NV Brouwerij De Troch Cuvée Chapeau Oude Gueuze-Lambic

Community Tasting Notes (2)

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  11/20/2021 - forceberry wrote:

  This "Cuvée Chapeau Oude Gueuze-Lambic" differs from De Troch "Chapeau Gueuze" only in that the former is completely dry (aka. Oude Gueuze) whereas the latter is sweetened with white sugar. The base beer is brewed using hop pellets instead of aged hop cones and fermenting it spontaneously. After the fermentation the beer is moved into old barrels (ranging from 225 to 650 liters in size) for aging. The Geuze a blend of older and younger lambics and it is flash pasteurized before release. Best by 2020. 5,5% alcohol. Tasted along with 15 other Gueuzes.
  
  The appearance is slightly hazy and conspicuously youthful and pale, almost neon yellow-green in hue. The nose feels somewhat odd, slightly green and subtly musty with aromas of lemony sharpness, some rhubarb stalk, a little bit of damp earth, light green apple tones, a hint of leesy yeast and a touch of grainy malt. The subtle mustiness seems to slowly increase with air. The beer is dry, noticeably sour and rather austere on the palate with rather pronounced hop bitterness along with flavors of tart lemony citrus fruits and sharp green apple tones, some dull earthy notes, a little bit of dusty old cellar, light saline mineral notes, a hint of apple peel bitterness and a touch of tangy rhubarb stalk. Both the sourness and the hop bitterness feel quite high and in start contrast with the slightly understated flavors. The finish is long, sour and quite bitter with somewhat dull flavors of lemony citrus fruits, some tangy winter apple notes, a little bit of dusty earth, light saline nuances and a hint of pithy grapefruit bitterness.
  
  It's hard to assess whether this beer suffered a mild case of cork or if it was just otherwise dull, unpleasant and earthy. If it was corked, then it would be two out two De Troch Cuvée Chapeaus I've tasted that have been corked. If it wasn't, it's disappointing to know that the beer isn't particularly memorable even when it is in ok condition. The overall feel here is somewhat dull, slightly unclean and the pronounced hop bitterness doesn't really go that well together with the high acidity. I refrain from both scoring the beer and marking it defective, since we couldn't come to a conclusion whether the beer was faulty or not, but it didn't leave a lasting impression on people. At 3,70€ for a 0,375 bottle, I wouldn't say the beer was worth the price.

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  3/12/2016 - forceberry wrote: flawed

  Striking pale yellow color. Musty, stale nose of mildew and old cellar. Taste dull and earthy.
  
  Seems corked. 3,60€ down the drain.

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