3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze

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

two-year old bottle. pours a cloudy honey color with a substantial head that dies fairly quickly but never completely. very sharp solventy smell with grapefruit and lemon, a bit of wood, maybe some sour apple. similar taste with a bit of mediciney-ness. quite harsh tasting. tart finish, with a pretty strong sour note and a high carbonation creamy mouthfeel. i did not like this one, but i am assured that it will grow on me, so i’ll have to rate it again another time. rerate! bottled on 22 jan. 2004, consumed on 29 feb. 2008. pours a reddish honey color with a thin whitish film. sharp sour lemon smell, with some orange, a bit of oak, and a very light straw-ish barnyard note. sharp acidic flavor, with lemons and a honey and nutty malt, straw and sweat, wood, orange, maybe some apples? it’s almost as difficult to describe as it is easy to drink. i have to force myself to go easy and enjoy. great tart sour and dry finish, with a light sweetness from the malts filling in. light medium body, decent carbonation, quenching mouthfeel. just as sharp as i remember it, but i like it sooo much better than that first time. sharp, unabashedly different, complex, and such a stark contrast from the american hop bombs and spicy fruity belgians. i want so much more of this.

Sharp champagne-like aroma. Sweet pickle juice, citrus, cherries, and oak. Rose amber color with good lacing. Taste is strong and sharp initially with some saltiness that induces salivation. There is a tartness in the middle, some sweet pickle qualities with an oaken dryness. Rich vanilla accents. Palate is a mixture of dry and sweet, well carbonated with good flavor changes. Overall, unusual and rich, fruity and woody, salty sweet and sour all at the same time. Wonderfully complex. Rerate - had again at the Poechenellekelder in Brussels. This was one of the top beers of my trip. Had to bump it up to a 4.4. One of the few beers I made space in my suitcase for.

75 cl bottle, 1999-version. Hazy orange color, white head. Sour/acidic, fruit, yeast, vinous. Dry. (RBNAG’07 in Grimstad Nov. 3th.)

Low, fully diminishing white head. Unclear pale orange-golden colored body. Fruity sour/acidic barnyard aroma. Notes of dust, mould and cellar. Taste is medium dry, acidic, light fruity, with a touch bubble-gum and fruit-sweetness towards the end. Long dry light fruity finish. A very tasty and refreshing palate-cleanser (750 ml corked 1999 bottle @ RBNAG’07)

375 ml bottle from the Oxford CAMRA beer festival. Shiny copper, nice white cap that fades fairly quickly, but leaves a nice bit of lace. Aroma of hay, dandelion flowers, metal playground equipment in the sun. A touch of brine. Very bright and summery. The first sip is almost disappointingly soft. The bracing slap of sourness actually turns out to be quite gentle. But after the surprise...the softness is very welcome. There is a pleasant quinine and chalk component to the sourness that adds to it’s refreshing quality. Green chewy leaves, pepper, a bit of lime. I suspect my bottle is a bit on the young side--carbonation level is moderate, and while dry compared to any other sort of beer, there is a touch more sweetness than sometimes offered in an aged gueuze. Subtle, balanced, profoundly refreshing.

Well, I found myself at Akkurat in Stockholm and figured that this was the place to have my first lambic, and drie fonteinen oude geuze looked like it was the best call. 375ml bottle. Solid gold to orange with a small head. Very acidic sour aroma, like acetic acid and alcohol, and some wierdness that I cant describe. Flavor is a harsh sour, extremely dry and crisp. Highly carbonated and quenching mouthfeel. I think it’s funny that my notes are pretty much the same as people who give this a 4.5. I guess I was just shocked at what a geuze tastes like. maybe i should have started with a kriek? A good experience, even if the flavors and aromas were a bit extreme to my unaccustomed palate. I’ll have to come back to this later and see if it grows on me.

12.7 oz. bottle. Pours a dark, hazy orange. Swamp-foam head, nice lacing down the side. Aroma is sour orange, lemon, grass, must, white grapes. Flavor is kind of consumed by a full sourness, it’s kind of hard to pick out more subtle flavors. Leather, lemon, soap. bitter grass. Not at all bad though. I don’t think it’s exceptional, but it’s certainly enjoyable. UPDATE: From a 10-year old 75cl bottle, big thanks to Ryan. Pours darker than the younger blend with a thin head. Musty, dank aroma with a twinge of metal. This has evolved nicely, really mellow after 10 years. Very pleasant lemony, grassy flavors, so smooth and drinkable. Anyone with a bottle of this should let it sit awhile and try it alongside a fresh one.

37,5 cl. bottle (2005). Aroma of apple, citrus and yeasty basement aromas.Golden, hazy appearance with minimal white foam. It has a medium body, a thin/medium feel and a long bitter finish.