Mariage Parfait means the perfect marriage, and that's exactly what a gueuze is: a blend of lambics of different ages that referment in the bottle. Brouwerij Boon in Lembeek, the village lambic is named after, uses lambic aged for at least three years in oak barrels for this one.

Character

Tart, dry and excitingly complex, as Boon describes it. Spontaneous fermentation without added yeast, long ageing in wood and refermentation in the bottle make a beer closer to wine than you might think. At 8% it's stronger than an average gueuze, and the bottle will keep for years.

How I serve it

• At 12 °C: as Boon recommends, in a tulip glass or even a wine glass.
• With mussels: a pot of mussels, or mussels steamed with a splash of gueuze.
• With cheese: an aged Gouda, a goat's cheese or a piece of Comté.
• As an aperitif: with small brown shrimp; the acidity freshens everything up.

Store gueuze upright somewhere dark and cool. It keeps maturing quietly, because this bottle is made for keeping.

Ingredients

water, barley malt, wheat, hops.

Allergens: contains gluten (barley, wheat).

Good to know

Oude Geuze, 8% vol, 75 cl. A gueuze of 100% spontaneously fermented lambic, aged for at least 3 years in oak barrels. Oude Geuze is an EU-protected name (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed). Keep dark and cool, serve at 12 °C. Brewed by Brouwerij Boon, Lembeek (Belgium).