HORAL Megablend 2017

Origin: Belgium | Date: 2017 | ABV: 7% | On The Beer Nut: May 2017

Even though this is the 2017 joint project of the brewing members of lambic's High Council, created for the Toer de Gueze that year, the best-before date of November 2036 suggests that it was being bottled around this time ten years ago. I didn't think much of this when first I tried it, noting only that it was a dark shade of orange. It still is. Getting it open was tricky, thanks to the dried-out cork.

There's a distinct funk in the aroma on which I'm sure I would have passed a remark if it had been there originally -- earthy and sharp, like the more involved sort of runny French cheese. The flavour is intensely sour, going beyond the level of sharpness found in even the sourest oude geuze, and setting course for white malt vinegar. It is saved from that fate by a slew of additional complexities including, most strongly, pungent firework smoke, plus mature oak and raw lemon juice. Sometimes, geuze at this strength can feel a bit flabby, with too much cereal and heat. This goes the opposite direction, being light-bodied and mouthwateringly zingy.

It has dried out and soured up in its decade of ageing. That's definitely an improvement for me, and if you like a geuze to jostle your teeth and sizzle your gums, you'll enjoy it at this vintage too. I'm intrigued to know if it'll keep going in this direction, and where the limit of acceptability lies. I may never find out, but I'm in no rush to tackle the later vintages of Megablend which I'm currently storing.