I participated in a lambic tasting today in Baltimore, set up by Tom
Cizauskas of Legends, Ltd. We were in two groups, a mixture of beer, wine,
and food people, tasting 10 lambics each -- gueuze, unblended, and fruit --
completely blind. I don't even know how many lambics there were; we didn't
get the same ones in each group. I had to leave before full results were
promulgated, but some interesting raw results were given out. My group was
mostly beer people (self-selecting, we just happened to sit together); our
second-lowest score went to Frank Book Kriek (we thought it was too sweet,
not very complex), which was the one ranked highest by the group with almost
all wine people. Our two favorites were Cantillon Lou Pepe and Hanssens
Kriek, and I don't believe the wine people liked either of them. Can't wait
to get the rest of the results.

Great tasting, very well handled, and intense in the discussions. We
generally agreed on things in the beer group, though Steve Frank (another
writer, from Mid-Atalantic Brew News) and I tended to want more hardcore
stuff in the lambics. I've only done two tastings similar to this; my first
"serious" tasting back in 1992, with 12 gueuze lambics, and the Monk's
all-lambic dinner some four years ago, with 11 lambics. Excellent
opportunity, and my thanks to Tom for inviting me. I hope to write this up
for Ale Street News.

--
Lew Bryson

www.LewBryson.com
Author of "New York Breweries" and "Pennsylvania Breweries," 2nd ed., both
available at <www.amazon.com>
The Hotmail address on this post is for newsgroups only: I don't check it,
or respond to it. Spam away.

How was Drie Fonteinen rated? That is my favorite
Lambic these days...basically talking about the Gueuze,
as their fruit lambics are pretty hard to find lately.

Bill Coleman

===========================


"Lew Bryson" > wrote in message
. com...
> I participated in a lambic tasting today in Baltimore, set up by Tom
> Cizauskas of Legends, Ltd. We were in two groups, a mixture of beer, wine,
> and food people, tasting 10 lambics each -- gueuze, unblended, and
fruit --
> completely blind. I don't even know how many lambics there were; we didn't
> get the same ones in each group. I had to leave before full results were
> promulgated, but some interesting raw results were given out. My group was
> mostly beer people (self-selecting, we just happened to sit together); our
> second-lowest score went to Frank Book Kriek (we thought it was too sweet,
> not very complex), which was the one ranked highest by the group with
almost
> all wine people. Our two favorites were Cantillon Lou Pepe and Hanssens
> Kriek, and I don't believe the wine people liked either of them. Can't
wait
> to get the rest of the results.
>
> Great tasting, very well handled, and intense in the discussions. We
> generally agreed on things in the beer group, though Steve Frank (another
> writer, from Mid-Atalantic Brew News) and I tended to want more hardcore
> stuff in the lambics. I've only done two tastings similar to this; my
first
> "serious" tasting back in 1992, with 12 gueuze lambics, and the Monk's
> all-lambic dinner some four years ago, with 11 lambics. Excellent
> opportunity, and my thanks to Tom for inviting me. I hope to write this up
> for Ale Street News.
>
> --
> Lew Bryson
>
> www.LewBryson.com
> Author of "New York Breweries" and "Pennsylvania Breweries," 2nd ed., both
> available at <www.amazon.com>
> The Hotmail address on this post is for newsgroups only: I don't check it,
> or respond to it. Spam away.
>
>

Lew,

Thanks for the post....excellent. You almost turned up my breakfast with the
thought of wine snobs with their sour puss's from the lambics. Oh the sight
must have been horrific.

Dave

"Davidlown" > wrote in message
...
> Lew,
>
> Thanks for the post....excellent. You almost turned up my breakfast with
the
> thought of wine snobs with their sour puss's from the lambics. Oh the
sight
> must have been horrific.

Well, the food person we had in our group was mostly a winer, and to be
fair, she held up fairly well. The fun thing was that only the beer people
had the guts to note the "whiffs of aged pigshit" and "barnyard aromas."

--
Lew Bryson

www.LewBryson.com
Author of "New York Breweries" and "Pennsylvania Breweries," 2nd ed., both
available at <www.amazon.com>
The Hotmail address on this post is for newsgroups only: I don't check it,
or respond to it. Spam away.

"Bill Coleman" > wrote in message
...
> How was Drie Fonteinen rated? That is my favorite
> Lambic these days...basically talking about the Gueuze,
> as their fruit lambics are pretty hard to find lately.

Drie Fonteinen was not in the lineup. It was 20 from Lindemans, Boon,
Hanssens, Cantillon, and De Ranke.

--
Lew Bryson

www.LewBryson.com
Author of "New York Breweries" and "Pennsylvania Breweries," 2nd ed., both
available at <www.amazon.com>
The Hotmail address on this post is for newsgroups only: I don't check it,
or respond to it. Spam away.

