Tag Archives: fruit lambic

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot IX.iv: Aardbeiiteraties: Aardbei + Kriek – Blended & Alive @3 gr/l dosage

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.9%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°4, Season 18/19. Number of bottles – 1299

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen “Speling van het Lot” (Twist of Fate) is a series of small batch experimental brews, barrel maturations, fruit macerations and/or blends. This 9th version features a range of strawberry maceration iterations aiming at balancing the intense fruitiness of strawberries with the subtleties of traditional lambic while minimising the unpleasant phenolic characteristics of the small pits. For this fruit lambic we barrel macerated sour cherries on a previous barrel macerated strawberry lambic (featured in the ToF IX.i). The proportion is 65% strawberries to 35% sour cherries, while the final intensity is 260 grams of fruit per liter of finished fruit lambic. The ToF’s IX.iv to IX.vii follow the same principal except we played around with the sugar priming dosage, which is in this case 3 grams per liter.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°4, season 18/19, bottled on 22nd November 2018, and with a best before date of 26th October 2038. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy amber orange colour with a very thin white head that dissipated quickly, and no lacing.
Aroma: Very nice strawberry jammy, with light cherry notes. Lightly funky, wood, hay, straw.
Taste: Fruit forward, strawberry, cherry, sour, lemon juice, wood, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Good fruit forward and balance of strawberry and cherries. I actually tried the 3F Aardbei/Kriek just before this bottle and I preferred that bottle even though there was slightly more acidity, because there was a more appropriate amount of carbonation for my taste.

3 Fonteinen Aardbei/Kriek

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°7, Season 20/21

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Aardbei/Kriek, we blended three quarters of a foeder-matured strawberry lambik (the one we bottled straight away for the 6th blend of this season) and one quarter of a kriekenlambik that macerated for 10 months. The weighted average maceration period is almost four months. The final fruit intensity is at 600 grams of red fruits per litre of Aardbei/Kriek. We bottled it without adding any additional lambik.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.36
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°7, season 20/21, bottled on 5th January 2021, with a best before date of 26th October 2041. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange, amber, pinkish colour with a thin white head that settled fairly quickly to a ring around the glass while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Strawberries dominate, funk, straw, hay, with light cherry and acetone notes on the finish.
Taste: A little sharp, but unlike the aroma, cherry is stronger here, although the strawberry is still noticeable. Funky, oak, hay, lemon juice.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Another example of 3 Fonteinen doing well with strawberries in beer. The balance between strawberry and cherry was good, and resulted in something very enjoyable.

Tilquin Oude Sureau À l’ancienne

Brewery: Gueuzerie Tilquin
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2020-2021

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer of spontaneous fermentation, the Old Sureau Tilquin is made from the fermentation of 125g of elderberries by liter of lambic. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented in the bottle.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.41
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, with a neck label of 2020-2021, and a best before date of 9th March 2031. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice hazy reddish purple colour with a two finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Mixed berries, blackberry, elderberry, plum, red wine, oak, earthy, with maybe some light funk notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, fruit forward, mixed berries, elderberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, red wine grapes, oak, earthy, green vines, with light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice enjoyable berry aroma and flavours.

Tilquin Oude Gewurzt À l’ancienne

Brewery: Gueuzerie Tilquin
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8.4%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2020-2021

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer of spontaneous fermentation, the Old Gewurzt Tilquin is made from the fermentation of 250g of Gewurztraminer grapes by liter of lambic. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented in the bottle.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.28
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, with a neck label of 2020-2021, and a best before date of 24th November 2030. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sweet white wine grapes, grape skin, lemon zest, funk, oak, light herbal notes.
Taste: Tart, sour, grape skin, lemon zest, light funk, oak, grapefruit, with some bitterness on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This wasn’t anything like I expected as I rarely drink Gewurztraminer and the grapefruit bitterness and flavours that came out of it was a pleasant surprise. It was balanced and enjoyable.

De Cam Zjiem Bezen Framboise Lambic

Brewery: Geuzestekerij De Cam
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2020 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Fruitlambik zonder hergisting: 600 kilo trosbessen en 400 kilo Frambozen worden samen met 1500 liter lambik vergist op VAT.

(translated to English) Fruit lambic without refermentation: 600 kilos of redcurrants and 400 kilos of raspberries are fermented in VAT together with 1500 liters of lambic.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, 2020 vintage, with a best before date of August 2030. Poured into a De Cam stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear ruby red colour with a one finger pinkish head that dissipated quickly to a ring around the glass while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sweet candied red fruit, raspberry, redcurrants, wood, light funk, with leather notes.
Taste: Tart, light sour, leather, funky notes, candied fruit, raspberry, redcurrants, with hints of wood.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Not as complex as some of the other De Cam offerings, but still enjoyable as the candied fruit sweetness and leathery funk balances the tartness such that it’s easy to drink.