Brewery De Troch Oude Gueuze

**Aroma:** “A pleasant, light aroma that doesn’t overpower in any one area. Yeast aromatics are a touch more saison-like (some nice pepper and spice notes) than classically dubbel. Light spicy hops aroma complements yeast phenolics. As it starts to warm more esters (cherry or peach) start to come out and less spice.” **Flavor:** “A rounded malt foundation of toffee and raisins gives way to an unusual, but pleasantly different suit of fruit (bananas, cherries, plums) and spice (cloves). Some crisp hops bitterness to balance. Finishes dry.” **Overall:** “Spicy with a low malt complexity and a good balance of sweetness. Very drinkable. This could easily fly under the radar in a sea of competitors, but this pleasant little dubbel-esque saison quenches one’s thirst as readily as it quenches the need for something from the abbey. Perhaps this is what the monks drink when they mow the lawn?”

**Aroma:** “Bready sweetness, brown sugar, caramel, very Belgian nose. Very floral aroma—jasmine. Doesn’t smell like a Flanders. Very perfume and grap- ey. Strong acetic-acid aroma, balanced with a slight malty sweetness.” **Flavor:** “Flavors of blackberries and cur- rants. Fruit cocktail: pear, maraschino cherry, apricot, pineapple. Light tartness gives way to a very sweet, light-bodied beer. Finish is cotton-candy sweet. Malt is almost chocolaty. Doesn’t taste like a Flanders. Moderately low acidity is out of style. Strange perfume and grape flavor. Spicy phenolics. Odd flavor combo. Slight carbonic bite. Creamy body and a sweet finish.” **Overall:** “I think it may be a love-it or hate-it beer. There are no discernible off flavors but the combination of sugar-sweet and tart is quite odd. As a Flanders, it’s weirdly fruity and not very sour at all. An approachable beer, but perhaps a little on the sweet side. Would be excellent as a dessert beer paired with ice cream.”

**Aroma:** “Citrus and fruity with orange, peach, apricot, and pineapple plus light strawberry and plum. Lactic and *Brett* character comes through on the nose as well. Tartness shines up front from the acidity followed by some notes of lemon zest, pineapple, and dried apricot. You can almost smell the carbonation.” **Flavor:** “Big peach, moderate apricot, citrus notes of lemon, orange, pink grapefruit, and pineapple. Moderately high acidity, slight lemon-zest bitterness, and a long tail of peach. High carbonation gives it a champagne-like character. Acidity and tartness struggle a bit to compete with some of the subtle citrus and pineapple fruit notes. Finish is rather dry.” **Overall:** “A good balance between fruit and acidity. The carbonation really makes this a refreshing beverage. Complexity is evident in the tartness, and the blend of aged and young also shines in the fruitiness, with a nice balance between those components.”