3 Fonteinen Hommage

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

Bottle from ygtbsm94, Thanks Brad!Tasted in line at Alesmith’s September 2007 BA release. Cloudy pink color. Small head composed of microbubbles. Aroma reminds me of a mellowed gueze. Mildy sour and mild funk. The raspberry flavor was good, and pleasantly different than other raspberry beers, because of the lower unfermented sugars. Was expecting a punch in the face of flavor and sourness, but found a world class beer that is easy to drink. Something that everyone would like connoiseurs to grandmas. Excellent.

From ygtbsm94. First I need to say that I really like lambic and sour beer in general however the Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze is not on of my favorites. The house flavor on this beer is "rubber’ for me and while it’s nice enough it’s not usually my bag of tricks. Despite this I have loved other Fonteinen beers like 50th Anniversary, which was definitely missing this "rubber" aspect. But none the less I was extremely looking forward to trying this beer.
Poured raspberry juice color, dark enough that you cannot see through it, yet the edges, all around, are a much lighter shade of pink. It has that signature aroma of rubber that the Oude Geuze has as well as an herbally barnyard funk. All that is wrapped up in a thick sweet raspberry aroma that is not artificial or overly sweet at all. Low on acidity and not all that sour but more oak and barnyard aspect. Taste is very drying and herbally. I am able to chew the rubber taste, which is followed by light sweet raspberries. A lower carbonation adds to the chewy aspect of the beer. Leaves a long very dry and [again] rubber aftertaste. Very mellow on the sour.
750mL bottled on 02/07, Rodenbach Grand Cru tulip glass, again thanks Brad.

Bottle from JoeinUccle. Thanks Joe! Shared with my friend Leah upon her return from Cali. She appreciates good lambics and I appreciate her for that. I was really excited when I heard this beer was being made (assuming it would be the same as the framboos last bottled in 1999). After finding out it was a totally different beer, I was a little upset, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t dying to try it. After all, it is a fruit lambic (one of my favorite styles) and its made by 3 Fonteinen. Well, I wasn’t disappointed. Pours a deep pinkish red with some wispy white lace. Nose is funky, but not over the top acidic, with some fruity aspects of the raspberries and cherries within. Also smelled some oak. Flavor is smooth and very nice. Adequate tartness throughout, not over-the-top sour like some vintage cantillons, but a very nice fruity tartness that is just a pleasure to drink. Like the doesjel, this stuff is so incredibly drinkable I think my parents might even like it. I always use to think that the more sour a lambic was, the more complex it was (or the more I would enjoy it), but that’s not always the case. Sometimes you’re in the mood for something more mellow. Would be interested to see if this grows more sour and funky over time, but I’m glad I had a taste of this now.

Courtesy dsnowden. Pink-purple color with floes of white soapy head. Grapeskins, raspberries on the aroma and a surprisingly low amount of sour or acetic aromas, but there is a nice bedrock of funk that the fruity aromas are lying on top of. Taste is smooth, elegant, and vinous. The fruit is well apparent and even with the sourness rather than bowled over by its intensity. The finish is dry and moderately sour, and leaves the fruit and remnants of the yeasty funk behind on the palate. A fantastic, well-balanced fruit lambic.

(3/14/08) After looking for this one everywhere during my 3-week Belgium & Amsterdam trip, turning down one in Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst early in my trip in hope I could find it easily elsewhere, and disappointed by the fact that the guy in Moeder Lambic couldn’t find any more bottles (for 25E) in the cellar, I was thrilled to find this one for 11.5E (!!!) at De Bierkoning in Amsterdam.
Bottle drank at a friends’ house in Amsterdam. Deep red color with a small pinkish head. Magnificent raspberry aroma with some earth and barnyard. Wonderfully tart berries flavor with some citric notes, wood and earth. Great mouthfeel. Amazing.

On the RBSG 2008 bus - also served by Dr. Bill (if I remember correctly). Pours cloudy dark amber reddish pinkish brown with a white head. Nice tart, berry-like funky/horsey nose. Whoah, pretty damn puckering sour - notes of lemon, citric acidity, berries, strawberry and no shortage of brett funkiness. Very well-attenuated, light bodied with moderate carbonation. Very good.

Bottle from Spuyten Duyvil. I was super excited to get to try this beer! Pours a dark red/pink with a beautiful light pink head. Aroma of oak, raspberry, and tartness. Flavor of sweet raspberries, tartness, sugar. Initially this was very sweet but got more sour as I drank it. Quite delicious but it doesn’t beat Schaerbeekse for me.

Candied raspberries swirl with hints of funkiness and spices in the aroma. Medium tart flavor has great fruit with just enough wild elements to really make it an interesting brew. Excellent.