3 Fonteinen Doesjel

375 ml corked and caged bottle my Dad picked up for me at Zipps in Minneapolis, set aside by tytoanderso. Feb 23, 2006 bottling date - that would make this 18 months old at time of tasting. Cork was quite difficult to pull. Opens with a loud pop, and there is immediate sour funkiness. Pour is hazy yellow orange with only a few soapy looking bubbles for a head. Aroma is nice, soft Brett yeastiness. Very wild and delicate smelling. Some tart sour lemon citrus present as well. Floral notes. Taste is flat, really no carbonation to speak of, the wild earthiness of the nose is in the taste, but even more muted. The sour tartness picks up in the middle, and is nicely integrated with the funkiness. Very much lemon. The aftertaste is woody, dry and a bit cardboardy. The oakiness lingers a bit. Thanks for making this happen Tyler.

Had at Oud Arsenal in Antwerp on 6/20. Pours gold body with no head. Nose of lemons and sour apples. Initial taste balances sweet fruit malts with tghe sour elements, but the sour elements take over, and last a long time. Very nice beer.

375mL bottle, Feb 23 2006, drunk from a Duvel snifter on Bastille Day 2008.
A surprisingly dark color for a gueuze, with deep orange and tangerine shades playing about a strong copper background. Sparse bubbles appear on the very edges and the clarity is medium-high, leaving the sediment behind, as always.
Heavily lactic in the nose, with light mushroom suggestions and less tartness/sourness than I would expect. I must admit to reading David’s review before trying this and some residual sugars, that he mentions, certainly seem to be prominent in the nose, for a gueuze. They somewhat dull the resulting phenol bouquet, but I’m still hopeful for the flavor....
Hmmmm, very sweet for a real lambic, and without as much of the dry, oily woodiness that is presented in the Grand Bruocsella. Not to say it dosen’t taste mostly proper for a flat lambic, but there is a quick transition from sweet malts to a watery, overly loose finish. No flaws though, I don’t even get any obnoxious rubber or sulfur. Could just be my tolerance to it though. You want to score this one high, but it just dosen’t seem to be nearly as complex as, say, a 2001 oude gueuze or any Cantillon Gueuzes. More sourness please.
Will compare this side-by-side to a Loerik after a few more years. Loerik has the last word on lazy gueuzes, at this point.

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear, gold body with, well, no head to speak of. Smell: Zip of sour lemonade made from lemons just as sour. Notes of vinegar, abandoned basements left in disrepair, and discarded, retired horseblankets. A dear friend of mine described it thusly: "Gasline Lemonade, baby!" Yes, he’s quite the character. Taste: All at once it’s sour and it’s tart with only minor hint of sweetness and malt on the underside. It really goes beyond puckering and leaves you making hissing lizard faces. Cobweb-coated, musty, and with a distinct damp cellar taste. Throw in a few sour lemons, maybe a drizzle of vinegar. Finishes crisp and fairly dry. Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Really lacking any carbonation. Drinkability: Fairly nice and about as refreshing as a gueze can get (for me). I’d say it could use a touch more carbonation, but really it could use any carbonation.

apple juice cloudy appearance, no head whatsoever.A very mild geuze vinegar aroma. A malted masked taste that fills the mouth over time, with mild fruit and vinegar. Very easy drinking, controlled tartness and refreshing. Stomach warming.