3 Fonteinen Hommage

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

MN Ratebeer Winter Gathering, January 12, 2008. Super thanks to hellomynameis and to whoever sent this to him! Cloudy light red color with no head. It looks very much like tropical punch. Strong sour aroma with a little raspberry. The raspberries come out in full in the flavor. Some cherries lingering in the background with a bit of cranberry, too. Wheat and a good hit of sourness. Not sour I could drink a ton of this, but it was great.

2008-05-31. hazy red body, modest white-pink head. (3+) Light musty funk introduces a good amount of rich raspberry aroma. (8+) Flavour is cheek tuggingly sour at first but the tongue quickly acclimatizes, remains quite sour throughout but allows the fruit to come out nicely. Tart-sour raspberries. (7+) Palate is zippy, average plus body - its not superb for my own preferences, but it is spot on for the beer. Pretty awesome, many thanks to those who brought this, it was one of my few ’must tries’ that I did not find on my trip to Belgium. Quite good. Bottle, Post-Mondial Tasting, Montreal

Bottle at EBF08. Good citric fruit, berry aroma. Deep red colour. The flavour is citric but mild, rounded off by the fruit. Very nice. 9 3 9 4 19

Bottle at LCRBM08. Good citric aroma. Good citric flavour, some fruit. Cloudy dark red colour. Hint of funk, but still good. Very citric. 8 3 8 3 18

750ml, bottle dated 2/14/07. strange how life in belgium works, last night i finally got to try 3 Fonteinen Framboos at the Kulminator and today I received this bottle from Armand at the 3 Fonteinen gift shop. pours deep, blood red, dense with pink head around the ring. this is really quite a looker. nose is extremely raw and earthy raspberries, wow, nose is so rich, and lucious. flavor is surprisingly raw and earthly raspberries that never really get that tart or too sweet. I’ve never tasted raspberry flavor like this in a beer. it’s really awesome. carbonation and acidity are low. mouth feel is full and palate is very long. i’m really in love with this beer. it’s so drinkable, the fruit is perfect, complex and unique, and it’s nice and tart and sour but isn’t over-done and allows the fruit to remain the focus. the palate didn’t seem long enough for how intense the fruit flavor initially was. however, this is really easy to drink and fun too.

75cl bottle from GBBF 2007 and kept for over 2 years, the bottles with no label. Isn’t it so good to have a beer that lives up to the hype? The aroma is perfect. So much raspberry fruit, it’s stunning. Brilliant clear red orange colour, with disappearing slight pink head. Raspberry, cherry and a touch of funk. Lovely in mouth, smooth, bit too carbonated, so I had to do a bit of decanting to get rid of the bubbles, but then this swallow of pippy raspberry and sourness starts and lingers into one of the best finish of a beer I’ve had. So easily a 10 for aroma, a five for appearance. The flavour amazing, just maybe too much verging on the vinegar. The sourness is excellent with just that touch of funk. The finish is unbelievable, but as I say, just that touch of vinegar takes the edge off.

Bottle at Delirium Cafe, for a mere 25€. Ouch. I was thinking I’d be seeing this beer all over the country as it was just released, but after 4 days in Belgium and 4 bottle shops, this is the only time I’ve seen it, so I’m glad I jumped on it. Very lactic, milky and strong raspberry aroma. A touch of grass, good cherry, but the raspberry is compeltely and utterly dominant, more like one of the sweet ones. No head. Less milk in the palate. Raspberry is still strong, but there is not enough carbonation and the sourness is a bit lacking. Fruit is completely dominant all around but the base lambic is quite disappointing. I think this needs another couple years to sour up and for the raspberry to come into check. I’ve got another bottle to bring home, so we’ll see. 7/3/7/4/3.7

update: I’ve had this twice since the original rating and it has gotten better and better every time. My last experience with the beer was sublime. Still, more time will make this even better.

Courtesy of kramer17801. Cloudy, hazy ruby red body with a small beige head with a slight pink tint. Sour pie cherry nose with cheese, lactic acid, light berry and horseblanket. The flavor is lightly sweet, moderately sour with an enormous amount of sour pie cherries, lots of raspberry, some yogurt, cheese, melon and lemon. Medium body is soft with moderate carbonation. Finish is very long with a lasting pithiness.

Bottle pops open with a bang. Pours murky red/copper, when held to the light reveals itself an absolute blood red, hazy, fizzy, nice small lacing. Big sour nose with earth, must, grass, raspberries, pomegranites, cherries, lemons. Flavor is an impressive montage, first of a noble geuze, hay, lemons, grass, soil, giving rise to elegant assortments of fresh raspberries, sour cherries, pomegranite, and lemon rind. Acidity is pretty high, sometimes too much so. Otherwise, a really impressive framboise, soft, fruity, and complex.