3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek

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

Bottle (375ml). Shared with blankboy, mds and tupalev, blankboy’s bottle. Hazy ruby with an average pink-white fluffy head. Funky aroma, burnt rubber, sharp pungent yeast, chour cherry - wonderful. Taste of sour cherry and funky, complex yeast - yum. Sticky, thick body, acidic and lightly alcoholic mouthfeel, solid sour cherry in the finish - nice funky/sweet fruiter, really nice cherry flavour.

deep raspberry color whispy pink head. Extremly funky aroma lots of horse blanket some sour cherries. Well carbonated tart palate. Extremly sour cherry flavor very puckering a good amount of leathers. very mellow after the initial sour and quite nice.

12.7 oz bottle, 2005 vintage from Holiday Wine Cellar: Hazy purplish red color with a short lived small pinkish head. Tart berry and red wine vinegar aroma. Flavor starts sour cherry, hints of wood, some acidity with a long dry tart finish. Light bodied and watery with lively carbonation.

Feb 2005 vintage, 750mL bottle (also have had the 375mL). Have had it three or so times, most recently being on 8/27/06.
A typical Cantillon/3 Fonteinen lambic, it shows bountiful head, a lightly hazy body and streams of tiny bubbles. Plenty of sediment rests on the bottom of the bottle. A lovely, deep, magenta-tinged black cherry-red is the body, with a mix of pink and white for the head, which, predictably, shows moderate retention (though never falling below partial cover) and plentiful, sticky lacing.
Tart, authentic cherries burst forth in the nose, with plenty of depth, melding seemlessly in to a punctual brett tartness and growing more dry with wheat and light barrel character. Warming produces more challenging lactobacillus notes (yogurt, cheese, strong acid sourness), but the cherries are not easily pushed over and give a playful pseudo-sweetness. Leathery dryness on the end comes with more light brett notes of lime/lemon and a definite complement of juiciness from the cherries. One of the best krieks I’ve come across in that it is difficult to determine the line between the cherry sourness/tartness and the lambic sourness/tartness. It is wedded beautifully. Light, peppery cherry pits further dry the end. Strength of the aroma is high and lasting, with no alcohol noted.
Succulent, both juicy and tart, cherries ripen in the mouth, while a wash of brett flavors brings you back to the lambic. Lacto sourness is unadulterated, but not too aggressive, while faint oak notes blend with the cherry flavors in the background to give an almost wine-like reminiscence. Strong leathery/oily dryness builds up on the palate, but as in the aroma, the cherry acids keep things quite bright and cleanse the palate wonderfully. On the finish, a note that seems distinct to this vintage (beer?), black pepper-like phenols are quite apparent. Perhaps from the cherry pits, perhaps the barrel, but undeniably interesting, giving a robust (though still reserved, relatively speaking) spiciness, almost like a Shiraz or some such similar wine.
The unfiltered texture combined with the artful brewing lends a very substantial, almost cherry puree-like mouthfeel (though not quite as thick and gritty as cherry puree sounds). The tight, engaging carbonation and bright cherry and lambic acids artfully cleanse the palate, however, and the beer finishes supremely quenching and drinkable.

As a sidenote, it’s interesting that when the 2005 Schaerbeekse and this first came out, the Schaerbeekse was tremendously more tart/sour and intense overall. After a year, the schaerbeekse already is sagging in not just cherry flavor/tartness, but overall sourness and expressive lambic flavor. Not so with this one, it still seems to be going strong and, perhaps, improving.

bottle. red color. carpy head. cherry aroma. sour and sweet. woddy. vinegar pallete. very nice.

This Kriek pours a slightly hazy cheery red color from a 375ml bottle. Small sized pinkish foamy head. Aroma is funky, fruity, tart cherries, leather and must. A medium bodied Kriek/lambic. Funky and tart, fruity and sour, acidic and funky. WOW. Lively carbonation. Bone dry with a good amount of sweetness. How the heck do you do that? Very smooth but with just the right amount of acidy to balance. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is bone dry and crisp. Aftertaste is tart and sweet. (Bottle date is 15/05/04)

Bottled 05/14/04 This beer pours a cherry plumish red with a medium sized purplish head and some of the most amazing lacing ive ever seen. Aroma is jumping all over the place with funkiness abounding. Cherries mixed with plums and sugar...fucking smells fantastic! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH my gawd is this smooth. Sour and tart with just the right bit of cherries and candy sweetness. Smooth with just the right amount of acidity. Liquid cocaine!!!! Im Rick James bitch! Tart with active carbonation and a hint of grapeyness. The balance and mouth puckering tartness balance are just perfect. Its so damn simple but 3 fonteinen has made a fantastic beer. Dry finish, fluffy and sweet. This is a liquid orgasm!

Hazy deep red with little head. Funky tart cherry pit aroma with notes of ash and earth. Mellow and soft and the palate countering the inevitable sour finish. Easy drinking and well balanced but complex enough to satisfy. Amazing body for such a dry beer.