Monthly Archives: December 2019

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Lambic - Fruit

3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek Honing

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.1%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: Oude kriek with honey

Brewer Description: (from bottle) (in French) 3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek est le résultat de la macération de griottes cueillis à la main dans du lambic traditionnel, pendant au moins quatre mois et avec fermentation en bouteille. Du fruit naturel, sans jus, sirops ou sucres ajoutés. Non-filtré et non-pasteurisé.

(in Dutch) Deze specifieke Oude Kriek heeft bijna 6 maanden gemacereerd op volle krieken. De finale fruitintensiteit is 370 gram fruit per liter afgewerkte fruitlambik. Tijdens de assemblage werd lokale honing toegevoegd.

(translated to English) 3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek is the result of maceration of hand-picked sour cherries in traditional lambic for at least four months and with fermentation in the bottle. Natural fruit, without juice, syrups or added sugars. Unfiltered and unpasteurized.

This specific Oude Kriek has macerated almost 6 months on full cherries. The final fruit intensity is 370 grams of fruit per liter of finished fruit lambic. Local honey was added during blending.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.5
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, blend n°58, season 17/18, bottled on 17th May 2018, with a best before date of 26th October 2038. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear ruby red colour with a half finger slightly pinkish head that dissipated that dissipated quickly and left only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, cherry, oak and hints of marzipan.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, cherry, oak, cherry pie, soft honey sweetness, with hints of lemon and a touch of cinnamon.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I preferred this version with honey over the original. Not sure I really got any honey in the aroma and taste, but there was a definite sweetness that wasn’t in the original, that brought out the fruitiness and cherries and made it very enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Lambic - Fruit

3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) (in French) 3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek est le résultat de la macération de griottes cueillis à la main dans du lambic traditionnel, pendant au moins quatre mois et avec fermentation en bouteille. Du fruit naturel, sans jus, sirops ou sucres ajoutés. Non-filtré et non-pasteurisé.

(translated to English) 3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek is the result of maceration of hand-picked sour cherries in traditional lambic for at least four months and with fermentation in the bottle. Natural fruit, without juice, syrups or added sugars. Unfiltered and unpasteurized.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.36
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, blend n°31, season 16/17, bottled on 20th April 2017, with a best before date of 26th October 2037. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear ruby red colour with a one finger white, but maybe slightly pinkish head that had decent retention and left only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, cherry, oak, slight jammyness, and maybe a touch of vanilla, almond and citrus.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, oak with a splash of citrus/vinegar acidity.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A nice Kriek Lambic, especially the aroma which just draws me in.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bellwoods Brewery, Canada, Farmhouse Saison

Bellwoods White Picket Fence Batch 3

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– aka Bellwoods White Picket Fence Foeder Blended Saison OR White Picket Fence Peach? (ratebeer)

Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 6.1%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Batch 3, Blended Foeder Saison. (although the bottle says that this is batch 3, there is not much else to go on, and it seems there are some contradicting information online, and to be honest, I cannot really tell if this is the regular White Picket Fence, or a variant with peach added to it. As there isn’t really anything to indicate ‘peach’ on the bottle, for Ratebeer, I went with the White Picket Fence Foeder Blended Saison)

Brewer Description: (from website) A symbol synonymous with Bellwoods Brewery; our White Picket Fence has undergone a complete overhaul and its re-envisioned form much better reflects the direction of our brewery. This foeder fermented saison is the result of a unique blending regimen, before being gently dry-hopped and bottle conditioned. Labour intensive in process, but rewarding in result. What it smells and tastes like: A complex, layered beer with perfect champagne-like carbonation to carry the lemon meringue aromatics, bright hop character, and rich brett notes. Refined and balanced acidity with lots of complimentary citrus.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.43
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 500ml bottle, Batch 3. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour with a big four finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, lightly tart, funky, brett, peach, apricot, mango, citrusy, lemon peel and lemon.
Taste: Sour, tart, funky, brett, light leather, fruity, peach, apricot, mango, lemon peel, lemon, oak and a hint of pepper.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Very enjoyable with a good balance between the sour, tartness and funk. Fruitiness was also strong, with a nice mix of tropical stone fruit and citrus. I could easily drink more of this.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bellwoods Brewery, Canada, Wild Ale

Bellwoods Farmageddon California Zinfandel Grapes

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Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 8.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2019 vintage, Barrel aged Wild Ale with California Zinfandel Grapes

Brewer Description: (from website) Farmageddon is our wild farmhouse ale that we’ve been brewing, blending, and aging for almost as many years as we’ve been open. The blending process allows us to maintain a common thread across batches, the aging adds nuanced layers, while the brett and bacteria work hard to create small idiosyncrasies in each release. It’s a refined, effervescent, and delicious beer worthy of special occasions and idle weeknights.

We transferred the beer onto whole Zinfandel grapes from California, letting it age for just over a month before undergoing an extensive bottle conditioning period.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.12
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2019 vintage. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy reddish purple colour with a big three finger pinkish white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Light tartness, grape, cherry, lemon and hints of funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, funky, grape, vinous, oak, red wine barrels, cherry and a touch of lemon and pepperiness.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Nice and enjoyable vinous notes with good fruit and barrel character.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bellwoods Brewery, Canada, Wild Ale

Bellwoods Farmageddon Niagara Montmorency & Morello Cherries

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Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 6.3%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2019 vintage, barrel aged wild ale with Niagara montmorency & morello cherries

Brewer Description: (from website) Farmageddon is our wild farmhouse ale that we’ve been brewing, blending, and aging for almost as many years as we’ve been open. The blending process allows us to maintain a common thread across batches, the aging adds nuanced layers, while the brett and bacteria work hard to create small idiosyncrasies in each release. It’s a refined, effervescent, and delicious beer worthy of special occasions and idle weeknights.

Our 2019 edition of Cherry Farmageddon is oak aged then conditioned on 2 types of sour cherry varietals — Montmorency and Morello — before being primed and bottle conditioned for maximum spritz factor.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2019 vintage, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy ruby red pinkish colour with a one finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, light funk, cherries, mixed berries, oak, with hints of lemon and spices.
Taste: What you’d expect from the aroma, sour, tart, light funk, cherries, mixed berries, oak, lemon juice, with hints of spice and cinnamon.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to high prickly carbonation.
Overall: Very nice and enjoyable with a good fruity cherry mix. Carbonation may have been slightly over prickly for my liking, but I would still keep drinking this.