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Boon Geuze Mariage Parfait 2008

Boon Geuze Mariage ParfaitBrouwerij Boon produces my favorite geuzes.  The Marriage Parfait is my favorite of their Geuzes.  It’s consistently one of my “desert island” beers.  Boon’s Marriage Parfait is a beer made from 95% 3 year-old “mild” Lambic blended with 5% young Lambic.  The young Lambic provides fermentable sugar and wild yeast to aid in secondary fermentation and conditioning.  The Marriage Parfait undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottles and is then cellared in a climate controlled space for an additional 6 months.  The bottling date can be found by subtracting  20 years from the “best before” date on the back.  This is also why it’s a great choice for a desert island beer, it won’t go bad on you!

This means that the 2008 vintage was bottled in 2011 from beer that started it’s journey in 2008.

Appearance: Gold with a bit of haze.  White head with good retention.

Aroma: Lemon, spicy, pepper, lemon zest, nicely sharp acidic nose.  Light notes of Brett funk.

Taste: Lemon, earthy, pineapple, passion fruit, bit of funk, phenolic, spicy finish.  As always with Boon beers, balanced acidity

Overall Impression: Like the rest of Boon’s beers, this beer is well-balanced and complex.  The 2008 seems to be a bit more lemony than the 2007 was.  The Mariage Parfait line seems to be more citrusy in its aromas than a lot of Geuzes with the funkier notes taking a well-blended back seat.  While it’s not the most sour Geuze out there, it’s one of the most interesting and elegant ones available.  Even better, it’s much more price friendly and available than some other more hyped Lambics.

Availability: Look for it where you find other Boon beers, at better beer shops throughout the United States.  Look for it where you see Rodenbach and other imports by Latis Imports. The 2008 is nearly gone from store shelves, so if you see a bottle, snap it up while you can.  The 2009 is out now in many areas.

8% ABV

Notes: Bottled on 27-7-2011 (July 27, 2011)

To read more about Brouwerij Boon and my reviews of their beers, go to my page on Brouwerij Boon where you can also read about my tour of the brewery with Frank Boon.

6 thoughts on “Boon Geuze Mariage Parfait 2008

  1. I’ve been reading quite a bit about sour beers recently, but I’ve only tried a dozen or so. Reading your post motivated me to go out and try a bottle of Marriage Parfait. I really enjoyed it. Any suggestions for styles of sour different than geuze, like Faro or unblended Lambic?

    1. Faro is sweetened Lambic, and almost not available at all in the US, as is unblended Lambic. I’d try a Flemish Red like Rodenbach Grand Cru or maybe go for Petrus Wood Aged Pale Ale. It’s similar in flavor to geuze but is made like a Flemish Red.

      1. I have had Rodenbach Grand Cru before. It’s a very interesting beer, quite different from the geuze. I’ve not tried the Petrus, but I’ll look for it. You can get Lindeman’s Faro and Lambickx Lambic in the stores here. I’ve looked at them many times but never pulled the trigger to buy either one. Do you know if unblended lambics taste very different from a geuze?

        1. Lambickx Lambic is going to taste pretty much like a geuze. The Lindeman’s Faro, though, will be a bit different. Sugar is added to straight Lambic. It’s kind of a traditional “treat” beer. It would be worth trying at least once. If you search for the tag “sour” or look for it on the category archive on the blog, you should pull up a bunch of different reviews I’ve done on sour beers. That should provide lots of good shopping ideas!

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