All posts by kitch

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

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot XVIII.iv: Single Wood Kastanje

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.8%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Blend°112, Season 21/22. Number of bottles – 486

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This series of eight Spelingen van het Lot feature the ageing of the same lambikken on different wooden barrels. The lambikken come off two different brews, fully crafted with cereals sourced from our cereal collective and fully organic. The different wood types used are: American oak, German oak, acacia, the combination of German oak and acacia, chestnut, ash, cherry and mulberry. This bottle features the chestnut wood and was handbottled on 486 bottles.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.28
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle at 3 Fonteinen lambik-O-droom, blend°112, season 21/22, bottled on 8th September 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour, with a one finger white head, that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, yellow stone fruit, funk, wet wood, wet leather, apricot, and lemon zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, lemon, unripe mandarin orange, gooseberry, leather, wood, funk, with peppery notes.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: Drinks nicely and was enjoyable. The series is interesting, but I didn’t have the opportunity to compare and try the others aged on different wooden barrels.

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

3 Fonteinen Armand’4 Oude Geuze Winter

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Bottle date: 22/04/2010

Brewer Description: (from Untappd) After the thermostat incident, and in order to be able to bridge the following financial gap, Armand blended 4 distinct and unique geuzes with lambics he brewed himself. The resulting blends were bottled at the beginning of 2010. They were named after the four seasons, and launched in the specific seasons.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.82
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.7

Intro: A 750ml very dusty corked and caged bottle at 3 Fonteinen lambik-O-droom, bottled on 22nd April 2010. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy dark orange colour, with a two finger beige head that had excellent retention, and left very nice lacing.
Aroma: Musty, dusty, apple, wood, sherry, funk, grapefruit peel, and spritzy lemon zest.
Taste: Mildly sour, tart, funk, wet wood, hay, grapefruit peel, and apple peel.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: My second time trying, but this one at the source was much better. I suspect the first bottle probably travelled too much. This bottle was smooth, easy drinking, with layers of complexity, and just super enjoyable.

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

3 Fonteinen Zenne d’Auge (Two Barrel Calvados Lambik)

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 9.8%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Blend°122, Season 21/22

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Zenne d’Auge is a new addition in the Zenne-series and is the result of ageing lambik on old Calvados barrels. The Pays d’Auge is a beautiful area in Normandy, France. This region is known for its apple orchards, point-l’évêque and camembert cheese, and ciders and calvados.

For this two-barrel calvados lambik, we matured three thirty-one-month-old lambikken for a full year on two casks from a small organic cider and calvados producer. About one third of the grain bill used for brewing these lambikken was sourced directly with Pajottenland farmers from our Cereal Collective. We let them sit in our cellars for another full year almost before its release.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle at 3 Fonteinen lambik-O-droom, blend°122, season 21/22, bottled on 29th September 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour, with a one finger white head that had good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Apple peel, cooked apple, wood, vinous, toffee, and raisin.
Taste: Raisin, apple peel, toffee, wood, vinous, with some nutty notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Wow, an impressive barrel that stands out with so much raisin and apple, yet does not take away from the lambic.

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

3 Fonteinen Pruim Mirabelle x Oloroso

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.4%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°25, Season 22/23

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this small batch Pruim Mirabelle x Oloroso, we macerated hand-picked Belgian Mirabelle plums for four months on three-year and four-year old lambik, before blending with more of such old lambik and four-year old lambik. The oldest lambik was brewed in January 2019 and was later on matured on an Oloroso barrel from Josefa Perez. As this old portion (and barrels) covers a considerable part of the lambik volume, the resulting weighted average of this blend is more than 34 months. The final fruit concentration is 328 grams of Mirabelle plums per litre of Pruim.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle at 3 Fonteinen lambik-O-droom, blend°25, season 22/23, bottled on 11th January 2023. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy apricot orange colour, with a one finger fluffy white head that had good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, plum, yellow stone fruit, wood, with notes of sherry and funk.
Taste: Lightly tart, juicy, plum, yellow stone fruit, wood, sherry, and lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: Smooth, easy drinking, balanced and enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Cantillon, Lambic - Fruit

Cantillon La Corvée

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Brewery: Brasserie Cantillon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.5%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Trousseau and Poulsard grapes

Brewer Description: (from bottle in French) Une collaboration entre le Domaine Stéphane Tissot et la Brasserie Cantillon. Assemblage de marc de Trousseau et Poulsard macéré 3 mois en amphore et de Lambic de deux ans d’âge. Refermenté naturellement en bouteille.

(translated to English) A collaboration between Domaine Stéphane Tissot and Brasserie Cantillon. Blend of Trousseau and Poulsard marc macerated for 3 months in amphora and two-year-old Lambic. Naturally refermented in the bottle.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.29
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle at the brewery, bottled on 24th March 2022. Poured into a Cantillon tasting glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour with a slightly pink tinge, and a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, minerally, cactus, cucumber, grape skin, vinous, and lemon zesty.
Taste: Somewhat like the aroma, tart, minerally, kiwi, cucumber, melon, cactus, sweetish, raspberry, vinous, with lemon zesty notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was definitely interesting, as while still being vinous, the aroma and flavours were not what I expected. Especially those kiwi and cactus notes.