Tag Archives: oak barrel aged

3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Cuvée Armand & Gaston Honing

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.

Tilquin Gueuzérable

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.

Wildflower St Henry – Apricot

Brewery: Wildflower Brewing & Blending
Country: Australia
ABV: 5.4%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2020 vintage. 2400 bottles. Australian Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) St Henry is an Australian Wild Ale refermented with apricots. It is named for Chris and his wife’s second son. Saint Henry II was a Holy Roman Emperor during the 11th century. In 2020, this beer was made from golden mixed fermentation, barrel aged beer and 350kg of fresh, tree ripened Trevatt apricots hand picked from Thornbrook Orchard in Orange, NSW.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.18
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle, 2020 vintage, packaged in June 2020, with a best before date of June 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, apricot sour gummy candy, honey, green apple, oak, light funk.
Taste: Sweet and tart, apricot sour gummy candy, honey, woody, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable fruity apricot gummy candy flavours. Would be interesting if there was even more funk.

Wildflower St Thomas – Cherry

Brewery: Wildflower Brewing & Blending
Country: Australia
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2020 vintage. 4300 bottles. Australian Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) St Thomas is an Australian Wild Ale refermented with cherries. It is named for Chris and his wife’s first son. Saint Thomas Aquinas was an immensely influential 13th century philosopher and theologian. In 2020, this beer was made from amber mixed fermentation, barrel aged beer and 800kg of fresh, tree ripened Morello cherries hand picked from Thornbrook Orchard in Orange, NSW.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.97
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 375ml bottle, 2020 vintage, packaged in May 2020, with a best before date of May 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy deep red colour with a one finger beige head that dissipated fairly quickly to a thin cap, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and lightly tart cherries, sweet apple, oak, with some light funky notes.
Taste: Sweet cherries, with some tart and sour notes, oak, funky, leather, and a touch of bandaid.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Wildflower continues to impress me, and this wild ale was no different. Enjoyable and easy to drink.

Burning Sky Saison Provision

Brewery: Burning Sky Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 6.7%
Style: Farmhouse Saison
Other Notes: Batch 2 (2020)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This tavern strength farmhouse beer is first fermented with Saison yeast and then with a blend of Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces whilst ageing in oak foudres. The result is tart, crisp, slightly sour and incredibly refreshing.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, Batch 2 (2020), bottled on 26th August 2020, and with a best before date of 26th August 2030. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden straw yellow colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quite quickly but left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, lightly sweet, lemon zest, grapefruit, apricot, hay, with light floral tea notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, lemon, grapefruit, citrus sherbet, with notes of stone fruit, floral, wood and funk.
Mouthfeel: Dry, crisp, light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A very enjoyable Saison. Balanced and really easy to drink.