Category Archives: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen

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.

3 Fonteinen Druif Muscat Bleu

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°47, Season 19/20

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Druif, we used Muscat Bleu grapes from Wijndomein Hoenshof in Hoepertingen, Haspengouw region, Flanders. Muscat Bleu is a hybrid wine and table grape and has its origins in Switzerland. We macerated the grape must with four different lambics from two different barrels. We let it macerate for five months and blended the grape lambic with another three young lambics prior to bottling. The final fruit intensity is 38.1% of grape must per litre of Druif Muscat Bleu. 100% 3 Fonteinen.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°47, season 19/20, bottled on 25th February 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice light ruby red colour with an almost two finger off white head that had pretty good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, grape skin, grapes, vinous, lemon zest, oak, funk, and a touch floral.
Taste: Lightly tart, grape skin, vinous, red berries, grapefruit zest, oak, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable and easy to drink, but for 3 Fonteinen and Muscat Bleu, I preferred Druivenlambik Muscat Bleu (specifically Blend°55, Season 19/20) more.

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot X.xiv: Druif: Morio Muscat

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.4%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°14, Season 20/21. Number of bottles – 736

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Druif, we used the Morio Muscat variety, which is a cross between Silvaner and Pinot Blanc (or maybe Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains, but this needs yet to be proven). Originally from the Palatinate region in Germany, this variety’s popularity was peaking in the nineties. Wijndomein Hoenshof was nice enough to harvest some of it for us. We destemmed the grapes in-house and we put the must for almost four months on a gentle young lambik before blending and bottling. Final fruit intensity is 392 grams of grape must per litre of Druif. One third of the lambik that was used was brewed with our own cereals from in and around the Pajottenland. 100% 3 Fonteinen.

My rating: 4-
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°14, season 20/21, bottle 237/736, bottled on 11th January 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a very thin white head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Bright intense stone fruit, peach, apricot, lemon zest, grapes, vinous, oak, with light funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, stone fruit, peach, apricot, plum, vinous, grapes, lemon, grapefruit, oak, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with close to no carbonation.
Overall: It’s got an excellent aroma, very enticing, but it’s also quite sour, perhaps overly so, and it could do with some carbonation to pick it up.

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot XI.viii: Pruim: Vroege Tolse

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.1%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°2, Season 20/21. Number of bottles – 614

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This version of our Pruim was made with the Vroege Tolse variety. We harvested these plums on a beautiful July morning in 2020, in the magnificent fruit orchard of a retired teacher, named Willy. His field is situated on the Wijngaardberg, on the border between Gelrode and Rotselaar. We macerated the entire plums (with stone) for almost five months in an oak barrel. We used two-year old lambik for maceration and young lambik for blending. The final fruit intensity is 519 grams of plums per litre. 75% of the lambik is brewed with Pajot cereals. 100% 3 Fonteinen.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°2, season 20/21, bottle 528/614, bottled on 14th December 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy dark orange colour with a one finger white head, that had decent retention and eventually settled to a ring around the glass, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Plum skin, lemon zest, funk, oak, with a touch of stone fruit.
Taste: Tart, plum skin, plum flesh, lemon zest, funk, and oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: Aromas were a little weak, but flavours were nice and it was just easy drinking.