Top 10 Lambics & Gueuzes of Belgium
This list is by no means an exhaustive list of the best Lambics/Gueuzes and Krieks in Belgium, since there are hundreds available. While I have enjoyed hundreds of different bottles over the past 3 decades, there has been a recent revival of the art of producing these incredible products over the past several years and some are so rare, I have not been able to enjoy many products from some of the newer producers; so those won’t be included although they have been rated by others as some of the best ever made. So apologies to those new producers and once I do try some of their creations, I will amend my list.
Also, just because I have a favorite out of a very large range of products from the best breweries/blenders doesn’t mean that there might be ones favored by others as better; once again, these are my favorites.
#1) 3 Fonteinen Oud Gueuze
A blend of 1, 2, and 3 year old lambics. This is a true gueuze and a great example of what someone should look for in a top quality product. All gueuzes are unfiltered and unpasteurized and after blending and putting into the bottle, it is aged again in the bottle for an additional year before being sold. It is brewed with 60% barley malt, 40% unmalted wheat, aged hops and water and then spontaneously fermented with microbes in the air before being put into oak barrels or tuns until it reaches maturity.
This gueuze pours a lovely orange color with a great effervescence and a thin large bubble head. The aroma is pure heaven; a mix of mineral aromas, couples with stone fruit character especially lemon and apple with the traditional barnyard or horse blanket aromas. As it warms more flavors appear and it becomes exceedingly complex. Like all gueuzes, this bottle can be aged for up to 50 years, although most producers recommend only 25 years. As it ages, it becomes more and more complex.
#2) Cantillon Lou Pepe Gueuze
To me ALL lambics and gueuzes are world-class, but some shine more than others in my mind. Cantillon Lou Pepe is one of those.
A blend of 2 year old lambics selected for their maturity and character, it is blended carefully, put into bottles with some secret ‘sweet liquor added, to aid in secondary fermentation in the bottle. Named after the Cantillon family’s grandfather who they affectionately called ‘Lou Pepe.’ Cantillon also makes a Lou Pepe Kriek, which is also excellent…but the gueuze is my favorite.
#3) 3 Fonteinen Golden Blend
Another stellar blend from 3 Fonteinen. This one was blended from 4 different lambics from 1, 2, 3 & 4 years old barrels. This is unique as lambics usually ‘evaporate’ at a quicker rate after the third year; so it is rare for a blend to include one; unless it is for a very special release; which this is.
While this is called ‘golden’ it pours a darker orange hue than most gueuzes. Carbonation is very nice and keeps the very minimal head going strong for quite some time. Aroma is strong stone fruits, especially lemon and is followed with tastes of lemons, Granny Smith apples, some peach and grape tastes and a slight tropical fruit character coupled with the traditional barnyard character. Nicely acidic and finishes semi dry with a great mouthfeel once it has been consumed..
If you haven’t had, seek this one out. It is no longer produced, but still finds it’s way into distribution.
#4) Tilquin Oude Gueuze Ancienne
A blend of 1, 2 & 3 year old lambics, unfiltered and unpasteurized, it is re-fermented in the bottle for a minimum of 6 months. Pierre Tilquin was one of the first ‘new blenders’ taking up after there had been a ‘lull’ in the demand for this unique product. I had the pleasure of meeting Pierre in his first few months of business and he had a passion that was evident in the way he spoke about Lambics and Gueuzes in general. A humble man, the desire he had to create new and unique products was apparent.
This particular product is excellent; but I must say that all of Tilquin’s products are ALL excellent. He procures fresh wort from Boon, Lindemans, Girardin and Cantillon and puts them up in various oak barrels for the required period of years before blending them into his unique creations.
It pours a hazy golden orange color with aromas of fresh mowed grass, nuts, some pine and a spice character comes through like coriander and maybe nutmeg. The traditional barnyard character re also there. The taste is of fresh hay, many different oak flavors, apple and lemon with some slight tobacco notes. The finish is semi dry and effervescent and ‘cleansing’.
This is, in my opinion, a ‘home run’.
#5) Cantillon 100% Lambic
The entire range of Cantillon beers are unique and exceptional. The brewery has been in existence since the 1800’s after experimenting with brewing an all natural product with spontaneous 
fermentation and then bottling using Champagne yeast.
