Brouwerij Lindemans – Cuvee Rene
ABV: ?
IBU: ?
Poured into a tulip glass, the full white head dances above the rim but quickly fades to a solid ring around the circumference of the beer. My eyes immediately detect beer by the medium orange color, but if decision making was left up to my nose, I would definitely have said this was a dry white wine or a champagne. As a complete surprise to me, there is very little in the way lactic aroma, or there is just so much white grape orange rind to cover up any evidence of sourness. Flavors begin with heavy white grape sweetness but are soon followed by vanilla oaky tannins that lead to a crisp dry and slightly tart finish. As the beer warms more yeast phenolics become present and a ever-so-slight licorice and pepper presence can be detected.
For being a Lindemans Lambic beer I was expecting a much more sour beer. That being said, this is a Gueze or lambic blend. Traditionally Gueze is blended from three or more vintages of lambic and it could be that a younger and less sour lambic made up a large percentage of the blend. Overall the beer is crisp and refreshing with a lot of complex fruity esters and oak tannins. Next time I drink this beer I want to drink it with sautéd whitefish or Alfredo sauce.
