Category Archives: Style

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

3 Fonteinen Intens Rood PX

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.1%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°79, Season 19/20

Brewer Description: (from bottle) While looking for old sherry barrels, we cannot get lucky all the time. While we will be sourcing barrels directly from bodegas to assure provenance and quality, we had a batch of Pedro Ximenez (PX) barrels that was on the peated side (albeit subdued). As a result, we decided not to use them for Zenne y Frontera, but to blend them with other (fruit) lambikken into geuze and fruit blends.

This is the first of such blends to be released. Sour cherries were macerated partly on young peated lambik and partly on two-year old straight lambik in a stainless steel tank. We blended with young and three-year old (!) lambik. 55% of the blend is old lambik and the final fruit intensity is 567 grams of sour cherries per litre.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°79, season 19/20, bottled on 7th October 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: It was a deep dark red colour with a purplish hue, and a very thin pinkish head that dissipated quickly, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Lots of cherry, oak, damp wood, red wine, lemon, with notes of almond milk.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, lemon zest, oak, damp wood, light funk, with maybe light sherry notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: I’m not sure if the PX barrel is having much influence on the Intens Rood, as the sherry notes are quite light if any. On top of that, I know it says ‘subdued peat’ in regards to the barrel, but really, I’m not getting any peat in both the aroma or the flavour. Despite this, it’s still enjoyable, with lots of cherry, although perhaps not quite as good as the regular Intens Rood in my opinion.

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

3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek Geturfd PX

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.3%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°75, Season 19/20

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This Oude Kriek was macerated with sour cherries for almost eleven months. The lambikken used while macerating were both one- and two-year old. We also used one-, two- and three-year old lambikken from (peated) sherry barrels to blend the sour cherry lambik into a Kriek. By doing so, the weighted average age of this Kriek is a tad less than two-and-a-half years upon release. Final fruit intensity of 354 grams per litre of Kriek. 100% 3 Fonteinen.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°75, season 19/20, bottled on 9th September 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice very lightly hazy but deep ruby red colour with a very thin pinkish white head that really didn’t want to form, while leaving only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Slightly tart, cherry, cherry skin, oak, with light notes of almond and maybe sherry.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, cherry skin, sharp lemon acidity, oak, sherry, a touch of minerals, with some almond in the background.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: This was pretty similar to the regular Oude Kriek, although the carbonation was too soft. There was also supposed to be lambic from peated sherry barrels, but unlike the Oude Geuze Geturfd, while I felt there was some sherry, this peat was near non-existent in the aroma or flavour. An interesting experiment, but I don’t think it improved on the original Oude Kriek.

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

3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Golden Blend

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.3%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Blend°52, Season 16/17

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) 3 Fonteinen Oude Gueze Golden Blend is een assemblage van één-, twee-, drie- en vierjarige traditionele lambikken, verder vergist in de fles en waarvan het deel vierjarige lambik(ken) minstens 25% 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 heft een proportie van 25% oude lambikken van 4.5 jaar en ouder op het moment van het bottelen. Afkomstig van 5 verschillende vaten en 5 verschillende brouwsels, waarven één van januari 2013 en één van mei 2013.

(translated to English) 3 Fonteinen Oude Gueze 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 unpasteurised.

This particular Golden Blend has a proportion of 25% lambic aged 4.5 years and older at the time of bottling. Sourced from 5 different barrels and 5 different brews, including one from January 2013 and one from May 2013.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.7
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°52, season 16/17, bottled on 11th October 2017. Served from a 3 Fonteinen lambic basket, and poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A nice clear golden colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Earthy, oak, rhubarb, light funk, musty, damp wood, hay, apricot, green apple, pear, with sherbet like lemon notes.
Taste: Light to moderately sour, oak, lemon peel, unripe apricot, apple skin, with light funk and notes of hay.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Excellent, balanced, complex flavours and really enjoyable to drink.

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

3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Geturfd

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.8%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Blend°62, Season 19/20

Brewer Description: (from bottle) In the spring of 2019, we received a series of very old Oloroso, PX and Amontillado barrels through a local Jerez cooperage. The aromas were a mix of typical fine sherry notes and toasted, peated characteristics, which we have never experienced before. However, after a year of bottle conditioning – because of the higher peated aromas, albeit balanced – we decided to release this bottle not as a Zenne y Frontera, but as a peated geuze. This blend, like blend 61, comes mostly from Oloroso barrels. The weighted average age of this blend, upon its release, is almost three years old. The oldest lambik was brewed in April 2018.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°62, season 19/20, bottled on 15th April 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A nice clear golden orange colour with a near two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a nice thin but replenishing cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, barnyard, musty, dusty, oak, green apple, pear, with lemony notes.
Taste: Peaty, leather, funk, barnyard, hay, oak, sherry, apple, lemon, lime.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It was interesting, as I didn’t get any hint of peat in the aroma, but it was very obvious in the flavour. Generally I enjoy peat, and it was nice here, but if I had to compare it to the regular Oude Geuze, I think that I prefer the regular version just that slightly bit more as the lack of peat just made it more refreshing. Still good though.

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

3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.7%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Blend°63, Season 18/19

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze is een assemblage van één, twee, en drie-jarige traditionele lambikken, vergist op fles. Dankzij de spontane vergisting, de lange rijping op eikenhouten vaten, en de continue evolutie op fles ontstaat een uitgesproken complex en elegant natuurlijk bier. Lambik en Geuze zijn rijk levend erfgoed, eigen aan de Zennevallei! Ongefilterd en ongespasteurisserd.

Deze specifieke Oude Geuze werd geassembleerd met lambikken van 9 verschillende vaten en afkomstig van 6 verschillende brouwsels. De assemblage bestaat uit jonge lambikken en drie jaar oude lambik (33%), gebrouwen door Brouwerijen Lindemans en Boon.

(translated to English) 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze is an assembly of one, two and three-year-old traditional lambics, fermented in the bottle. Thanks to the spontaneous fermentation, the long maturation in oak barrels, 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 unpasteurised.

This particular Oude Geuze was assembled with lambic from 9 different barrels originating from 6 different brews. The assembly consists of young lambic and three-year-old lambic (33%), originating from Brouwerij Lindemans and Brouwerij Boon.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.5
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°63, season 18/19, bottled on 3rd April 2019. Served from a 3 Fonteinen lambic basket, and poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A nice clear golden colour with a just over one finger white head that had decent retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, barnyard, funky, oak, hay, green apple, with light lemon notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, funk, oak, hay, green apple, lime, lemon, with light notes of grape skin.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with high, lively carbonation.
Overall: Surprised I didn’t review this much earlier. For an Oude Geuze in the core range, this is right up there among the best in my opinion, along with 3F A&G and Tilquin Oude Gueuze. I also specifically picked blend°63 of season 18/19, because it’s been one of my favourites lately, since the paper label blends of 2015 and earlier. It’s just super easy and enjoyable to drink, it’s basically something I could down at all hours of the day.