Tag Archives: ba

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

3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Cuvée Armand & Gaston Honing

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze

Brewer Description: (from bottle in French) 3 Fonteinen Cuvée Armand & Gaston est un assemblage de jeunes, mi-vieux et vieux lambic traditionnels, brassés par Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen. Cent pour cent naturel, authentique, spontané, un peu têtu, tout en restant élégant et plein de caractère. De la pure passion, comme Armand & Gaston Debelder l’ont toujours fait. Fermentation et maturation en bouteille continue et avec un potentiel de longue conservation. Non-filtré et non-pasteurisé. Une gueuze de caractère avec une belle évolution d’arômes et de goûts.

(blend description in Dutch) Deze specifieke Cuvée Armand & Gaston werd geassembleerd met lambikken van 8 verschillende vaten en maar liefst 10 verschillende brouwsels. In de assemblage werd wat eigen geïmkerde zomerhoning toegevoegd. De oudste lambik werd gebrouwen aan het begin van seizoen 16/17, dus eind 2016. Eén van de lambikken werd trouwens gebrouwen met verse Coigneau hop, een lokaal “lambik” ras.

(Translated to English) 3 Fonteinen Cuvée Armand & Gaston is a blend of young, half-old and old traditional lambics, brewed by Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen. One hundred percent natural, authentic, spontaneous, a little stubborn, while remaining elegant and full of character. Pure passion, as Armand & Gaston Debelder have always done. Continuous fermentation and maturation in the bottle with potential for long storage. Unfiltered and unpasteurized. A gueuze of character with a beautiful evolution of aromas and tastes.

This specific Cuvée Armand & Gaston was assembled with lambics from 8 different barrels and no less than 10 different brews. Some of our own harvested summer honey was added to this blend. The oldest lambic was brewed at the beginning of the 16/17 season, i.e. at the end of 2016. One of the lambics was brewed with fresh Coigneau hops, a local “lambic” variety.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.55
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend n°4, season 19/20, bottled on 18th November 2019, with a best before date of 26th October 2039. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had good retention, but eventually settled to a nice fluffy cap, while leaving lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funky, hay, damp wood, oak, green apple, light citrus, lemon zest, with notes of leather and honey.
Taste: Sour, tart, green apple, grapefruit, funky, oak, lemon zest, white grape, slightly herbal, with notes of honey sweetness and peppery spice on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Another excellent 3F gueuze that’s just so enjoyable and easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Gueuzerie Tilquin, Lambic - Gueuze

Tilquin Gueuzérable

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Brewery: Gueuzerie Tilquin
Country: Belgium
ABV: 10%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: 2017-2018

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer of spontaneous fermentation, the Gueuzérable Tilquin is made from the fermentation of organic maple syrup in a blend of 1, 2 and 3 years old lambic aged on oak barrels. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented in the bottle.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.03
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, with a neck label of 2017-2018, and a best before date of 9th October 2028. Poured into a Tilquin gueuze glass.
Appearance: A very slightly hazy copper amber colour with a slightly less than two finger beige head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, green apple, lemon zest, lime, hay, oak, funk, grape, with a slight hint of caramel and maybe maple.
Taste: Sour, tart, green apple, grape, lemon zest, lime, funky, oak, with a very subtle hint of unsweet maple syrup.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: The maple aroma and flavours were very subtle and not as obvious as I hoped it would be. The base Tilquin lambic is great though, so this was still good, and the alcohol is well hidden as you wouldn’t know that this was 10% ABV.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Ca’ del Brado, Italy, Sour Ale

Ca’ del Brado Nessun Dorma

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Brewery: Ca’ del Brado
Country: Italy
ABV: 6.4%
Style: Sour Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Italian) Nessun Dorma è una Vieille Saison, stile tradizionale dell’Hainaut, provincia della Vallonia. Il mosto, realizzato con buona percentuale di frumento non maltato e avena, riceve una luppolatura delicata di luppoli nobili. A seguito di una fermentazione in acciaio attraverso Saccharomyces, la birra affina da 6 a 8 mesi in tonneaux e barriques (che precedentemente contenevano vino), con contaminazione di brettanomiceti e batteri lattici. Il blend finale produce una bevuta rustica e dalla marcata presenza acidula. Note citriche, speziate e di frutta bianca sono ingentilite da sentori floreali e dalla complessità conferita dal legno. Nessun Dorma è una birra rinfrescante con una profondità selvaggia, che potrà certamente godere di un ulteriore invecchiamento nella vostra cantina.

(translated to English) Nessun Dorma is a Vieille Saison, a traditional style from Hainaut, a province of Wallonia. The must, made with a good percentage of unmalted wheat and oats, receives a delicate hopping of noble hops. Following a fermentation in steel with Saccharomyces, the beer ages from 6 to 8 months in tonneaux and barriques (which previously contained wine), with contamination of brettanomycetes and lactic bacteria. The final blend produces a rustic drink with a marked acidic presence. Citric, spicy and white fruit notes are softened by floral scents and the complexity given by the wood. Nessun Dorma is a refreshing beer with a wild depth, which will certainly enjoy further aging in your cellar.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.8
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of December 2024. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy pale orange colour with a thin white head that dissipated quickly, while leaving some decent lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, white wine grapes, light funk, lime peel, and slight wood notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, lemon, white wine grapes, green apple, oak, with light funkiness.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Balanced and easy to drink. Would love to try more from this brewery.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Mikkeller Baghaven, Wild Ale

Mikkeller Baghaven Rubus of Rose

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Brewery: Mikkeller Baghaven
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7.2%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Blend 2, aged 14 months

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Wine barrel fermented Danish Wild Ale aged on fresh raspberries.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.49
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, blend 2, with a best before date of February 2029. Poured into a Mikkeller Baghaven Zalto Bordeaux stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy ruby red colour with a two fingered pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Tart, jammy, raspberry, with slight funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, jammy, raspberry, redcurrants, hay, lightly funky, with notes of oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Really enjoyed the aroma and flavours here with intense jammy raspberry leading the way.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Penyllan Brewery, Porter - Baltic

Penyllan The Mistress Bourbon

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Brewery: Penyllan Brewery
Country: Denmark
ABV: 13%
Style: Baltic Porter
Other Notes: At Penyllan we focus on brewing small batches of beer, aged slowly on wood with our house culture of wild yeast. We are inspired by the changing seasons and the wealth of ingredients available to us on our beautiful island

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The Mistress is inspired by the strong and dark baltic porters that, for centuries, has been brewed and consumed by people around the Baltic Sea. Among them the inhabitants of the island where our brewery is. Brewed traditionally with a mix of domesticated and wild yeast and then put to rest in freshly emptied bourbon barrels for a full four years.

Black and viscous with a small tan head. Aroma is dominated by tobacco, leather, dried fruit, smoke, and warm asphalt. Mellow carbonation and slick mouthfeel with complex flavors of dark chocolate, coffee, burned sugar and black cherries. The bourbon character is well integrated and manifests as vanilla, wood and a hint of warming alcohol. Long mouth coating aftertaste with sticky caramel sweetness and lingering roasted bitterness.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottle 432 of 858, 2015 vintage, with a best before date of May 2030. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a thin tanned head that dissipated quickly but left some sparse but spotty lacing.
Aroma: Leather, roasted malts, dark fruit, plum, prunes, bourbon, with light notes of chocolate.
Taste: Sweet, roasty, chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, molasses, dark fruit, plum, oak, bourbon, vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Flavours were nice and complex in little sips, but the sweetness was too intense for me to drink too much at a time. Was hoping for more roasty bitterness to help balance out the sweetness.