Category Archives: 5 – Excellent (must buy)

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

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot VII.xii: Zotte Kadeeën: Zoete kers – (not so) Raw & Uncut

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8.1%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: This sweet cherry lambic is the result of a maceration of black cherries for 6 months and was bottled straight away. The final fruit intensity is at 645 grams of sweet black cherries per liter of bottled fruit lambic. 100% 3 Fonteinen lambic. Number of bottles – 430

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 7th version features a range of fruit macerations on freshly emptied Bordeaux barrels from Château Pabus. These high quality French oak barrels were used for a unique integrated vinification technique, including grape peel maceration in the barrel itself. The name (“Zotte Kadeeën” – “Crazy Kids”) refers to the abundant creativity of our youthful, passionate team, that likes to explore within the traditional lambic boundaries. This sweet cherry lambic is the result of a maceration of black cherries for 6 months and was bottled straight away. The final fruit intensity is at 645 grams of sweet black cherries per liter of bottled fruit lambic. 100% 3 Fonteinen lambic.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.78
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.7

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle at 3 Fonteinen lambik-O-droom, blend n°88, season 17/18, bottled on 19th October 2018, with a best before date of 26th October 2038. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen ballon glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear dark ruby purple red colour with a one finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Tart, sweet, black cherry and light oak.
Taste: Sweet and sour, black cherry, dark grape, oak and hints of blackcurrant.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Excellent flavours. I’m loving these sweet black cherries. This was one of my favourites over the 3 days spent at lambik-O-droom, and on the last day, we even went for a second bottle.

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

3 Fonteinen Millennium Geuze

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Belgium Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: Bottled by Armand Debelder of Geuzestekerij 3 Fonteinen, Beersel and Willem van Herreweghen of Geuzestekerij De Cam, Gooik

Brewer Description: (from bottle) (in Dutch – I think) In grote eiken tonnen van méér dan honderd jaar, rijpt jarenlang lambiek. Speciaal voor U werd de beste lambiek uitgezocht, gemengd en gebotteld. Door hergisting op fles onstond Millennium, de superieure geuze!

Geuze Millennium is gebotteld in het najaar van 1998. Deze geuze bevat enkel tarwe, mout en hop. Niet gepasteuriseerd en spontaan hergist op fles.

(translated as best as I could) Lambic matures for years in large oak barrels of more than a hundred years. The best lambic has been selected, mixed and bottled especially for you. Millennium, the superior geuze, came into being through fermentation in the bottle!

Geuze Millennium was bottled in the autumn of 1998. This geuze contains only wheat, malt and hops. Unpasteurized and spontaneously re-fermented in the bottle.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.72
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 750ml bottle at 1420, 1998 vintage, with a best before date of 2010. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: After a careful pour, it was a mostly clear golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Slight musty dusty notes, hay, funky, citrusy lemon and oak.
Taste: Complex goodness. Lightly sour, funk, barnyard, musty, hay, citrusy lemon, green apple, apple skin and oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Wow, just so lucky and happy I got to try this while there are still bottles around. To be honest, I wouldn’t know if it is past its prime yet, but what I drank was very balanced and had wonderful complexity and was just an absolute joy to drink. Must try if you can still find and afford it.

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

Bokke Framboos Pjassel Kriek

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Brewery: Bokke
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: 2018 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) 1, 2 & 3 year old lambic with fresh raspberries, vineyard peaches and Gorsem sour cherries.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.71
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 750ml bottle at Restaurant Barr, 2018 vintage, bottled in January 2019. Poured into a stemmed white wine glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy ruby red colour, with a one finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Raspberry, jammy, jello, cherry, and hints of peach.
Taste: Sour, tart, raspberry, cherry, jammy, jello, candy, and a hint of peach.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Wonderful fruity and jammy goodness, and although the peach may have been hidden a little, the other fruits shone through strongly. Good balance and complexity that means I could just drink this all day.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Perennial Artisan Ales, Stout - Imperial, USA

Perennial Abraxas

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Brewery: Perennial Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: American Imperial Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ale brewed with ancho chili peppers, cacao nibs and cinnamon sticks.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.47
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled in 2017 (I think 27th November 2017). Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a minimal brown head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Cinnamon, creamy chocolate, carrot cake, and hints of chili peppers.
Taste: Cinnamon dominates when cooler, but as it warms it gets better as the roastiness, rich chocolate and cocoa, tones down the harshness of too much cinnamon. Only hints of chili spice on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Cinnamon was too strong and harsh at cooler temperatures, but as it warmed, this was a wonderful balanced sipper.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Epic Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Epic Triple Barrel Big Bad Baptist

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Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.4%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2017 Rare Release. Imperial Stout aged in whiskey & rum barrels with cacao nibs, barrel-aged coffee beans, and barrel-aged coconut added. Malts – Muntons Maris Otter Malt, Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt, Crystal Muntons, Weyermann Light Munich Malt I, 2-Row Chocolate, Malt 2-Row Black Malt and Roasted Barley. Hops – Nugget, Chinook and Cascade. Spices – Barrel Aged Coffee, Barrel Aged Coconut, and Cacao Nibs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Three’s not a crowd in this limited edition Triple Barrel Big Bad Baptist. We aged coconut and Blue Copper’s Colombian coffee beans in fresh whiskey barrels, while our Imperial Stout aged separately in both rum and whiskey barrels. The trio was then hand-blended, creating our most over-the-top version of Big Bad Baptist yet. Best enjoyed slowly, three sips at a time.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.57
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, release #6, bottled on 15th November 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with an almost one finger dark beige head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a thin layer and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, coffee, cacao nibs, chocolate, toasted coconut, vanilla, oak, with hints of whiskey and Malibu.
Taste: Toasted coconut, Malibu, rum, whiskey, light sweetness, chocolate, coffee, light bitterness, with hints of roasted malt and a touch of booze.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied and soft carbonation.
Overall: Loved the aroma and great easy drinking flavours. Body was a little light, but other than that, everything was just so good, especially the coconut.