Lambic, which is the base for the making of Gueuze, is a spontaneous fermentation beer. All beers made with Lambic are naturally sour, but some will be more sour, more bitter or “softer” than the others. Cantillon Gueuze is the result of a well-considered blending of Lambics of different ages and with different tastes. All Cantillon products are aged in oakwood barrels and are called “young” after one year; but they will reach their full maturity after three years. The young beers contain the sugars which are necessary for the second fermentation in the bottle. The three years old beers will contribute their taste and their flavor.
Cantillon 100% Lambic is a masterpiece of brewing skills. It pours a grassy light lemon yellow with a slight cloudiness and a nice tight white head. Aromas include the traditional ‘barnyard character’ along with nice notes of citrus; especially lemons & grapefruit, with a nice acidic note, and notes of grains. All of these aromas are melded together in the flavor and the beer finishes with a nice crisp clean tartness which lingers for a period of time.
#6) De Cam Oude Gueuze
A blend of one and two year old lambics, it is then re-fermented in the bottle for a period of time before being released. It pours a hazy amber color with a very active large head that quickly diminishes into a nice covering for the product that keeps those great aromas intact. That aroma includes aromas of fresh grass and hay with notes of stone fruits like plum and pear coupled with some light oak and that barnyard character that is so attractive for this style. There are also some bready notes and a slight rhubarb/strawberry character. All of these aromas transfer to the flavor. As the gueuze warms, some excellent spicy characters evolve.
The finish is clean and the remains of all the above flavors remain coupled with some slight ‘cheese’ character.
I love it!
#7) Horal Mega Blend
This is a yearly release by HORAL (High Council for Artisanal Lambics) and is a blend of lambics from most, if not all the current lambic producers. As such, each year is totally different, but all are excellent blends, by the world’s best producers. If you see a bottle – grab it. You won’t be disappointed.
#8) Antidoot L’ Ilumine
OK, Antidoot is very hard to come by, but it for find a bottle somewhere, it will be worth your time and money to buy it. This one is a great lambic blended with peaches and nectarines. So you get the tartness from the citrus and the sweetness from the peaches, mixed with the straw aroma and flavor of most lambics.
#9) Girardin Gueuze 1882 Black Label
The main problem with listing my Top 10 favorite beers is that I could easier list my Top 10 in each style category. I never realized how difficult it is to actually decide which 10 beers I like the best. I love al
l Gueuzes and Lambics (at least the real ones) and to pick one that I love over all others was a daunting task. Hanssens is great, as well as 3 Fontinen, Cantillion and Tilquin; but if I had to pick ‘a gueuze to bring to the desert island’ it would be Girardin 1882 Black. This Gueuze pours a golden color (like straw) and produced a rocky head that exhibits small flecks of yeast and particulate. The head fades quickly leaving a nice ring of sediment around the top of the glass. The aroma of this unfiltered Gueuze is fantastic. The initial barnyard and horse blanket smell give way to a tart fruity mix of herbal excellence combined with some lactic aroma, wood, grain, bread and actually makes your mouth water profusely with the expectations that you will quench the saliva with this great tonic. The taste is what one would expect in a great Gueuze. There is the initial mouth puckering with an explosion of flavor. One detects notes of citrus, musk, floral hops, wood and funk, spices, pepper, grass, and Granny Smith apples. The finish is a dry grapefruit like mouthfeel and a lingering finish where one can faintly detect all the above attributes.
#10) 3 Fonteinen Armand & Gaston
A blend of 85% 2, & 3 year old lambics with 15% young lambics, blended in the original method of Gaston Debelder and his son, Armand. They have also released this using 1,2 & 3 year old lambics. Look for notes of apple, lemon, straw, honey, oak and leather. This is a very complex beer that evolves as it warms.
Please be aware that there are hundreds and hundreds of different lambics and gueuzes and is an ‘acquired’ taste. You either love it…or not. There are also numerous ‘new’ blenders in Belgium, like Antidoot; there is Bokkereyder, Lambiek Fabriek, Kestemont, and others. These newer producers do not really ‘distribute’ so you won’t see any of them in your local U.S. beer store; but if in Belgium and you come across a bottle – grab it.