3 Fonteinen Doesjel

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

375mL bottle, Feb 23 2006, drunk from a Duvel snifter on Bastille Day 2008.
A surprisingly dark color for a gueuze, with deep orange and tangerine shades playing about a strong copper background. Sparse bubbles appear on the very edges and the clarity is medium-high, leaving the sediment behind, as always.
Heavily lactic in the nose, with light mushroom suggestions and less tartness/sourness than I would expect. I must admit to reading David’s review before trying this and some residual sugars, that he mentions, certainly seem to be prominent in the nose, for a gueuze. They somewhat dull the resulting phenol bouquet, but I’m still hopeful for the flavor....
Hmmmm, very sweet for a real lambic, and without as much of the dry, oily woodiness that is presented in the Grand Bruocsella. Not to say it dosen’t taste mostly proper for a flat lambic, but there is a quick transition from sweet malts to a watery, overly loose finish. No flaws though, I don’t even get any obnoxious rubber or sulfur. Could just be my tolerance to it though. You want to score this one high, but it just dosen’t seem to be nearly as complex as, say, a 2001 oude gueuze or any Cantillon Gueuzes. More sourness please.
Will compare this side-by-side to a Loerik after a few more years. Loerik has the last word on lazy gueuzes, at this point.

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear, gold body with, well, no head to speak of. Smell: Zip of sour lemonade made from lemons just as sour. Notes of vinegar, abandoned basements left in disrepair, and discarded, retired horseblankets. A dear friend of mine described it thusly: "Gasline Lemonade, baby!" Yes, he’s quite the character. Taste: All at once it’s sour and it’s tart with only minor hint of sweetness and malt on the underside. It really goes beyond puckering and leaves you making hissing lizard faces. Cobweb-coated, musty, and with a distinct damp cellar taste. Throw in a few sour lemons, maybe a drizzle of vinegar. Finishes crisp and fairly dry. Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Really lacking any carbonation. Drinkability: Fairly nice and about as refreshing as a gueze can get (for me). I’d say it could use a touch more carbonation, but really it could use any carbonation.

apple juice cloudy appearance, no head whatsoever.A very mild geuze vinegar aroma. A malted masked taste that fills the mouth over time, with mild fruit and vinegar. Very easy drinking, controlled tartness and refreshing. Stomach warming.

12.7oz Bottle. Noses in immediate, tart cobweb funk, including old lemon rinds and dust. It’s all a good thing, with real cheese and cotton depth. Classically Drie, but with a fair amount of surprising bright acidity. Pours a flat (expected) dirty gold and almond. Flavor is rich and wildly tart. Tends towards many Cantillon examples. Brazen acidity climbs up with passionfruit juice, blue cheese funk, and candied apples. Faint sweetness, lots of cobwebs and dryness. The cottony, airy quality of most Drie Guezes is subdued and flattened by the deadness of the flatness, but it also some shining, flagrant acidity to really carry curt tartness that is just impeccable. Complex and flailing with funk. Delicious, even without carbonation. A different animal. I must admit, that I still crave carbonation, but can handle the new nuances and intricacies that show with a flat version of Gueze. Yummy.

Poured a lightly hazed orange amber color. The aroma had tart citrus notes with light funk. Citrusy tart lemon flavor. Some acidity but all was to the lighter side of things. Really not too bad.

Light amber color with almost no head. Smell is acidic, fruits, tart, wheat. Taste is barnyard, hay like, less carbonation, sharp feel, fruity, and tart. Very dry and sour, lacking some complexity. Needs some more time in the bottle.

This one was a huge disappointment considering what I have come to expect from 3 Fonteinen. Nice sour aroma with yeast. Strange, very thin palate. Sour flavor, but it is like a lambic-light. And its not like a Jacobins or anything like that, but for a lambic brewer with their reputation, and the price of the beer, it doesn’t get there. Thin palate, and nearly clear palate.

A bit disappointing from this brewery. Maybe my expectations of them are just too high. Hazy yellow pour with little head. Slightly funky aroma but very dull. The flavor is much the same with a bit of funk and faint citrus.