#357: Boonbox

This intriguing set of four single vat Boon gueuze monoblends is still knocking around, aiming to showcase the influence of a variety of casks on Boon's geuze-bound lambic. I had mine for about a year before remembering to demolish the whole set over a single (albeit lengthy) session one Sunday before the seat fell out of the pants of the world.

First is Vat 91, a calvados vessel bottled (like all the rest) in December 2016, making this around two and a half years old at the time of drinking. Compared to the likes of Mariage Parfait or the superb Black Label it seems rather rich and mouthfilling, if not particularly acidic. There's a lemon sorbet almost-sweetness with a gentle sour edge, and a complex foundation of musty age and wet grain. It's pretty much a Boon geuze straight up, all balance and rustic satisfaction. I like it, and, SPOILER, it becomes my favourite of the quartet.

I like to picture Vat 92 occupying the space directly next to this in the presumably extensive Boon wood storage spaces, even though this wood started life cuddling red wine in the Rhone valley. As in Vat 91 (and indeed the rest of the set), there is no actual taste of the cask's previous occupant transferred to the beer, but what it does give is seemingly less than the calvados; it's drier and less 'rich', lacking some of the fullsome wheat base of the others. More of an issue is the tiny shade of cardboard lurking in the background, but for all that Vat 92 is not a bad geuze, just not particularly great.

Vat 108 ratchets up the acidity, making it the most sour of the bunch but also the flattest. Beyond acid there's a pungency of old wood and a coppery, blood-like sharpness. Even aside from these flavour elements, the lack of carbonation and aggressive sourness makes it the least 'complete' and drinkable geuze of the sitting. The vat in question is a dyed-in-the-wool lambic vessel from c. 1935, accounting for the higher acidity and aged character.

Last up is Vat 110, an old cognac vessel, though if you had told me this was aged in virgin oak, I  would have believed you; it has a subtle but present fresh wood-shaving and vanilla sweetness, in an otherwise tame and muted geuze. 

Needless to say, I made 1:1:1:1 polyblend of these monoblends, and it was surprisingly delicious, though still not as balanced and well-rounded as the Vat 91. If these bottles were roaming the wild loose of the set, I would pick up Vat 91 before the others, though the real value of the box is in experimenting and blending. 

A Note on Style...

The function and frequency of this blog is changing along with its name - The Drunken Destrier has become La Vie en Gueuze.

The reasons for this are twofold; firstly, while the blog has not quite become a ghost blog it has been idling with a greatly reduced output and in need of a reboot, so redesigning the blog to make it feel fresher seems like a good idea.

Secondly, one of the original functions of the blog was to document my experiences of the Irish craft beer industry from a strictly consumer point of view - I would excitedly try new beer that the country's brewers have to offer and give my honest opinion. Occasionally this would require me to vent my frustration or disappointment or even rather harsh criticism of a beer. However, since August 2018 I have been working in a brewery, heading up the packaging end of things in Eight Degrees Brewing, spending a lot of time working in the fermentation cellar of the brewery, as well as working on dispatching and local deliveries, dealing with trade customers and increasingly spending more time in the brewhouse and having a hand with recipe formulation. Safe to say that, despite still being a very active consumer of beer (both Irish and otherwise), I am not exclusively a consumer. While I am still happy to taste and talk about the beers I love (good beer should be advocated, no matter the brewer), I admit to feeling less comfortable with the prospect of publicly slamming a beer or brewer while working in the industry - such a thing seems unprofessional, and I would much rather engage in a conversation with brewers and producers about quality and brewing processes, than just shoot my mouth off on this blog.

So what can you expect to see here from now on?

Honestly, much of the same. Years ago I abandoned the notion that I could try even a paltry amount of the new beers released weekly by Irish brewers, and there are only so many variations on an IPA I can face before losing a bit of interest. As such, expect to see beers emptied from the cellar, interesting imports and a diversity of styles, reflecting pretty much what I feel like drinking at the time. On top of this, I intend to share my infrequent experiences in homebrewing, hopefully in long-form 'grain to glass' posts. You may even see me design and apply labels to my beer, in the interest of journalistic completion-ism.

Lastly, this is clearly coming about because I have an unusual amount of time on my hands because of the pandemic, and there's only so much drawing a man can do before he loses his mind. I hope you are keeping safe and well.

PS. A hat tip to John at The Beer Nut, the original inspiration for this blog and the one whose model I stole followed (and still more or less follow) from the beginning. Still the benchmark for informed and honest beer opinion and pleasant travelogues, and 15 years old this month.