Tour de Closet
Last month, the Lambic brewers of Belgium opened their doors for the biannual Toer de Geuze, a celebration of spontaneously fermented beer. There were brewery tours, special blends, rare bottles, and bouncy castles. At the same time, I was here in America worrying about the mold in the back bedroom.
But in my closet I still have a small collection of Brussels’ finest Lambics. I randomly pulled out a dusty bottle of Cuvee Saint-Gilloise, dating back to 2012, the year we visited Brasserie Cantillon. I shredded the cork trying to get it open, but the beer is still as lively as ever.
The cuvee is brewed every year in honor of the local Brussels’ soccer club, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. This is quite an unusual Lambic. After maturing for two years in wooden casks, it is dry-hopped in stainless steel. A typical Lambic is brewed with two, three year old hops to avoid adding any flavor to the brew. This bottle of Cuvee Saint-Gilloise is five years old, but it still has a distinctly hoppy flavor.
The bottle is positively bursting with aroma, like an old barn being swept out for a square dance -- stale hay, chalky dust, dry leaves. The flavor is sharp and metallic. It’s sour on the frontend, like a tart apricot, and bitter minerality in the finish. The bitterness and the acidity balance nicely, and the funky old yeast adds a dignified mustiness, like a cave aged cheese.
