Category Archives: Belgium

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

3 Fonteinen Druif Gewurztraminer

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.8%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°35, Season 22/23

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Druif, we macerated the ever fragrant Gewurztraminer grape, harvested in the summer 2022 in Bourgheim, Alsace, on one- and three-year old lambik, for more than four months. The old portion accounts for almost 80%, rendering the weighted average age of more than 31 months. The final fruit intensity is 437 grams of Gewurztraminer grapes per litre of finished Druif. Almost 65% of the nine different lambikken were brewed with local cereals. A small part of this blend was also bottled on magnums. 100% 3 Fonteinen.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.23
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°35, season 22/23, bottled on 26th January 2023. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a half finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Grape must, white wine grapes, sweet mandarin peel, light citrus rind, funk, wood, and notes of bandaid.
Taste: Sour, tart, white wine grapes, grape skin, citrusy, grapefruit peel bitter, mandarin sweetness, funky, oak, orange.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Good balanced aroma and flavours, with nice vinous, citrus and funky notes.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Cantillon, Lambic - Gueuze

Cantillon 50°N-4°E Armagnac

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Brewery: Brasserie Cantillon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: 2017 vintage, Armagnac barrel

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Lambic brewed on 18 November 2014, aged in Armagnac barrels and bottled on 7 February 2017.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.78
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2017 vintage, bottled on 7th February 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed Zenne glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour, with a nice one finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Dusty, musty, derelict barn, apple peel, apple, Armagnac, orange peel, oak.
Taste: Lightly sweet, a touch tart, with bitter notes, candied citrus, lemon peel, citrus rind, apple peel, funky, dusty, oak, with brandy notes.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: Drinks really well, balanced with good complexity. Just super enjoyable.

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

Cantillon Drogone Lambic

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Brewery: Brasserie Cantillon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Cantina Giardino bottle #2902

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A collaboration between Cantina Giardino & Cantillon. A blend with the pomace of Aglianico grapes and 3-year-old Lambic. Before being blended with the Lambic, the grapes underwent a 3-month pellicular maceration in chestnut barrels.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.68
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2022 vintage, bottled on 19th January 2022. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear ruby purplish red colour (getting darker towards the end of the bottle), with a one finger pinkish head that had good retention and eventually settled to a ring around the glass, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Grape and cherry hard candy, grape skin, red wine vinous, light funk, musty, a touch sweaty, and notes of tart blackcurrant.
Taste: Sour, tart, red wine vinous, grape skin, mixed berries hard candy sweetness, funky, musty, oak, and lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Loved this. Drinks great, and the aroma and flavours were balanced and just exactly what I enjoy.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Cantillon, Lambic - Gueuze

Cantillon Brabantiæ

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Brewery: Brasserie Cantillon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The Gueuze Brabantiæ is the result of a blend of three year old Lambics aged in Porto barrels. Best enjoyed within 20 years of the bottling date. The flavor of the beer will evolve over time.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.49
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2018 vintage, bottled on 25th November 2018. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention, and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Apple skin, funk, dusty, musty, sweet grapes, plum, oak, lemon zest.
Taste: Lightly sour, sweet grapes, raisins, port barrel, oak, funky, dusty, lime, lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable flavours with good barrel and funk complexity.

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

3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Cuvée Armand & Gaston Langste Kook

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.4%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Blend°42, Season 21/22

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Langste Kook / Longest Boil – a special version of the Cuvée Armand & Gaston – we brewed a typical lambik wort, but with an extended boiling time. We usually boil for five hours – the highest in the lambik world and about tenfold of modern beer brewing. Now, we boiled a whopping eighteen hours. 18. Hours. After a full year of barrel fermentation and maturation, we blended with a young portion of lambik to assure continued bottle fermentation. With a weighted average age of the blend of almost twelve months upon bottling, this is a rather young geuze, but all lambikken were brewed with Pajottenland grains from our own Cereal Collective.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°42, season 21/22, bottled on 23rd February 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy copper amber orange colour with a just over one finger beige head, that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, bright, lemon zest, citrus rind, green apple, oak, musty, funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, grapefruit, citrus rind, green apple, oak, funk, with hints of berries and caramel.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium bodied with moderate to light carbonation.
Overall: An interesting variant, that’s not quite as good as the original, but it’s young, has a great aroma, and drinks easy.