3 Fonteinen Doesjel

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

Inert yellow-orange pour with no head or carbonation. Sour vinegar aroma with lots of malty grain and fruit, grape. Earthy funk. Very sour with lots of earthy notes. Slight bitter hop finish.

A hazy amber gueuze with almost no head. Wonderful citrus, Brett, Epsom salt in aroma. In mouth, lactic and citric acid, a bit of salt notes, but rather light bodied. Tasted at Mondiale 2008, June 1 2008.

2006 Bottle: Hazy medium golden pour with no head and very fine lacing. Aroma was a a bit sour with lemon and light sweetness. Flavor is of strong lemon, oak, light sweetness, and a dry finish. Well blended brew.

scent is sour as is the taste. i’m not a huge fan of lambics so my rating is based on the others that I have had. one thing that I was impressed by is when you swallow this the taste disappears quickly.

375ml bottle. Bottled Feb 23, 2006. Pours flat. A small, swirly white head does form, surprisingly, and stays around as little traces of foam on the surface. A deep golden orange color. Pretty clear as well. Aroma is lemony, soft brett nuttiness. A pungent, resinous lemon rind and grapefruit character is noted as well. Funkiness is relatively subdued, barnyard is low as well. Cidery. Flavor is medium-high tartness, smooth, with a soft, short finish. Acidity is lower than the average Gueuze. This isn’t super sour either, it’s slick and soft and almost creamy in the mouth due to the lack of carbonation usually associated with beers of this nature. Quaffable. I actually am digging the lack of carbonation, the drinkability on this is very high. It’s almost like a cask ale. Not earth shattering but a solid lambic.

Bottle from Belmont. Great beer. Flat, deep gold. Aroma/flavor of very faint mustard, bitter (mature) lemon, oak, underripe strawberry, salt, Bruocsella. Just fine.

Trade with Yespr. It’s a beautiful, hazy orange-golden beer with a small head. The aroma has sourness and notes of fruit, citrus and barnyard. The flavour is sour, sour with notes of citrus peel, cumquat and horse blanket. I admit that it’s not my style, but having said that, it could be much worse. So out of respect for this beer, that I clearly feel is well crafted, I give it a higher score, than I originally wanted to.

Bottle: Poured hazy amber/orange color lambic with a medium foamy head with some retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of funk and barnyard note are right on but I would still have appreciated some more granny smith notes. Taste is surprisingly quite watery with a thin body but there are sufficient funky and barnyard notes to keep things interesting. I am a big fan of this brewery but I must admit that I was slightly disappointed with the results of this one.