Category Archives: Beer Reviews

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Alvinne, Wild Ale

Alvinne Sour’ire de Mortagne Barrel 58

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Brewery: Brouwerij Alvinne
Country: Belgium
ABV: 11%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2017 vintage, Alvinne limited edition, single cask, 700 bottles. French oak, Margaux barrel. Morpheus yeast inside

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Barrel 58 is een uniek project waar we enkel zelfgeplukte bessen toevoegen aan sour’ire rechtstreeks op het eiken vat. Passie, toewijding en kennis… Barrel 58 6 maand gerijpt op een Margaux barrel. Sleedoorn (Moen), braambessen (Bottelare), bosbessen (Wales), Anna Spat pruimen, opal pruimen (Sint-Laureins).

(translated to English) Barrel 58 is a unique project where we only add self-picked berries to Sour’ire directly on the oak barrel. Passion, dedication and knowledge… Barrel 58 6 months matured on a Margaux barrel. Sloe (Moen), blackberries (Bottelare), blueberries (Wales), Anna Spat plums, opal plums (Sint-Laureins).

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.05
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2017 vintage, poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A copper dark brown colour with an orange tinge, and a very thin beige head that dissipated almost immediately, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, mixed berries, plum, balsamic vinegar, caramel, lemon, dusty wood.
Taste: Sour, tart, mixed berries, raspberry, plum, balsamic vinegar, caramel, lemon, wood.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice complex flavours with the alcohol well hidden. The acidity was quite high, but never too much. Intense, but enjoyable.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Lambic - Fruit

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot X.xi: Druif: Malvasia Bianca

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°25, Season 20/21. Number of bottles – 582

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this iteration of Druif, we wanted to pick up the Malvasia thread again. The Malvasia grape family counts more than fifteen varieties, spread over Italy, Spain, Madeira etc. After Armand’s trial in 2003 with the Malvasia Nera, we found some Malvasia Bianca at Wijndomein Hoenshof. We macerated the must for five months on a young lambik and in an oak barrel (ex-Bordeaux). We used two-year old lambik for blending. About one quarter of the volume of lambikken is brewed with cereals from our farmer network. The final fruit intensity is 501 grams of Malvasia must per litre of Druif. 100% 3 Fonteinen.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.95
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°25, season 20/21, bottled on 8th February 2021, bottle number 576/582. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a thin white head that disappeared almost immediately and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, grape skin, yellow stone fruit, lemon zest, wood, and funk.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, funky, grape skin, grape, yellow stone fruit, green apple, lemon zest, wood.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: The aroma and flavours were fine, but my preference is definitely to have some carbonation to help it along.

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

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot XVII.ii: Kweepeer III

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°4, Season 20/21. Bottle number – 369/824

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beginning of autumn 2020, we harvested a few hundred kilos of quinces from a nice mixed orchard deep down the Pajottenland; from the border of Gooik and Pepingen. We macerated these “kweeperen” for a good two months on young lambik from two different barrels and three different brews, of which one third was also grown and harvested in Pajottenland. With a minor addition of lambik for bottle conditioning, the final fruit intensity is 478 grams of quinces per litre of Kweepeer. 100% 3 Fonteinen.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.97
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°4, season 20/21, bottled on 14th December 2020, bottle number 369/824. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A moderately hazy golden orange colour, with a half finger white head that had pretty good retention, and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Quince, unripe plum, wood shavings, hay, lemon zest, with light funky and mineral notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, green apple, quince, lemon juice, wood, with a touch of dust and funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: I actually tried the regular Kweepeer right before this small batch experimental brew version which was bottled one year earlier. And my preference was the regular Kweepeer, which suggests that after the experiments, they got it right and put out the best version in the end. That’s not to say that this was bad, as it was still good, just not the best version it could be.

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

3 Fonteinen Kweepeer

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.9%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°7, Season 21/22

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Kweepeer, we used Limburgse, hand-picked quinces and let them macerate for almost three months on lambikken originating from three different barrels and eight different brews. The majority of the lambikken used was more than two years old, which brings the weighted average age upon bottling to almost 27 months. The final fruit intensity clocks at 800 grams of quinces used per litre of finished Kweepeer.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°7, season 21/22, bottled on 15th December 2021. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A moderately hazy golden orange colour, with a nice one finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Quince, green apple, unripe plum, wood shavings, hay, lemon zest, with light funky notes.
Taste: Lightly sour and tart, quince, green apple, pear, lemon, light wood, with a touch of funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with nice moderate spritzy carbonation.
Overall: Not a fruit I really enjoy, but this was easy to drink and refreshing on the palate.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brussels Beer Project, Lambic - non-Lambic Blends

Brussels Beer Project Dansaert Delta x Lambic

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Brewery: Brussels Beer Project
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Lambic – non-Lambic Blends
Other Notes: Delta IPA + 1 year-old lambic

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The first Delta IPA brewed at Port Sud joins lambic from Dansaert in an atypical blend. The young & fresh IPA meets the wise & vivacious lambic to bridge the best of both breweries. 60% Delta IPA from Port Sud with 40% lambic matured together for 4 weeks at Dansaert. Dry-hopped with Citra, Cascade & Mosaic before packaging. Drink fresh or let ageing do it’s magic!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.98
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, bottled in March 2022, with a best before date of March 2027. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head, that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Juicy funk, yellow stone fruit, green apple, lemon, damp rotting wood, musty, sweat, funk.
Taste: Lightly sour, and a touch bitter. Unripe yellow stone fruit, green apple, lemon juice, with light notes of wood, funk, and musty sweat.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light to medium bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable and very easy drinking. Aside from the bitterness, and maybe a touch of fruit, given the age, the IPA side of things has faded with the lambic taking over. No right or wrong with drinking fresh or ageing, but the change is certainly interesting.