THINGS aren't built to last these days. Even if you are a bit handy with a screwdriver, many consumer goods are sold so cheaply made and encased so rigidly in plastic, that replacement is often more cost-effective than repair.
Many beers aren't meant to stick around all that long either, with the freshest IPAs begging to be guzzled down asap, which has led some breweries to even slap the fatal warning that 'hops die' on the side of their bottles or cans.
Of course, when it comes to beer, the Belgians do things differently. For many of their most renowned styles, they like to take their time.
That is certainly the case with lambics, and more specifically, the sub-style known as gueze.
The high standard of gueze is Oude Geuze Boon (pronounced 'bone', just to add to the confusion). It's a style held in such reverence that it comes in a small green bottle with a cork and cage top, much like a bottle of Champagne.
The beer itself is made by a mixture of wild and mixed fermentation and expert blending. The journey of Oude Geuze Boon from brewery to bottle is a long, but satisfying one.
They take lambics of varying ages – one, two and three year old beers – which are blended together and aged in oak casks.
A fair chunk of the finished beer is an 18-month old lambic, which makes up about 90 per cent of it. The remaining 10 per cent is made up of a strong three-year-old beer and one from the opposite end of the age spectrum which will continue to ferment away in the bottle.
This secondary fermentation allows the beer to continue to develop its delicate flavours for years to come. Yes, 'years' to come.
A quick look at the best before date on the Oude Geuze Boon I drank last week informed me that the best before date was in 2040, so no danger of it going off any time soon.
All there is to do, therefore, is enjoy the beer.
It pours a clear, golden colour in the glass and has a mild, sour aroma with hints of citrus and oak.
The flavours are mostly sour, but not overpowering, and there are sweet, fruity hints popping through, along with a hint of spice.
A deep taste of grapefruit flesh features strongly and adds to the wonderful complexity of flavour of this classic beer.
