citrin@ucbvax.UUCP (Wayne Citrin) (04/11/84)
> Those travelling through Belgium this summer might be interested in > trying a beer served at "De Konning" in Dworp (off of auto route E5 > south of Brussels). They call it Geuze, which I believe is also the > name given to a (very good) commercially bottled beer. In any case, > Geuze is worth the side trip to Dworp. > > Stanley Krolikoski > U. of Illinois For those who might be interested, gueuze is a "wild"" (spontaneously fermenting) beer style indigenous to the region of Belgium around Brussels. Apparently the bacteria in the region's air can substitute for yeast. Pure varieties of wild beer are known as lambic and gueuze is a blend of lambic which is aged between three months aand four years. I have never tried lambic or gueuze and I have never seen it imported into this country. If someone has tried it or knows if it is imported, please let me know. Wayne Citrin (ucbvax!citrin)
jaap@haring.UUCP (04/13/84)
Yes, Geuze and Geuze Lambiek, sometimes just called Lambiek (Certainly not Lambic), is a supposed to be a beer made with spontaneous fermentation. Alas, nowadays this way of beer making is now done in "controlled" environments (Breweries). So if it will be exported to the statesat all, it will probably be made under the same conditions as the chemic industries refine your patrol. There are still some small breweries making it in the old fashioned way. It is difficult, having these huge open tubs of fermenting stuff around. Always to be on guard to get the wrong style of yeast around, preventing the overflying birds accidentally drop certain not that much wanting stuff in the tub. Also important is to get the right kind of cherries in the mix. Such a Geuze tastes much better then the industry type. It will probably die out, with the brewers (Not all are male, one of th best one's comes from a widow, which name I always forget, especially after drinking the stuff). When you are in Amsterdam, you can try out about 6 different types of Geuze. It is just a small subset of the 160 different beers available. It will be said to see this discussion to move to net.wines, since we don't get it here, but net.wines is probably the right place for it. So I will get a sip of my Grolsch before I start to mourn over the fate of this discussion. Jaap Akkerhuis
stank@uiucdcs.UUCP (04/13/84)
#R:ucbvax:-20100:uiucdcs:10600158:000:569 uiucdcs!stank Apr 13 11:46:00 1984 Thanks for the info. I managed to misspell the name-- my Belgian friends inform me that the correct name is geuze. I don't think that it is imported. Belgians just don't seem interested in importing their beers. Compare the number of beers available from Holland (some rather ordinary in my opinion), with the dearth of Belgian beers available here. Yet, there are MANY more types/brands of Belgian beer than Dutch beer. You can find Heinekin everywhere, but I've never seen Stella Artois sold in this country. Stanley K.
archiel@hercules.UUCP (04/16/84)
Of course most commercial breweries (and wineries, for that matter) do not trust to fate that a desirable strain of yeast or other microorganism will grow in their wort (or must)! The results are VERY unpredictable. If there is enough acetobacter around, for example, the result will be a vat of malt (or wine) vinegar, which doesn't make a very good beverage. I agree, most commercial beer is barely worthy of the name, but cultured yeasts are not the cause of this. Use of increasingly large percentages of adjuncts (for lightness and economy) is a more likely candidate. Think again before you long for the "good old days" of "wild beer." It would probably cost much more, be in shorter supply, and you might have to deal with an occaisional mouth full of "witch's brew" when you had expected the taste of your favorite lager, ale, or whatever. -- Archie Lachner Logic Design Systems Division Tektronix, Inc. uucp: {ucbvax,decvax,pur-ee,cbosg,ihnss}!tektronix!teklds!archiel CSnet: archiel@tek ARPAnet: archiel.tek@csnet-relay