Drie Fonteinen Intense Red Oude Kriek

This was the last bottle at Half Time and I knew it had to come home with me. I cracked it open last week.

ABV: 5%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: According to wikipedia.com, “3 Fonteinen was founded in about 1887 as a café and geuzestekerij, a place where geuze is produced by blending old and new lambics, acquired from other breweries. The enterprise was bought by Gaston De Belder in 1953, who expanded it with a restaurant and left it to his sons Armand and Guido in 1982. In 1998, a brewery installation was bought. Apart from using its own lambic, 3 Fonteinen uses lambic made by Boon, Girardin and Lindemans for its geuze. 3 Fonteinen is one of the few remaining geuzestekerijen. The Mijol Club, a literary club, founded by Herman Teirlinck, used to convene in the café. In May 2009, a faulty thermostat caused 3000 bottles to explode. The remaining overheated geuze was made into an eau de vie called ‘Armand’s Spirit’, the sales of which enough allowed the brewery to continue operations. In March 2013, after four years of interruption, Brewery 3 Fonteinen inaugurated its new brewing installation and is brewing its own lambic again. During the four year without its own installation 3 Fonteinen managed to keep its head above water by blending lambic that they bought from nearby lambic breweries like Boon and Girardin.

Random: Cherries are in season now. I should get some from Fresh Direct.

This beer poured with no head on top of a deep red, clear body. There wasn’t any carbonation visible. The nose was huge with sour cherries, oak and vanilla. Brett was present, but not as strong as the other notes. The taste was intense, as the name suggests. There was a lot of tart cherries and oak. Light chocolate was present too. The beer was tart, but not intensely so. The body was medium thick with light carbonation. It had a long, tart finish with cherries. This beer was expensive at $22.29 for the bottle, but definitely worth it for one of the best lambics I’ve ever had. If you see this on the shelf, you need to grab a bottle.

Untappd Rating: 5.0/5.0

Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek

Here’s another gem that I snagged at Half Time. It was the last bottle on the shelf, so let’s see how it was.

ABV: 6%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Oude Kriek 3 Fonteinen ontstaat door rijping van krieken (zowel het vruchtvlees als de pitten) in jonge lambik. Dit proces duurt tussen 6 tot 8 maanden en na de botteling rijpt het bier nog minstens 4 maanden in een warme kamer waar de spontane hergisting in de fles gebeurt. De schuimkraag van Oude Kriek is zeer gevoelig aan de concentratie van olie die de kriekenpitten bevatten en kan van jaar tot jaar lichtje verschillen. Aan oude Kriek 3 Fonteinen worden geen smaak-, zoet-, of kleurstoffen toegevoegd wat maakt dat dit bier zeer natuurlijk en vooral dorstlessend is.”

Random: I don’t understand any of that either.

This beer poured with a one finger, pink head. It dissipated slowly with no lacing left on my lambic glass. This is also the first time that I’ve had to use the glass, which I got for free at Half Time. The body was a deep, cloudy red with no visible carbonation due to the cloudiness. The nose had a lot of cherry notes with grape and some horse blanket. The taste was intensely tart with horse blanket and tart cherries. The intensity died down after a few sips. It had a light body with moderate carbonation. The finish was very long with horse blanket and cherries. This beer was $16.49 a bottle, which broke down to $1.37 per ounce. This was a really complex, enjoyable beer that I would have again, despite the high price tag.

Untappd Rating: 4.5/5.0

Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze

This was a review that I did over the weekend but didn’t have a chance to update. This was another beer that I picked up because I’ve never had the style before. I have high expectations for this one, so I’m pretty excited to crack this one open.

ABV: 6%

Style: Gueze

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Oude Geuze 3 Fonteinen is een volledig natuurlijke geuze die bestaat uit een assemblage van 1, 2 en 3 jaar oude lambik gerijpt op eiken vaten. Deze geuze is een natuurlijk, ongefilterd bier dat na de botteling nog minstens 6 maanden spontaan hergist op de fles. Oude Geuze 3 Fonteinen kan in een stabiele, koele kelder tot 10 jaar na botteldatum bewaard worden. Oude Geuze die lang bewaard wordt verzacht qua zurigheid maar krijgt meer complexe smaaktoetsen.”

Random: Yeah, I really don’t know what it says either.

This brew poured with a huge, three finger white head that took forever to dissipated. It left significant lacing on the glass. The body was a clear, straw yellow with a huge amount of carbonation visible through the body. The nose was all tart funk that was apparent as soon as I popped the cork on this one (which was pretty sexy, not going to lie). The taste was also tart funk with lemon rind and a hint of oak. The body was thin and highly carbonated, yet crisp. The carbonation really worked for this brew. The booze was invisible on it. The tartness on the taste was intense, but not overwhelming. The finished lingered with tartness. I really enjoyed this brew. It was complex and interesting. I would definitely have this one again.

Untappd Rating: 5.0/5.0