3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek

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

375mL Lot 01 Bottled Feb. 2005. Pours an orange-red with minimal head. Aroma is tart cherries and wood. Flavor is very sour cherries and wood at first. Finishes very dry and tart. Not very complex, you are overwhelmed by sour cherries with woody undertones. A slight sweetness in there towards the finish but not much else.

Pours quite reddish with a very small head. The aroma is quite tart and vinegary, share, some sour cherries, wild yeast and some wood. Thin body with little to no carbonation. The flavor starts with lots of tartness, sourness and cherries. The finish is more of the same. This is not very complex, especially from 3 Fonteinen, but what is there is what I like.

A dark red colored beer, with a reddies head, which disappears very quickly. The aroma of cherry fruits, with sweets and a little sour. The taste of sour cherries, wood. It has a long dry finish.

Gorgeus red colour. A dry cherryish tatse. Nice head. Well balanced sourness/sweetness. A bottle tatsed at Pikkulintu.

Primary red with a small pinkish-white head. Foams with movement and deliciously heterogeneous upon swirling. Nose is predominantly dust, stable, and leather with some minor sweet, creamy cherry to balance it out. The result is refreshingly spritzy despite such heavy brett elements. Flavor is quite acidic and dusty, yet the leather and long sour cherries give it a pleasent roundness. There’s a fruity bitterness too, like grape skins. Medium-bodied and quite dry, yet also a little watery. It becomes one dimensional with the fruit as it warms, but it is still a good beer.

750 mL bottle poured into a St. Bernardus goblet. Body is the color of black cherry skin, with a creamy pink-tan head. Aroma is black cherry yogurt/jam with an acetic sharpness. Flavor is very similar: jammy fruitiness like the chunks of cherry in Yoplait, and an even gueuze sourness for balance. Notes of maple syrup and citric acid. Medium-thin body with medium carbonation. Finish is sour and semi-dry. A nice kriek but probably not worth the $28 price tag.

Bottle. Very strong smell of cherries, sweet and moderate acidic, very refreshing. Very small sparkling rose-colored head, dark red body. Heavy acidic start, later on a hint of sweetness shines through, average duration. Flat carbonation, very dry texture, medium body and a heavy astringent finish. A nice Oude Kriek.

750ml bottled February 2005. 3.5 years old. The cork comes out with quite a pop, always a good sign. The pour is a candy apple red with a quickly diminishing head of pink tight foam. The initial aroma is potent. It tickles the nose and makes me cough. But it settles and becomes tolerable. Sticking my nose in the flute reveals obvious sour cherry smell but also a bright acidity. I’m desperate to detect some level of funk, but I almost feel like I’m imagining things. The flavor is much the same, with the acidity being a bit stronger. Simpler than I had hoped but obvious quality is what this drink screams. For the sourness and high level of acidity it is incredibly easy to drink. A pleasure.