Fancy Pants Sunday: Boon 2014 Geuze Mariage Parfait

At dawn on July 17, 1831, King Leopold I arrived at the Belgian coast and first set foot in his new kingdom. Four days later he swore his oath of office on the steps of the church of Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg to become the first King of the Belgians. Eleven months earlier on August 25th 1830 the Belgian Revolution had started when the performance of an opera at the Monnaie was the spark that set off the tinderbox that was the political situation and people stormed out of the theatre and started the insurrection that led to the declaration of independence a couple months later. Most European powers were against the creation of an independent Belgium and Leopold’s arrival gave hope to the people, so July 21 was chosen as National Day. To honor the establishment of a country with a long, deep and rich beer history on Belgian National Day, Peaks and Pints aims our weekly Fancy Pants Sunday column straight Belgium.

Frank Boon, the premier revivalist brewer in Belgium, uses only whole fruits in his lambics — no additional syrups or extracts. His lambics are 100 percent spontaneously fermented by wild yeast, then barrel aged for 2 years. Boon’s handiworks are aromatically fruity, tart and unblended with a great balance of flavors.

Belgian National Day — check. Boon makes delicious lambics — check. By some sort of mathematical property it’s only local we present a Boon lambic as our Fancy Pants Sunday offering — specifically, Boon 2014 Geuze Mariage Parfait.

Brewed in Lembeek, the village that gave lambic its name, Brouwerij Boon 2014 Geuze Mariage Parfait grabbed gold at the 2010 World Beer Cup. Also, Boon spells gueuze without the initial “u”. You fancy Boon.

Before Boon Geuze Mariage Parfait arrives at your table, it’s blended with 3-year-old lambics accompanied by a small percentage of young lambic in a perfect marriage made in brewing heaven. At Boon, it’s all about balance, so in order to provide the Geuze Mariage Parfait with enough body to withstand the abundance in different flavors, the especially brewed lambics have a high degree of fermentation resulting in an alcoholic content of 8 percent. The result is a malty and yeasty aroma and taste, with lime zest, tangerine, smooth vanilla, finishing sour and bitter.

Pour slowly in our tulip glasses without disturbing the yeast sediment in the bottle and enjoy this epitome of traditional lambic brewing.

You fancy Boon 2014 Geuze Mariage Parfait.