 muzzlehatch (4425), Burlington, Vermont, USA
Mar 1, 2006
750 ml bottle dated 6/9/2003 (only batch), Montreal Sourheads gathering on February 26 2006. The cap popped with less vigor than the Blauw, but the appearance is quite similar, hazy apricot-peachy juice color surmounted by a slightly less vast, bubbly head....this is more acidic in the nose, citrusy (orange) to go with the everpresent apple and barnyard, also a touch of mango and bitter herbs....the body is quite dry and very sour, but there is a touch of sweetness as well as heft to the pale malt so that it doesn’t ever become overbearing, acidic as it is....sour lemons, somewhat lactic, almost vinegary towards the difficult but memorable finish....peppery and really mouthpuckering, woody and dry....finish just goes on forever. I found this a little harder to drink and closer to the over-the-top sour character of a Cantillon, thus for me a bit less impressive than the Blauw; still a near-masterpiece and confirmation that Drie Fonteinen is among the greatest of the world’s breweries....and that Olivier is a saint for sharing this with us.
arjoseph (555), Chicago, Illinois, USA
Aug 30, 2008 Bottle into tulip. Crazy-ass lambic tasting in our hotel room, GABF 2007. What a treat to taste this. The Blauw is my favorite beer, so I was looking forward to it; thanks to whoever brought it (might have been cquiroga, but it could also have been one of the other 3-4 guys there; sorry I don’t remember). Smell is much more restrained than the Blauw, not as explosively expansive, not as bretty or sour. Instead, it’s nicely warm with fruit and wood, vaguely cedarish, with dirty dusty blue cheese aspects (though not cheesy). Acid hits the sides of the tongue first, very restrained and balanced against the bright strawberry and oakey vanilla on top of the tongue. Amazing roundness of fruits, but still much more subtle than the Blauw. The brightness of the fruits balances perfectly with the early, dusty, woodsy qualities. If there were a shrine to Drie Fonteinen, I would bow to it five times a day chanting long, drawn out incantations of "dope." Dope.
KimJohansen (3351), Copenhagen V, Denmark
Aug 26, 2008 Bottle @ De Heeren van Liedekercke. Hazy golden with medium off white head. Sour aroma with woody and barnyard notes. Sour flavor with hay, barnyard and horseblanket notes. Ends sour. Lovely!
fiver29 (305), Strongsville, Ohio, USA
Aug 23, 2008 Bottle shared at Cleveland tasting on 8-23-08. Thanks!! Pours a hazy gold color with a thin white head. Aroma is oak, funk, and just all around tart. Has a medium body. Taste is very tart with a smoothness on the finish. I detect lemon with some wood and an overall mellow tartness overall. This is a nice start to the tasting today. I really enjoyed this.
JoeinUccle (667), Brussels, Belgium
Aug 10, 2008 Enjoyed at Heeren van Liedekercke. High acidity and moderate bitterness led to a harshness I didn’t expect... Made for an interesting drink that wasn’t as refreshing as it might have been. Orange-copper color with nice white head. Musty lemon nose, sour lemony flavor with that bitter backdrop, very lively carbonation, quite acidic. Pretty intense flavor. Glad I got to drink something rare from one of my favorite breweries, but I wish it had been smoother.
Fin (2189), Merton, Oxfordshire, England
Aug 5, 2008 Bottle at Casey and Traci’s tasting 01-08-08, cheers you two for a great evening, thanks also to Mes for recomending this and where to buy it, cheers! crikey any more thank you’s and it’ll begin to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech Pours hazy golden orange in fact in the light of Casey and Traci’s Morroccan lamp this beer looks like the oily run off from a spaghetti bolagnese. The citrus sharpness bites first and its like getting a preserved lemon washing the salt residude off and then rubbing it around your gums fantastic. There’s a lemony wet sheep aroma some nice gentle carbonation, slight furry lemon at the end, its soft, drying and very nice indeed.
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