Category Archives: Belgium

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

3 Fonteinen Druif Spätburgunder

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.9%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°22, Season 21/22

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Druif, we macerated Spätburgunder (the German Pinot Noir) from Weingut Harth + Harth. Freshly picked in Rheinhessen. Maceration took almost four months. We only used two-and three-year old lambics, which brings the weighted average maceration upon bottling to almost 21 months. The final fruit intensity clocks at 500 grams of grapes per litre of finished Druif. Thank you Henning & family!

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°22, season 21/22, bottled on 25th January 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy strawberry pinkish orange colour, with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Grape must, grape skin, redcurrant, gooseberry, dusty, wood, funk and light leather notes.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, grape skin, redcurrant, lemon zest, oak, funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Balanced enjoyable aroma and flavours.

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

3 Fonteinen Druif Müller-Thurgau

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.9%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°27, Season 21/22

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this iteration of Druif, we macerated the Müller-Thurgau variety. Maceration took place on a 500L barrel and lasted for four months. We used but two-year old lambics, making the weighted average age of this blend end at a good 24 months upon bottling. We used lambics from two different barrels and eight different brews. The final fruit intensity is 625 grams of grape must per litre of finished Druif. The grapes were manually picked with Weingut Harth+Harth, a biodynamic winery in Rheinhessen, Germany. Bottle count: 514 bottles.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°27, season 21/22, bottled on 3rd February 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden orange colour, with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Light aromas of grape must and grape skin, white wine, lemon zest, lime zest, oak, dusty, wet wood, funk.
Taste: Lightly sour, grape skin, grape, white wine vinous, citrus zest, oak, funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: First time I’ve heard of this grape variety, but the aroma and flavours of this blend were balanced and enjoyable.

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

3 Fonteinen Druif Sangiovese

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.8%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°44, Season 21/22

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Druif, we macerated Sangiovese grapes from the Siena region in Italy for almost five months on a small wine barrel. We used two-year old lambics originating from two different barrels and five different brews. The weighted average age of this blend upon bottling is almost 27 months. The final fruit intensity is 626 grams of Sangiovese grapes per litre of Druif. Bottle count: 514.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°44, season 21/22, bottled on 25th February 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear strawberry red colour, with a one finger white head that had pretty good retention while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Grape skin, red berries, lemon zest, oak, earthy, leather, funky.
Taste: Lightly sour, grape skin, red berries, lemon zest, funk, earthy, oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable aroma and flavours with a good balance of fruit, oak, and funk.

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

Cantillon Grand Cru Bruocsella Brut

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Brewery: Brasserie Cantillon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Lambic – Unblended
Other Notes: 2021 BXL BeerFest beer pack. Bottled in season 20/21

Brewer Description: (from bottle in French) Vieux Lambic artisanal de Bruxelles, vieilli sur fûts en chêne et refermenté en bouteille. Brassé le 19 décembre 2017 et mis en bouteille le 3 juin 2021. Aucun conservant ni additif chimique. Conservation illimitee.

(translated to English) Old artisanal Lambic from Brussels, aged in oak barrels and refermented in the bottle. Brewed on December 19, 2017 and bottled on June 3, 2021. No preservatives or chemical additives. Unlimited storage.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.39
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml bottle, brewed on 19th December 2017, bottled on 3rd June 2021. Poured into a Cantillon ballon glass. Brewed for BXL BeerFest 2021.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Funky, musty, dusty, damp wood, green apple, lemon zest, with a touch of yellow stone fruits.
Taste: Light to moderately sour, tart, funky, hay, lemon zest, apple, and wood.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate zingy carbonation.
Overall: Loving the carbonation here, and in my opinion, I easily prefer this over the regular Bruocsella Grand Cru.

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

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot XIV: Wilder

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°81, Season 18/19. Number of bottles – 722

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen “Speling van het Lot” (Twist of Fate) is a series of small batch experimental brews, barrel maturations, fruit macerations and/or blends. This 14th version is a bottled 18-month old lambik that further carbonated in the bottle (a mono blend so you will) that was brewed on December 20th 2017. During such “Longest Night”, we add and infuse different ingredients on the four different coolships in our brewhouse in Beersel. One of those additions were fresh pine tree branches and needles, sourced in the garden of the mansion at Ukkelse Steenweg 327. This villa was previously owned by an employee of the former Van Haelen lambic brewery nearby. Recently, it featured the pop-up restaurant of Chef Maarten Van Essche, called “Wilder At The Villa”. Maarten, currently running restaurant Magma in Mechelen (www.magma.be), came up with the idea, inspired by previous experiences in Nordic cuisine… The Wilder logo was designed by Viktor Hachmang.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°81, season 18/19, bottled on 7th June 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had pretty good retention, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Woody, piney, Christmas, herbal, earthy, red apple, orange zest, and a touch funky.
Taste: Sour, tart, woody, pine, lemonade, citrus peel, with herbal and funky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable woody, piney, herbal and citrusy combination.