3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek

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

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.

[6% bottle, dated 2/1/05] Pours a deep red color, very cloudy. Head is very short-lived, leaving a bubbly ring around the glass. Aroma is so damn funky- fruity sweetness (sour cherries, and a slight bit of apple) at first, then it takes a turn towards musty, oak basement-type smell. Flavors are unlike anything I’ve had to date: sour cherries explode on the palate, trigging an initial pucker-type reaction. Then, the yeast character makes it’s presence known, reinforcing the musty, oaky aromas from before. Finally, a bit of sweetness finishes things off, balancing the overall tartness of the brew quite nicely. Carbonation is pretty substantial. This is one seriously complex brew, I haven’t had very many authentic lambics, but this one has certainly got me interested in the style.

Bottle from Utobeer. Am more drunk than originally thought - attempted to pour this into two Belle Vue flutes and knocked one straight off the table. Shattered. Oops. Must indeed be quite drunk as I’m not too bothered at the moment! Far too distracted by this incredible beer. Good thing I didn’t spill any. Opaque deep strawberry in colour; no head. Originally suggested that it smelled of baked beans and rotting fruit, but I reckon it was just a bit of mustiness from the bottle. Nose of sour cherries and apples with a blackberry undertone. Sour top layer, but very rich underneath. Taste is suprisingly different. The cherry is still present but is tart through and through. Dark berries add a bit of value to the long, uber-tart finish. Spritely texture - is active in the mouth. It steps heavily on the front of the tongue and leaps lightly off the back. Reminiscent of the late Nuits Blanche. One of my favourite beers to date and definitely the best kriek I’ve had. Sure to become a regular on my rota.

Robe rouge foncée claire surmontée d’une mousse rose timide. Arômes acides de liège et de jus de citron. Saveurs acides de jus de citron, de poussière et de liège.

Bottle. 2005 vintage. Raspberry color with a pinkish head. Dusty aroma with sweet fruit. Flavor is a nice balance between sweet, tart, and dustiness. Cherry some through, but isn’t dominant. Good dusty earthiness. Very refreshing and clensing.

750 ml bottle. Poured a medium-to-dark raspberry/garnet with a little more than a dusting of pink headage. The nose was of sour cherry skins, dusty horseblanket, and oaky highlights. Flavor had bunches of sour cherries, oak, moderate sweetness, and light funkage... not bad, but nothing groundbreaking. Sour and tart on the palate with a dry, dusty, oaky finish. Another winner!

Even a vigorous pour yields only the flimsiest of bubbly whorls, but the remarkably vibrant garnet hue needs no adornment to proclaim its majesty. The initial aromatic impression is filled with vile unmentionables—so much so that I re-cork the bottle after my first pour to keep that glorious funk intact for the next pour. My, how the beasties and bacteria have had their way with this one! Horseblanket and barnyard esters abound alongside ripe chunks of Roquefort and Limburger. A gentle touch of sourdough glides underneath an incredibly sharp and tart cherry aroma. Dad, damp leaves seem to have been composting in oaken vats. Sniff quickly, though! The good stuff soon evaporates it seems! (Interestingly, I pick up lemon and shortbread cookies after the aroma lags off a little bit.) At the front of the tongue, the cherry taste is so vivid that the beer seems overwhelmingly sweet for the first second or two. Quickly, a juicy sourness and puckering tartness explode across the mouth. Rich, complex funk and drying tannins hit with force at mid-palate. The finish is semi-dry and leaves with notes of honey, cherries and herbs. Sort of like a herbal-cherry cough drop, actually. I’m assuming what with the lack of carbonation (completely still, really) and the (only) semi-dry finish that this is still a work in progress. A few more years may yet bring a devastatingly dry brew with champagne like carbonation. On one hand I’m a bit disheartened that this beer has such a long journey ahead of it, but on the other I’m quite glad to have tried it this early in the evolution. Still, the slick and acidic texture makes it a pleasure to drink even now. 12.7 oz bottle, 02/12/2005 bottling date (that’s the second of December, folks), Burgundy glass, originally rated on 10/8/2006 (August!). Oh, and you bastards that don’t mention the bottling date or carbonation levels? I seriously want to break you.

It was a common summer evening. A cool breeze whispered from the forest alleviating the afternoon heat as the cork sealing my single bottle of Drie Fontein Oude Kriek gently slid out with a thwop. Poured, the liquid radiated of a beautiful scarlet hue, effervescing to a rosy foam before it reduced to a lasting creamy pink layer. A very natural cherry aroma emerges immediately; juicy, luscious fruit dominates the nose while the classic lambic base provides ample complexity in the form of rustic scents. Champagne mingles with wet straw, soap, grass, Emmental, oak and moss while mild raspberry yoghurt and almondy tones appear on the sweet side. The flavor, in all respects, is much softer than Cantillon’s counterpart. The sourness is lessened, and the cherries subdued, but Drie Fonteinen’s character is nonetheless distinct. Subtle apple and cherries contribute the light fruity notes, while a dusty wood tone adds to the terroir character. On the palate this lambic seems surprisingly smooth though it is not without a slight puckering touch. Delicate carbonation matches the mellifluous attitude of this kriek, imparting a very refreshing, rather mild and thoroughly enjoyable quality to this beer.