Category Archives: Style

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, IPA - Black

De Struise Black Damnation VIII – S.H.I.T.

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: IPA – Black
Other Notes: 150 IBUs. Black Albert mixed with Elliot Brew, aged in bourbon barrels. This mixture of a Russian Imperial Stout and an IPA results in a so-called Black & Tan

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A Belgian Dark IPA from Flanders aged for 2 yrs on bourbon barrels. Supreme Hoppy Intensive Thing.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.95
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 28th May 2021, with a best before of +5 years, poured into a De Struise tulip glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a one finger beige head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Prunes, licorice, grapefruit zest, pine, roasted malts, chocolate, and toffee.
Taste: Bittersweet, roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, bourbon, resinous, pine, licorice, grapefruit, and toffee.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Despite the high ABV%, this was pretty easy to drink as the booziness was well hidden, with the nice balance between the roast and the hops.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Quadrupel, Belgium, Brasserie de la Sambre

De La Sambre Barley IV

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Brewery: Brasserie De La Sambre
Country: Belgium
ABV: 10.5%
Style: Quadrupel
Other Notes: 28 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A full barley variation of our Rye IV. Our take on the heaviest of all Belgian classic, the quadruple. We have used different layers of caramel malts and high quality Belgian candi syrup to create a complex bouquet of dried fruits including plums, dates, dried raisins as well as notes of fresh dark cherries. We have discarded malt for this variation so that you can use it as a basis and compare with upcoming versions. We have used a classic abbey yeast strain to create a balanced fermentation profile rotating around orchard fruits and white spices. Will mellow over time (3 years) if placed in an environment protected from light and heat. Brewed in our 800 years old farm.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.17
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml white waxed bottle, with a best before date of 22nd July 2026. Poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: A dark brown colour with a very nice fluffy one finger beige head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Fruity, dried cherry, fresh plums, prunes, caramel, toast.
Taste: Roasted malts, toast, cacao, sweet notes, dried cherries, dates, prunes, raisins, caramel, and a touch boozy.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A nice sipper with a good balance between the roasty toasty notes and the sweet dried fruits. While the booze did come through slightly, it wasn’t overly strong and still enjoyable.

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

3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Golden Blend Honing

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.3%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Blend°51, Season 16/17

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Golden Blend is een assemblage van één-, twee-, drie- en vierjarige traditionele lambikken, verder vergist in de fles en waarvan de vierjarige lambik minstens 25% deel uitmaakt. Dankzij de oude lambik en de continue evolutie in de fles ontstaat een uitgesproken complex en elegant natuurlijk bier. Lambik en Geuze zijn rijk en levend erfgoed, eigen aan de Zennevallei! Ongefilterd en ongepasteuriseerd.

Deze specifieke Golden Blend heeft een proportie van 27% vier jaar oude lambiken werd gebrouwen in januari 2013. Bij het assembleren werd er ook wat honing toegevoegd.

(translated to English) 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Golden Blend is a blend of one-, two-, three- and four-year-old traditional lambic, further fermented in the bottle, of which at least 25% is four-year-old lambic(s). Thanks to the old lambic and the continuous evolution in the bottle, a distinctly complex and elegant natural beer is created. Lambik and Geuze are a rich living heritage, characteristic of the Senne valley! Unfiltered and unpasteurized.

This particular Golden Blend has a proportion of 27% four-year-old lambic that was brewed in January 2013. Some honey was also added during assembly.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°51, season 16/17, bottled on 27th September 2017. Served from a 3 Fonteinen lambic basket, and poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A nice clear golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Green apple, rhubarb, funk, slight cheese, wet wood, lemon, with a hint of honey.
Taste: Tart, light sour, apple, gooseberry, lemon zest, lime, earthy, damp wood, light funk, with an apple peel finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: It was nice and enjoyable, but other than just slightly from the aroma, I do not get any honey directly from the flavour. In the end while it was good, I don’t think it improved on the original Golden Blend, which I thought was amazing.

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

3 Fonteinen Pruim Belle De Louvain

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.8%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°9, Season 20/21

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This Pruim features the Belle De Louvain, an ancient plum variety, popularly known in Brabant and Limburg province as Paterskloten and Hondskloten respectively. We sourced these both at Hoenshof in Limburg and at Willy’s orchard on the Wijngaardberg around Rotselaar. We macerated the entire plums for almost five months on lambik from five different barrels and five different brews. Finally, we blended with some young lambik before bottling. Final fruit intensity is 380 grams of Belle De Louvain plums per litre of Pruim. 100% 3 Fonteinen.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.09
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°9, season 20/21, bottled on 6th January 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Fruity, plum, plum skin, strawberry, oak, lemon zest, and funk.
Taste: Sour, plum, apricot, lime, funk, with light oak notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It’s quite sour dominant, but the plum aroma and flavours come through nicely, and it’s enjoyable with the light oak and funkiness.

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

3 Fonteinen Perzik Geel Red Heaven

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.3%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°25, Season 18/19

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) 3 Fonteinen Perzik wordt bekomen door de maceratie van handgeplukte en handmatig ontpitte perziken op jonge traditionele lambik, gedurende minstens vier maanden, in een verhouding van één kilo perziken per liter. Daarna wordt de fruitlambik verder geassembleerd met jonge lambik en wordt alles gebotteld en zet de vergisting zich verder in de fles. Deze Perzik is een verfijnde fruitlambik met uitbundige aroma’s van steenvruchten. De perziken zijn afkomstig van Ludo Rosseels, één van de laatste, zoniet de laatste Belgische perzikenteler. Natuurlijk fruit, zonder toevoeging van sappen, siropen, of suikers. Ongefilterd en ongepasteuriseerd.

Voor deze specifieke gele perzikenlambik werd de variëteit Red Heaven gebruikt en gedurende 5 maanden gemacereerd op 3 Fonteinen lambik in een eikenhouten vat. De finale fruitintensiteit bedraagt 384 gram perziken per liter gele perzikenlambik.

(translated to English) 3 Fonteinen Peach is obtained by maceration of hand-picked and manually pitted peaches on young traditional lambic, for at least four months, at a ratio of one kilo of peaches per liter. Then the fruit lambic is further assembled with young lambic and everything is bottled and the fermentation continues in the bottle. This Peach is a refined fruit lambic with exuberant aromas of stone fruits. The peaches come from Ludo Rosseels, one of the last, if not the last Belgian peach grower. Natural fruit, without the addition of juices, syrups, or sugars. Unfiltered and unpasteurized.

For this particular yellow peach lambic, the Red Heaven variety was used and macerated for 5 months on 3 Fonteinen lambic in an oak barrel. The final fruit intensity is 384 grams of peaches per liter of yellow peach lambic.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.7
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°25, season 18/19, bottled on 21st December 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: It was a nice clear golden orange colour, with a thin white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving only some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Juicy fleshy peach, with notes of lemon zest and oak.
Taste: Tart, sour, peach, lemon, grapefruit, oak, and light funky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Really enjoyable peachy aroma and flavours with a good citrus spike that brings it all together. Out of blends 24, 25 and 26 from 2019 OBD, this one, blend 25, was my favourite. Just for reference, there was also a blend 27 Perzik Wit Floerkes + Vroege Amsden, which unfortunately I have not tried.