Category Archives: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot XVI.v: Intense Schaarbeekse

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.8%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°23, Season 20/21. Number of bottles – 1306

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This Speling van het Lot features an intense version of Schaarbeekse Kriek. In the summer of 2020, we had a good yield from the harvest with more than 70 local families. We split the maceration over different larger and smaller barrels and tanks. This maceration is the same as the 22nd blend, but we only added a small portion of young lambik prior to bottling. This way, the final fruit intensity clocks at 545 grams of Schaarbeekse sour cherries per litre of finished Intense Schaarbeekse. 100% 3 Fonteinen brewed lambik.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.94
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°23, season 20/21, bottle 658/1306, bottled on 28th January 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very attractive dark ruby red colour with a two finger pinkish head that had good retention and eventually settled to a thin replenishing cap, while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, cherry, marzipan, almond, vanilla, oak, lemon zest, with a touch of funk.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, cherry, marzipan, almond, oak, lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Wow, this really works for me, and reminded me a bit of SVHL II.ii: Robijn Blended & Alive, which I think was my favourite 3F, but this might just take the cake. Really intense cherry and marzipan flavours, which I enjoy, and just balanced and really great to drink.

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3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot X.xv: Druif: Riesling II

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8.6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°36, Season 20/21. Number of bottles – 592

Brewer Description: (from bottle) In the summer of 2020, we received a few hundred kilos of beautiful Riesling grapes from Harth + Harth, a small organic winemaker from the wonderful Rheinhessen region in Germany. We macerated the full grapes with jonge lambik during five months on an ex-Bordeaux barrel. We blended with some 15-month oude lambik before bottling. The final fruit intensity clocks at 674 grams of grapes per litre of Druif. Of the used cereals for the lambikken, almost one quarter was sourced in Pajottenland. All lambikken were brewed by 3 Fonteinen. Thank you Henning and Harth family!

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°36, season 20/21, bottle 227/592, bottled on 16th March 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour with a half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, spritzy, Riesling vinous, green vines, woody, light funk.
Taste: Lightly sour, white wine vinous, Riesling, grape skin, lemon zest, leather, green vines, woody, funk.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good enjoyable aroma and flavours that made it really easy to drink.

3 Fonteinen Doesjel

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Blend°85, Season 19/20

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This Doesjel was bottled on the 1st of December of 2020 and was intended to be an Oude Geuze. Because of the high proportion of older lambikken, the fermentation did not continue in the bottle and the blended lambik beer remained flat. The yeast dozed in, hence the name – a local dialect for that typical little sleepy knock you get over noon. In return, with a natural-white-wine-like aroma and malty citrussy taste, the resulting beer is a subtle lambik blend, with a weighted average age of about 30 months upon its release. The oldest lambikken were brewed at the beginning of 2018.

3 Fonteinen Doesjel is a blend of one-, two- and at least three-year old lambikken. Spontaneously fermented but not in the bottle anymore. Matured in oak barrels. Extended bottle ageing. Unfiltered. Unpasteurised.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.21
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°85, season 19/20, bottled on 1st December 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a very thin white head that dissipated almost immediately, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, green apple, citrus zesty, lemon, lime, hay, dried grass, oak, funky.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, lime, lemon zest, green apple, oak, damp wood, funky.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Easy drinking with enjoyable aroma and flavours, but my preference would definitely still be the regular Oude Geuze.

3 Fonteinen Strenge Winter

– aka 3 Fonteinen Straffe Winter

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.1%
Style: Lambic – Faro
Other Notes: Blend°53, Season 19/20

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Strenge Winter – previously known under a slightly different name – is a special brew and blend. On January 19th 2018, we brewed a full barley malt beer wort, with pilsner, amber and munich malt (but no raw wheat). Whilst on the coolship, we added brown candi sugar. We left this beer to age for over two years on both barrels and small foeders. Prior to bottling, we blended the beer with some young 3 Fonteinen lambic and added a tad more candi sugar. This beer is brewed to Armand’s original recipe! (but #notlambic). Strenge Winter is a blend of 3 fonteinen full malt beers and candi sugar. Spontaneously fermented. Matured in oak barrels. Extended bottle ageing. Unfiltered. Unpasteurised.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°53, season 19/20, bottled on 27th February 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy copper amber orange colour with a very thin white head that disappeared almost immediately, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, prunes, green apple, lemon zest, caramel, wood.
Taste: As you’d expect from the aroma, lightly sour, tart, prunes, green apple, caramel, lemon zest, wood.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Although not lambic nor faro, it wasn’t as sweet as I thought it would be, but it’s got interesting aromas and flavours.

3 Fonteinen Druif Souvignier Gris

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.1%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°50, Season 20/21

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Druif, we macerated Limburg grown Souvignier Gris grapes on one- and quite a lot of our own two-year old lambik. The maceration took more than seven months. The lambikken in this bottle originate from two different barrels and three different brews. The weighted average age of this blend upon bottling is eighteen months. A small portion of the lambik was brewed with Belgian cereals. The final fruit intensity is 353 grams of fruit per litre of Druif.

My rating: 3+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.82
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°50, season 20/21, bottled on 31st May 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice golden orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, funky, dusty, wood, grape skin, vinous, lemon, lime.
Taste: Sour, tart, white wine grapes, vinous, lemon juice, grapefruit, oak, with some light funky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: Easy to drink, but the sourness feels stronger and more intense than other 3 Fonteinen fruit lambics that I’ve tried.