Brewers Launch Mega-Blend Geuze

Eight brewers from the Senne Valley and Pajottenland areas of Flemish Brabant have come together to produce the Oude Geuze MegaBlend 2009 which will be sold in limited edition 75 cl bottles from 26 April. The geuze, described by the producers as a "the mother of all beers" is a joint effort by brewers Boon, 3 Fonteinen, De Cam, De Troch, Hanssens, Lindemans, Oud Beersel and Timmermans.

Geuze is produced by blending young and old lambic beers in a process that allows the sugars in the young lambic to induce a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Lambic itself, particular to the Pajottenland, used wild yeasts and bacteria from the air for its fermentation which gives the typical acidic taste. Lambic is also the base for the production of fruit beers, the most famous of which is kriek.

Lambic probably takes its name from the town of Lembeek. The name "geuze" may derive from the word for "geyser" because of its champagne-like fizz, or from an old Norman words for wheat.

The launch will coincide with a tour of the breweries, organised by the High Council for Artisanal Lambik Beers (HORAL). Each bottle will be numbered and will cost 6 €, with the exception of the first bottle, numbered 00001, which is currently being auctioned on eBay until 20 April.

www.Horal.be

Visit Gueuze http://www.squidoo.com/asj_gueuze/

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