3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Vintage (all from 2002-*)

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

2002 vintage. Hazy orange color with a frothy lasting head. Sensational aroma of citrus, cellar, yeast and bitterness. Extremely dry in flavor with a great aftertaste, heavy carbonation despite the age. A gueuze I won’t forget!

My 1000th beer! 375ml of the 2004 vintage. Hazy deep amber colour with moderate carbonation and a big, but short-lived off-white head. Strong aroma of yeast, the barnyard, bitter orange and sherry. The flavour had a citrus edge, with more yeast and orange peel. The finish had plenty of acidity, yet a touch of smoothness, and left a long aftertaste. Excellent.

750ml bottle, caged, corked and foil wrapped purchased from the brewery. Bottled 16 Apr 2002. Poured a cloudy orange with a small light beige head. Rich aroma of bubblegum, peaches, horseblanket, and grapefruit. The flavor is more or less dominated by sourness with some hop notes sticking out from the grapefruitiness. Mild sour bitter finish. This is damn fine stuff.

2002. Almost clear orange of colorwith a large foamy head. A dry aroma of oak, horseback and lovely sour notes. A flavor of horseback, oak, cider and dry!

2004 consumed in 07. Hazy orange liquid rolls from the bottle, awesome lively carbonation generating and sustaining a thick and creamy white head that is reluctant to recede, eventually mostly diminishing and remaining creamy. Incredible liveliness for vintage lambic - no doubt this would’ve endured multiple decades of careful storage with grace and little degradation. Barnyard funk is focused and penetrates multilayered acidic citrus attacks, a barrage that, at its core, is floral and heartwarming. Must is off-centered and releases cobweb and doctors the overall profile to create a very formidable powerhouse that doesn’t overexcel in any one area, but feels boisterous and vigorous from afar and until the glass is drawn from the nose at long last. Lemon, followed by orange and soft sour pomegranate, play the leading roles in the citrus character affront. Pineapple juice-soaked Ridgeway Blue cheese seems to be a crust at the outlying borders of each inhalation. Nearly perfect in every imaginable way. The flavor accelerates acidic tendencies and stifles mustiness initially. Bitterness is soft and soothing, sweetness is medium but recedes quickly. Sourness is moderate and refreshing, never overpowering. The finish is subtly drying, ever-so-slowly beckoning another contemplative sip(or gulp, it’s too tempting). The mouthfeel is soft and light-medium bodied, with silken carbonation and a completing velvety blanket and malt. A staple this would be, were it available to me. Oh, pity.

Vintage 2004. Pours a light copper, perhaps a roasted orage color. Aroma is a punch in the face. With a dank earthiness up front, bowing out to an acidic component, perhaps bright lemons and an acetic quality. There is a finishing note of strewn hay and meadow flowers. Awesome. The flavor is equally as complex. The acidity is there, but is so elegant and graceful, I am awed.

Totally different beer type, the Gueuze, and this seems to be the benchmark. Deep strong moldy nose that betrays the hazy copper tone. Taste is utterly sublime, where the aroma is nothing but subtle, the tastes are, ranging from metal to bitterness to lush fruit. Fantastic.

2004 Vintage, shared by kmweaver. Cloudy pale body with a small white head. Super funky, blue cheese nose is lightly sweet, moderately acidic with pineapple, lemon and horseblanket. The flavor is lightly sweet, moderately sour with lemon/lime, melon rind, light oxidation and yogurt. Medium body is soft with gentle carbonation.