery Belle-Vue is owned by Anheuser-Busch Inbev.

The ingredients are malt, wheat, water, hops and yeasts, giving it a pale gold color.

My opinion: Gueuze Belle-vue is a soft, slightly bitter and slightly sour beer. This beer increases your appetite but it's also thirst-quenching. It's not a well known beer as Stella or Jupiler, but drunk by a lot of beerlovers. I love it!