Pure lambics are hard to find no matter where you go or where you live. Of course, it might be easier to find them in Belgium. It seems that, for now, brewers and the public are content to drink blended lambics. Gueuze is about as close as we get to an unadulterated version of the style. If you look, you can find straight lambics, which are quite an experience. For now, we must taste the beauty of the gueuze.
As was suggested to us, we decided to make Lindeman’s our choice for Sip with us Saturday. Many are familiar with their Pomme, Framboise, or Kriek versions, which tend toward sweetness. Few people are prepared for their Rene simply because they’ve grown accustomed to Lindeman’s sweet lambics. Well, brace yourself.
The Pour: I love taking the cork out of these beers. You really can see the French influences on the Belgian bottles. The pour on this beer is innocuous enough. It has a straw pilsner color and a slight haze. The stable white soapy looking head (in part to the 30% un-malted wheat in the beer) sits atop the brew like an easy breezy afternoon. Body-wise, the carbonation is almost violent, pointing toward the turbulence that underlies its simplicity of appearance. As I drank it, there was some nice lacing on the glass.
The Nose: This is where the pilsner perceptions change. No doubt, I detect some of the classic bready and grain aspects of pilsner malts. I would venture to say there is plenty of that pilsen styled malt in the beer. But the beer is way more than that. The head that appears to be soapy is, in fact, a bit redolent of soapy qualities. Yet the wheat and powdery yeast keep it in check. A big dose of sour aromas also shoot the beer past the soapy tones. The “horse blanket” qualities normally attributed to these style beers were not so evident. However, pineapple fruit tones were a part of the nose.
The Mouth/Taste: The wheat and yeast were a minor part of the taste profile. What really stood out were the beautiful sour qualities in the beer. In spite of the sweeter fruit aromas in Cuvee, it was pretty dry. A soft mouth-feel kept the beer from seeming even drier. Those pilsner tones did come through on the palate, which were a pleasant quality. The fruity pineapple tones did come through slightly in the taste. However, there were some fairly prominent berry aspects to the beer. While drinking Rene, I could really see why raspberry would be the natural choice for fruits in the beer…I could almost phantom taste them.
Overall, this is a great beer to try if you’ve only had Lindeman’s sweeter beers. It really shows the drinker the under-structure of Lindeman’s beers. For my part, I think it’s a great beer. Perhaps my only criticism is that I’d like to have a little more sour and funk going on. A touch more complexity would go a long way for me. Still, it’s a terrific beer.
Mike’s Rating:
Overall Satisfaction: 
Among other Sour Ales:
Turns out that this is my brother’s favorite sour lambic. I, myself, is more of a fan of the Flanders Red sours. (Duchesse De Bourgogne!!!) Curvee Rene is an excellent lambic, however. It might not be the most sour beer available, but if you would like to introduce someone to the sour beer style, this is an excellent choice.
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It is a good one. I think that I might recommend the Saison Rue from The Bruery simply because i think of it as a beginners sour.
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[...] have their place as well, and all of the Lindemans, with the exception of the Gueuze (called Cuvée René) are of that variety. Perhaps Lindemans Framboise is a classic in its own way, but their Cuvée [...]