Gueuze and other Sour beer...

Gueuze & Sours ? There is nothing quite like a gueuze or a sour beer, reaching into the fridge and getting something, cool, sparkling and just zinging with acidity - we at beermerchants are certified Sourheads, completely nuts about Gueuze and all the many shades of tangentally associated wild ferment beers. We've gone out and returned to load the shelves here, with beers from Timmermans, Beersel, Cantillon and Boon as well as all the Rodenbach, and De Ranke sours.

About Lambic, and Gueuze - Lambic is a very distinctive type of beer brewed only in the Pajottenland region of Belgium (southwest of Brussels) and in Brussels itself at the Cantillon Brewery and Museum.

Lambic is now mainly consumed after refermentation, resulting in derived beers such as Geuze or Kriek. Unlike conventional ales and lagers, which are fermented by carefully cultivated strains of brewer's yeasts, lambic beer is produced by spontaneous fermentation: it is exposed to the wild yeasts and bacteria that are said to be native to the Senne valley, in which Brussels lies. It is this unusual process which gives the beer its distinctive flavour: dry, vinous, and cidery, usually with a sour aftertaste. You can see a complete list of all our Lambic and Gueuze Beers right here, but read on and see what gems we've got in stock!

Oud Beersel is an artisanal Lambic brewery, based in Beersel and founded in 1882 by Henri Vandervelden. His son Louis, and then his grandson Henri, subsequently took over. The brewery remained in the same family until 2002. In 1991, it was taken over by Henri's nephew Danny Draps. In 2002, the brewing activities were stopped, due to financial problems. In 2005, driven by an interest in reviving the artisanal Oud Beersel kriek and geuze, two young men (Gert Christiaens and Roland De Bus) restarted the brewery. read more here, and check out the range of Kriek, Framboos and Oude Gueze beers.

A family tradition – and one that has been perpetuated for more than 300 years going all the way back to 1702 when Timmermans started brewing Gueuze Lambic in Itterbeek just a few kilometres from the centre of Brussels. At the time, the brewery was known under the name of ‘Brasserie de la Taupe’. Today, Timmermans that has been part of the ‘Finest Beer Selection’ of Anthony Martin since 1993. Read more here and check out the "new" 75cl Oud Kriek, Oud Gueuze and Lambic/Gueuze.

1604, was the first time in writing that the picturesque Pajottenland brewery was documented. It was extended in the 17th century by Joris Van der Hasselt and later by De Keersmaeker, a family relative.

Over the years, the De Keermaeker brewery has specialised in the production of authentic Lambic beers. The brewery is part of a select group of breweries that produce traditional Lambic beer. The process of spontaneous fermentation is unique because the composition of air and weather in the valley of Seine and Pajottenland are not found anywhere else. Read more here.

One of our favourite brewers, let alone Lambic brewers. The Boon Brewery (Brouwerij F. Boon, prn. "Bone") is a Belgian Lambic brewery situated in Lembeek, near Brussels, that mainly produces geuze and kriek beer of a fairly traditional variety, but using distinctly modern brewing techniques and equipment. Other products of the brewery include Faro beer and Duivelsbier, the traditional beer of Halle.

The head of the brewery, Frank Boon, is considered by many to be one of the main driving forces behind the fairly recent revival of the traditional geuze and kriek beers.

We've carried Boon gueuze beers for many years now - but we're slowly increasing the number of specialist releases, as and when they come, and we can get our hands on them! Read more here, and check out the excellent Oud Kriek and Mariage Parfait Kriek.

Cantillon Brewery (Brasserie-Brouwerij Cantillon) is a small family run Lambic brewery based in Brussels and founded in 1900. Although it has been managed by the Van Roy family after the last Cantillon left it to his son-in-law Jean-Pierre Van Roy, the name Cantillon has been kept.

Cantillon Brewery brews lambic beers like kriek and gueuze in the traditional style, unchanged since it was founded. It is the last lambic brewery in Brussels that still uses the process of spontaneous fermentation.

Beers like Fou'Foune are seasonally dependent on the apricot harvest. :-) read more about their incredibly popular and sought after beers right here.... we haz treatz. inc, batches of St Gilloise from 2011 and 2012.

Lindemans Brewery (Brouwerij Lindemans) is a Belgian family brewery based in Vlezenbeek, a small town in the Flemish Brabant southwest of Brussels. It produces lambics. The history of Lindemans begins in the eighteenth century, as a family farm with a small brewery; the brewery's patriarch was Frans Lindemans, the brother of the then-baillif of Gaasbeek.

Commercial brewing began in 1811. In 1930, with the growing success of the brewery, the agricultural activity was stopped, and the Kriek and Gueuze were first brewed. They produced their first Faro in 1978. We've got a range of their easy-access Fruited lambic as well as the more specialist Cuvee beers, their Kriek and Gueuze.

3 Fonteinen is a Belgian brewery/blender, specialized in geuze and kriek. The brewery is situated in Beersel, near Brussels and produces classic versions of both kriek and geuze. 3 Fonteinen was founded in about 1887 as a café and geuzestekerij, a place where geuze is produced by blending old and new lambics, acquired from other breweries.

The enterprise was bought by Gaston De Belder in 1953, who expanded it with a restaurant and left it to his sons Armand and Guido in 1982. In 1998, a brewery installation was bought. Apart from using its own lambic, 3 Fonteinen uses lambic made by Boon, Girardin and Lindemans for its geuze. Read more here - just in, 75cl and 37.5cl of Oud Gueuze.

Horal

The Supreme Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers (HORAL) is the non-profit (non-profit) that the gueuze producers of the Pajottenland and Zenne Valley groups. The objectives of HORAL are: promoted for traditional lambic beers and related products, paying attention to the entire process of brewing to pour; denouncing irregularities in relation to artisanal lambic beers and related products; take steps to protect the traditional lambic beers and related products.

Each year, they endeavour to produce a joint blend of lambics under the banner of The Oude Geuze Mega Blend.The vintage 2011 is a blend of young and old lambics from 8 HORAL members (Boon, De Oude Cam, De Troch, 3 Fonteinen, Hanssens, Lindemans, Oud Beersel and Timmermans). This gueuze has been made to celebrate the 8th edition of the Tour Geuze. The Mega Blend 2011 is available in bottles of 75cl only. Limited edition. All bottles are numbered.

Sour Beers

Rodenbach - we've just got ahold of some of the Rodenbach Vintage 2009!

De Ranke - we've also just got in the excellent Cuvee De Ranke and Kriek De Ranke. >read more about the excellent De Ranke Brewery here<

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