3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze

1999 vintage. Shared at the RateBeer gathering at the Captain Lawrence Brewery. Poured a hazy golden with a large fizzy white head. Aroma is funk, acidic citrus. Flavor is dry toffee and citric acidity with a yeasty funkiness, pretty much what I’ve come to expect. Still not my favorite style, but good.

Love the good gueze and this is one of them. Dry and sour with a nice oaky wood presence. Acidity is bang on and the citric level is just right.

750 ml bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar: Cloudy pale golden color with a medium eggshell white head. Sharp sour aroma with some oak presence. Flavor starts peppery followed by a tart acidity a touch of leather with a very dry citric finish. Medium bodied with champagne like carbonation and mouthfeel.

22 January 2004. Bright freshly ground white pepper and plenty of bold oaky phenols and lots of funky cheese, mostly blue. Faint hexanes. Strong golden-orange pour, with a slick of whitish and extremely perfusive and thin carbonation. Flavor is composed of a strong, sharp, piquant sourneess, with dishes of reduced apple juice and a fine sherry vinegar. Lots of horses, and dry, oaky cherry pits. A smidge of oak creeps up in the background. Leather smack! Long tart balsamic tartness in the smack. Palate has a twinge of carbonative percolating, bristling the tounge and lighting up all the characters. Well dried.

750mL bottle, 28 February 2004. Pours a cloudy orangish-gold; sizable white head with good retention and lacing. Huge, mouthwatering aroma: horseblanket, tart citrus, cheeses, and some funk. Nice level of tartness; sour without being overwhelming; medium-to-low acidity (my personal preference). Full, layered mouthfeel: plenty of citrus and fruit, funk with lively carbonation; hints of oak and floral/mineral notes. Finishes somewhat clean, showing lingering tartness and some citrus.

Bottle, 2/2004. Pours cloudy light orange with a good white head. Wow, the aroma on this gets my mouth watering. It is very fruity, citrus, some wheat. I taste tart fruits, lots of sour and some oak. Goes down silky smooth, finishes dry and sour. Great brew.

I was forwarned that this beer was "funky", like bleu cheese...it looks great, though, slightly cloudy body and a lush, white head. Rich, sweet, wheaty aroma - very full and pungent. The amount of carbonation in here is striking...I’m not sure I really like my sour beers this foamy and bubbly. Very sour flavor indeed, and there is something cheesy about it in its biting sourness. This beer is a good lambic, but just not for me.

Bottled Feb. 2004 - clear, sparkling strawberry blond color, with soapy, lasting head - extremely complex horseblanket, blue cheese, hay, citrus, and light acidic aroma - soft carbonation in the mouthfeel - very dry, with moderate sourness for a lambic - loads of aged, funky cheese flavors - a bright, acidic fruitiness blasts the tongue before the cheese/funk takes center stage, though - lemon, grassiness, some light grain and a tiny, tiny hint of peach sweetness come in near the long, dry finish - very light oak character throughout - never loses it gueuze funkiness - not for the uninitiated, but quite a treat for those that are.