Oude Geuze Boon Black Label

The bar for Gueuze (or Geuze, as Brouwerij Boon spells it here) is pretty high, given that it's a blended (and therefore "created") beer. This one hits all the right notes for a blended Lambic, and the quibbles really only come from the choices made in creating the blend.

The beer pours hazy and gold, with a tall white head and fine bubbles. The aroma is funky right off the bat with some low hay and earth notes. There's also a very pleasant peach and pineapple fruity character in the nose, along with a dose of carbonic acid from the high CO2 content.

The flavor is sharply sour, with intense but clean lactic acidity. The flavor is complex, with the peach and earthy funk carrying through from the aroma alongside a flavor of grape skins. And this beer is dry -- bone dry. It creates a pretty stark palate against which we can appreciate the fermentation characters, but I wonder if it isn't a little too spare, since it also means that the carbonation comes across with the kind of burn you get out of a big gulp of soda.

There's great flavor here, and there's no doubt this is a very good beer, but it's just a bit tough to drink because of that spartan backdrop. I shared some around, and it was definitely popular, so you won't regret it -- and if you want your sour served straight, you'll love it!