Monthly Archives: July 2023

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

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot XIV: Wilder

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°81, Season 18/19. Number of bottles – 722

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen “Speling van het Lot” (Twist of Fate) is a series of small batch experimental brews, barrel maturations, fruit macerations and/or blends. This 14th version is a bottled 18-month old lambik that further carbonated in the bottle (a mono blend so you will) that was brewed on December 20th 2017. During such “Longest Night”, we add and infuse different ingredients on the four different coolships in our brewhouse in Beersel. One of those additions were fresh pine tree branches and needles, sourced in the garden of the mansion at Ukkelse Steenweg 327. This villa was previously owned by an employee of the former Van Haelen lambic brewery nearby. Recently, it featured the pop-up restaurant of Chef Maarten Van Essche, called “Wilder At The Villa”. Maarten, currently running restaurant Magma in Mechelen (www.magma.be), came up with the idea, inspired by previous experiences in Nordic cuisine… The Wilder logo was designed by Viktor Hachmang.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°81, season 18/19, bottled on 7th June 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had pretty good retention, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Woody, piney, Christmas, herbal, earthy, red apple, orange zest, and a touch funky.
Taste: Sour, tart, woody, pine, lemonade, citrus peel, with herbal and funky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable woody, piney, herbal and citrusy combination.

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

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot IX.x: Aardbeiiteraties: Aardbei + Kriek – Blended & Alive

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.1%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°73, Season 18/19. Number of bottles – 726

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen “Speling van het Lot” (Twist of Fate) is a series of small batch experimental brews, barrel maturations, fruit macerations and/or blends. This 9th version features a range of strawberry maceration iterations aiming at balancing the intense fruitiness of strawberries with the subtleties of traditional lambic while minimising the unpleasant phenolic characteristics of the small pits. For this fruit lambic we barrel macerated sour cherries on a previous barrel macerated strawberry lambic (featured in the ToF IX.viii). The proportion is 55% strawberries to 45% sour cherries, while the final intensity is 624 grams of fruit per liter of finished fruit lambic. Additional maceration took another 6.5 months.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°73, season 18/19, bottled on 13th May 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy strawberry red colour, with a one finger pinkish beige head that had pretty good retention and eventually settled to a nice replenishing cap, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Strawberry, jammy, cherry, wood, lemon zest, with funky notes.
Taste: As you’d expect from the aroma, lightly sour, strawberry, jammy, cherry, wood, lemon zest, and funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Lots of fruit with good jammy strawberry and cherries, especially in the aroma. Enjoyable!

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Bofkont, Lambic - Fruit

Bofkont Moonwalk

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Brewery: Bofkont
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit

Brewer Description: (from bottle) 1&2 years old lambic with apricots from the Ardeche in France. This blend is characterized by its lactic profile.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.54
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2021 vintage, bottled on 14th September 2021. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, apricot, apricot skin, peach gummy candy, lemon zest, cucumber, hay, funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, apricot, peach gummy candy, lemon, lime zest, 7-Up, wood, with a touch of funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate spritzy carbonation.
Overall: Really enjoyable and easy to drink. Wonderful apricots throughout, and very balanced.

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

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot VIII.iii: Schaarbeekse (+ Framboos) on a Toast – Blended & Alive

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.3%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°48, Season 17/18. Number of bottles – 2431

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen “Speling van het Lot” (Twist of Fate) is a series of small batch experimental brews, barrel maturations, fruit macerations and/or blends. This 8th version features the maceration of Schaarbeekse cherries on charred/toasted barrels. These noblest of sour cherries have been sourced in the gardens of and hand-picked by more than 50 families around Brussels. This Schaarbeekse On A Toast has macerated for 266 days (over 8.5 months) on a fresh 1,000 liter medium toasted French oak barrel… and we added the same proportion of organic raspberries from the Ferme Framboos. After the maceration, the fruit lambic was blended with young lambic for a continued fermentation in the bottle. The total fruit intensity is 278 grams of fruit per liter of bottled fruit lambic. 100% 3 Fonteinen lambic.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°48, season 17/18, bottled on 5th April 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy strawberry red, with a very thin white head that disappeared almost immediately, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Cherry, raspberry, slightly jammy, dusty, wood, straw, funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, cherry pits, raspberry, lemon zest, wood, with a touch of vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to no carbonation.
Overall: Good cherry and raspberry notes, but I do prefer more carbonation, and it was a bit lacking here.