3 Fonteinen Hommage

Brewed by 3 Fonteinen
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Beersel, Belgium

Bottled. Aroma is very fruity with a lot of raspberry, some yeast and barnyard. Hazy, purple-red coloured with a pink head. Taste is intense fruity (raspberry),slightly sour/tart. It has a little yeast and barnyard. Mostly very fruity. Really fresh. Well done brew.

Bottled on Feb 14, 2007 thanks to Yem25. Pours with a lightly pink, creamy head and a very muddy, deep red body with great lacing. Aroma is champagne notes with raspberry, horse hair, vinegar, cherries, pineapple, vanilla, toffee and mustiness. Taste is complex with champagne, raspberries, oats, barnyard, cherries...Complex and clean. Light amount, but tickling bubbles with a dry mouthfeel.

In short: An excellent soft and juicy raspberries & cherries lambic.
How: Montreal-crew sour-beer tasting. Bottle from Goldorak. Fresh, drank a few months after it came out.
The look: Cloudy red body with almost no head
In long: Very fruity beer. Raspberries of course but also quite a bit of cherries. A little spicy on the tongue (thyme and cinnamon) but just a little. Lambic part of the beer keeps a low profile behind the mountain of fruits. A little more funkyness and acidity would have been great. Maybe time will balance it off a bit. Carbonation is very soft, maybe a bit too much so. Compared to its predecessor (3F Framboos) the Hommage is softer, juicier, less funky and a lot less aggressive. As it stands I also prefer the Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus over the Hommage. I’ll give it a year or two and see what happens. Don’t get me wrong the beer is good, very good. Still I was a little disappointed but only because the original Framboos was so great. That’s unfortunate but my expectations were as high the dudes in the three first rows of a Grateful Dead concert.

75 cl bottle, bottled 14/02/2007. Pours deep red with orange notes and has a modest pinkish head. Immediately upon pouring raspberries scents hit the nose, but sour cherries, wood, lemony lambik are more prominent even though raspberries remain. Hint of marcipan. Sour cherry fruit, almonds, moderate woodiness towards the finish, overall nicely balanced. A masterpiece.

Bouteille verte, avec bouchon de liège, de 750 ml partagée lors d’une dégustation Ratebeer Montréal chez MartinT. Arôme: Légère odeur de vinaigre à la framboise avec très légère pointe de caramel fruité. Apparence: La couleur est rougeâtre voilée. Présence d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de vinaigre aux frambosies. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût légèrement vinaigré. (Rating #2202)

Pours red/amber with a soft pink head. Tart raspberry and dose of funk to the aroma. Darn, there was a great quote tonight about the funk in this, but I can’t quite remember it. The berry flavor was very fresh, like a not quite rip raspberry, sort of tart and very mildly sour. Not very acidic, but a good dry earthiness.

750...capped. wow. thanks, sprinkle, among others, for sending one out. this is a frickin incredible beer. pours a murky raspberry red with no head or lace. humongous tart raspberry nose. some wood showing. creamy medium body, fairly flat. berries and wood on the mid palate...not insanely complex, but thoroughly delicious. long tart finish.

Brilliant aroma--sour, like parmesan on potatoes, and like licking Chewbacca’s armpits. Flavor might have been less than perfect due to the finish, like a fragrant candle, but the delight here is the sour finish, classic to the style, and about which I’ll make no complaints. Yum!