Lew Bryson wrote:

>
>
> Drie Fonteinen was not in the lineup. It was 20 from Lindemans, Boon,
> Hanssens, Cantillon, and De Ranke.
>

Lew, if you want an event where you can taste all the lambics, head on over
to Belgium for this:
http://www.protocolpraktisch.be/ngden.html
I'll be there, along with a lot of other Lambic Lovers.....Cheers, Chuck C.

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 19:29:56 GMT, "Lew Bryson"
> wrote:

>"Bill Coleman" > wrote in message
...
>> How was Drie Fonteinen rated? That is my favorite
>> Lambic these days...basically talking about the Gueuze,
>> as their fruit lambics are pretty hard to find lately.
>
>Drie Fonteinen was not in the lineup. It was 20 from Lindemans, Boon,
>Hanssens, Cantillon, and De Ranke.

That's really stretching things to call De Ranke Kriek a "lambic."
They don't actually blend a lambic, they buy some from elsewhere and
blend it with their own house-brewed ale and, of course, the
cherries. It's a bit like comparing Reinaert's "Flemish Wild Ale"
to an actual lambic; it has some characteristics that make it similar
to one, but it isn't one, just the same.
--
Nobody You Know

"Oh, Guess" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 19:29:56 GMT, "Lew Bryson"
> >Drie Fonteinen was not in the lineup. It was 20 from Lindemans, Boon,
> >Hanssens, Cantillon, and De Ranke.
>
> That's really stretching things to call De Ranke Kriek a "lambic."
> They don't actually blend a lambic, they buy some from elsewhere and
> blend it with their own house-brewed ale and, of course, the
> cherries. It's a bit like comparing Reinaert's "Flemish Wild Ale"
> to an actual lambic; it has some characteristics that make it similar
> to one, but it isn't one, just the same.

I'll pass that along.

--
Lew Bryson

www.LewBryson.com
Author of "New York Breweries" and "Pennsylvania Breweries," 2nd ed., both
available at <www.amazon.com>
The Hotmail address on this post is for newsgroups only: I don't check it,
or respond to it. Spam away.

Lew Bryson ) wrote:
:
: I was invited to this tasting, not running it. Talk to Don about De Ranke, I
: don't know what the situation is with their Kriek. And I haven't seen Drie
: Fonteinen in five years.
:

Well, now I think I might have something in my possession to trade for
some Perkuno's Hammer.

Why don't you come out for the Pizza Port 12 hour Belgian fest and bring
some Perkuno's with you -- I'll hand over some nice Drie Fonteinen in
return.

--
Bill

reply to sirwill1 AT same domain as above

"Bill Benzel" > wrote in message
...
> Lew Bryson ) wrote:
> : I was invited to this tasting, not running it. Talk to Don about De
Ranke, I
> : don't know what the situation is with their Kriek. And I haven't seen
Drie
> : Fonteinen in five years.
>
> Well, now I think I might have something in my possession to trade for
> some Perkuno's Hammer.
>
> Why don't you come out for the Pizza Port 12 hour Belgian fest and bring
> some Perkuno's with you -- I'll hand over some nice Drie Fonteinen in
> return.

There's a lot of reasons to go to San Diego...but I'd rather go to Belgium
if I have to spend 6 hours on a plane!

--
Lew Bryson

www.LewBryson.com
Author of "New York Breweries" and "Pennsylvania Breweries," 2nd ed., both
available at <www.amazon.com>
The Hotmail address on this post is for newsgroups only: I don't check it,
or respond to it. Spam away.

Check out

http://drink.to/grotedorst

for a lambic tasting the day before the Zythos Bier Festival next month.

What caught my eye...

Girardin oude lambik cubitainer 10 liter EUR 20.00

But how to get it home

Fred Waltman
www.FranconiaBeerGuide.com

"Lew Bryson" > wrote in message .com>...

<snipped>

Chuck Cook > wrote in message >...
> Lew Bryson wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Drie Fonteinen was not in the lineup. It was 20 from Lindemans, Boon,
> > Hanssens, Cantillon, and De Ranke.
> >
>
> Lew, if you want an event where you can taste all the lambics, head on over
> to Belgium for this:
> http://www.protocolpraktisch.be/ngden.html
> I'll be there, along with a lot of other Lambic Lovers.....Cheers, Chuck C.

Hey, I'll be there, too. What was your name again?

Fred.

"Fred Waltman" > schreef in bericht
m...
> Check out
>
> http://drink.to/grotedorst
>
> for a lambic tasting the day before the Zythos Bier Festival next month.
>
> What caught my eye...
>
> Girardin oude lambik cubitainer 10 liter EUR 20.00
>
> But how to get it home

With a bit of luck there's a handle on that cubitainer!
I advice you to buy "two" of them, makes perfect balance :-)
Cheers,

--
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