Category Archives: Beer Reviews

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

3 Fonteinen Zenne y Frontera Season 20/21 Blend 66 – 1/2/3 Sherry Barrel Aged Lambik Blend

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8.5%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Blend°66, Season 20/21

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This Zenne y Frontera is a special blend of sherry lambikken that have aged for one, two and three years on Oloroso, Fino and Amontillado barrels. By doing so, the average weighted aged of the blend is 32 months on the moment of bottling. One of the barrels that we used has some slightly peated characteristics next to the typical sherry notes. The lambikken were sourced from five different brews, of which more than half of the volume was brewed by us.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°66, season 20/21, bottled on 27th July 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen Zenne stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour, with a very nice one finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sherry, dry wood, oak, grape, lemon zest, funk, leather, peat.
Taste: Lightly sour, slightly sweet, apple, grape, lemon zest, sherry, oak, leather, with some peaty notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The peat just hangs around in the background and is not overpowering. It adds an interesting and enjoyable element to this Zenne that works for me.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Lambic - Fruit, OWA Brewery SPRL

OWA Cassis Lambic

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Brewery: OWA Brewery SPRL
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Japanese cassis

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Cassis is made in Aomori Japan.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.26

Intro: A 375ml purple paper wrapped corked and capped bottle, I believe 2019 vintage. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy amber red with a slight orange tint, and a half finger white head that had pretty good retention, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Blackcurrant, cassis, green vines, musty, funk, damp wood.
Taste: Sour, tart, blackcurrant, lemon, green vines, oak, musty, wet wood.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice blackcurrant in the aroma and taste. Along with Shiso, this has become among my favourites from OWA.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Lambic - Fruit, OWA Brewery SPRL

OWA Sansho Lambic

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Brewery: OWA Brewery SPRL
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Japanese pepper

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The pulverized mature fruits (“peppercorns” or “berries”) known as “Japanese pepper” or kona-zanshõ are the standard spice for sprinkling on the kabayaki-unagi (broiled eel) dish. It is also one of the seven main ingredients of the blended spice called shichimi, which also contains red chili peppers.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.69

Intro: A 375ml green paper wrapped corked and capped bottle, 2019 vintage. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden colour with a thin white head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Herbal, floral, basil, lime, lemon zest, with white pepper spicy notes.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, lime, lemon zest, gooseberry, herbal, with a peppery spice kick on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: The aroma was nice, and while the flavour didn’t quite match the heights of the aroma, it was fine.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Geuzestekerij De Cam, Lambic - Gueuze

De Cam Oude Geuze

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Brewery: Geuzestekerij De Cam
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: 2015 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) In grote eiken tonnen van meer dan honderd jaar, rijpt jarenlang lambiek, uit de 4 windstreken van het Pajottenland. Speciaal voor U werd lambiek van 1, 2 en 3 jaar oud zorgvuldig uitgeproefd gemengd en gebotteld.

(translated to English) In large oak barrels of more than a hundred years, lambic matures for years, from the 4 corners of the Pajottenland. Especially for you, lambic of 1, 2 and 3 years old was carefully tasted mixed and bottled.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.44

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2015 vintage. Poured into a The Lambic Basket gueuze glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden dark orange colour with a fluffy almost two finger white head that had good retention, eventually settling to a nice cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funky, musty, barnyard, damp wood, fruity, apricot, apple, lemon.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, overripe apple, apricot, almost jammy but not really, funky, barnyard, oak, with a super lemon candy finish (sour and a touch sweet).
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good enjoyable complex aroma and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Lambic - Fruit, OWA Brewery SPRL

OWA Shiso Lambic

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Brewery: OWA Brewery SPRL
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Japanese herb

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Shiso herb has also been known in English as the “beefsteak plant”, possibly on account of the purple-leaved varieties evoking the bloody-red color of meat. It is sometimes referred to by its genus name, perilla, but this is ambiguous as it could also refer to a different cultigen (Perilla frutescens var. frutescens) which is distinguished as egoma in Japan.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24

Intro: A 375ml purple paper wrapped corked and capped bottle, 2019 vintage, poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a thin white head that dissipated fairly quickly but settled to a ring around the glass, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Green, herbal, vine, shiso, leafy, mandarin, lemon peel, dry wood.
Taste: Sour, tart, oak, lime, lemon peel, herbal, shiso, green viney, menthol, with light funky and bitter notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Shiso, much like coriander/cilantro, is probably a love hate herb with its interesting aroma and flavours, and so I could see this bottle being in a love hate situation as well. If you haven’t eaten raw shiso before, it could feel overpowering. The great thing about this Shiso Lambic, is that unlike quite a few other OWA lambics using fruit, the adjunct in this case, shiso, is very obvious and actually front and center. Good, interesting and enjoyable aroma and flavours. Would not be surprised if this becomes one of my favourites from OWA.