About This Beer
Wide Street Cuvée Spontanée is a lambic-style gueuze brewed using traditional spontaneous fermentation and extended oak ageing to create a deeply layered and evolving craft beer experience within craft beer Ireland. Brewed by Wide Street Brewing in Ballymahon, Co. Longford at 5.5% ABV, this mixed fermentation beer is created from a blend of four-year-old lambic-method barrels, developing refined acidity, wild yeast complexity, and elegant balance over time. Fans of spontaneous fermentation beer can discover more in our Sour & Lambic collection, featuring standout gueuze, wild ales, and mixed fermentation beer from Ireland and beyond.
Inspired by traditional Belgian gueuze brewing techniques, Cuvée Spontanée delivers remarkable depth and subtlety from the first sip. Layers of tart citrus, green apple, white grape, earthy funk, oak tannin, and delicate farmhouse character evolve gradually across the palate while maintaining a crisp dry finish and lively carbonation.
Unlike heavily fruited sour beer or modern kettle sour styles that focus primarily on sharp acidity and sweetness, this spontaneous beer prioritises elegance, wild fermentation complexity, and slow flavour evolution. The acidity remains refined and integrated rather than aggressive, allowing the mixed fermentation profile and oak influence to fully develop throughout the beer.
The extended ageing process softens harsher edges while creating additional layers of depth and nuance through natural fermentation and barrel maturation. Compared to standard lager beer, Cuvée Spontanée delivers dramatically greater complexity and evolving fermentation character while remaining brighter and more refreshing than many stout beer or red ale beer styles.
The result is a sophisticated and highly expressive spontaneous beer that rewards slow drinking and reflects the patience required to produce traditional gueuze-inspired beer within modern Irish craft beer.
Tasting Notes:
- Appearance: Pale golden with lively carbonation and a soft white head
- Aroma: Tart citrus, oak, green apple, earthy funk, white grape, and farmhouse yeast character
- Flavour: Citrus acidity, green apple, oak tannin, earthy wild yeast, subtle funk, and dry complexity
- Mouthfeel: Light-bodied, crisp, dry, and highly effervescent with refined acidity
About the Brewery
Wide Street Brewing is an independent brewery based in Ballymahon, Co. Longford, specialising in wild and mixed fermentation beer inspired by traditional Belgian lambic, gueuze, and farmhouse brewing techniques.
The brewery has built a strong reputation within craft beer Ireland for producing thoughtful small-batch beer focused on spontaneous fermentation, oak ageing, balance, and long-term flavour development. Their brewing philosophy embraces patience, traditional methods, and complex fermentation processes rarely seen within modern commercial brewing.
Wide Street Brewing is particularly recognised for farmhouse beer, mixed fermentation releases, spontaneous beer, and barrel-aged projects that draw influence from classic Belgian brewing while still maintaining a distinctly modern Irish brewing identity. Their beers regularly showcase the depth and complexity possible through natural fermentation and extended maturation.
Cuvée Spontanée reflects the brewery’s commitment to authentic spontaneous fermentation and traditional gueuze-style blending. By ageing and blending four-year-old barrels, Wide Street Brewing has created a beer with genuine depth, elegance, and evolving complexity that highlights the possibilities of mixed fermentation brewing in Ireland.
As interest in wild and mixed fermentation beer continues to grow, Wide Street Brewing has become one of the standout breweries pushing spontaneous brewing forward within craft beer Ireland and helping establish Ballymahon as an important location within the independent Irish brewing scene.
Food Pairings
Wide Street Cuvée Spontanée pairs exceptionally well with rich cheeses, seafood, charcuterie, and dishes that complement its acidity and wild fermentation character. Goat’s cheese, washed rind cheese, oysters, cured meats, roasted chicken, and farmhouse-style dishes all work particularly well alongside the beer’s dry oak-driven structure and bright carbonation.
The acidity and carbonation also help cut through richer foods while complementing earthy and fermented flavours. Mushroom dishes, sourdough bread, pickled vegetables, and traditional farmhouse cooking pair especially well with the beer’s layered funk and elegant acidity.
For more independent brewing and distinctive mixed fermentation beer, take a look at our wider Irish Craft Beer collection, featuring standout breweries and flavour-forward craft beer from across Ireland.
Shop the best of craft beer Ireland and from around the world online with TheCru.ie or in our Dublin craft beer store, Carry Out Tyrrelstown in Dublin 15.