Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.3%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Season 22/23

Brewer Description: (from bottle back label) This special Cuvée Armand & Gaston was blended with Karel Goddeau from Geuzestekerij De Cam. This geuze was bottled on Armand’s birth date. All lambikken were brewed together with Karel, and fermented and matured in our barrel rooms in Lot and Gooik. A large part consists of four-year old lambikken, brewed exactly twenty years after Armand’s first batch in 1998. The weighted average age of the blend is 23 months at bottling.

(from bottle inside label) This bottle celebrates the long friendship, the beautiful moments and memories, the wonderful craft, the mutual respect and the steadfast values that Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen and Geuzestekerij De Cam share. Central on the label is the word “Geuze” – once written by Armand – as a connecting factor.

At the end of the 1990s, the paths of Armand of Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen and Karel of Geuzestekerij De Cam crossed each other thanks to their love for the finest of beer styles. Since then, that passion has been continued shoulder to shoulder.

On December 16, 2018, twenty years to the day after the very first 3 Fonteinen lambik brew ever, Armand and Karel brewed together again for a long time. The lambics from that day and from the joint brewing moments in the following years were divided over the barrels in Lot and Gooik. Four years later, Karel Goddeau and Michaël Blancquaert selected ten fine lambics from the joint brews from both barrel rooms and bottled a quintessential gueuze – only bottled! – on October 26, 2022, Armand’s birth date.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.53

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, season 22/23, bottled on 26th October 2022. Opened to the loudest pop that I’ve heard in a while. Poured into The Lambic Basket gueuze glass.
Appearance: A very nice slightly hazy golden orange colour with a big two finger fluffy white head that had good retention and eventually settled to a nice cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Orange peel, mandarin, unripe yellow stone fruit, musty, damp wood, funk, with some crisp red apple notes.
Taste: Orange peel, grapefruit, apricot, green apple, hay, wet wood, funk, with a light leathery touch.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Wonderful and easy drinking. Smooth, enjoyable, with some good complexity. Would love to see how this ages.