8.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8.5

Special edition of 3 Fonteinen geuze, created from lambics that were aged on various sherry barrels with – quote the brewery – ‘highly peated characteristics’, backblended with ‘normal’ lambic. Bottle under high pressure, but no gushing. Thick and frothy, egg-white, slowly breaking head over a hazy beige-hued peach blonde robe. Aroma indeed reminiscent of very dry sherry (and strongly so), toasted pine nuts, walnut skin, some dry peat indeed but nothing like the iodine-like effects you get from a peated whisky barrel aged beer, lots of old wood, dusty attic, wet leather, peach kernels, dried lemon zest, straw, old dried fenugreek leaf, very dry cider, unripe peach. Crisp, tart onset, dry and vividly carbonated (as befits any geuze of course); dried lemon peel, unripe nectarine and light gooseberry effects but somewhat less estery than I am used to from the style, with drying lemony lactic sourness round a bready core as well as something vaguely sweet-nutty (walnut comes the closest) clearly derived from the sherry. This nutty aspect, along with a dry, sour-grape-like fruitiness and drying woody tannins, eventually gets accompanied by indeed a touch of smoky peat (yet again: nothing like the peatiness of e.g. an Islay whisky barrel aged stout or something like that) and by odd but interesting herbaceous elements (fenugreek, tea leaf). The sherry, however generally dry, provides a gracious vinosity to the finish – a kind of juiciness almost, keeping everything colourful, supple and elegant. The highly coveted Zenne y Frontera series peeps around the corner here – quite a unique 3 Fonteinen product again, not the most accessible one perhaps, but no doubt immediately appealing to the true lambic head. I had a couple of recent ‘peaty’ lambics by new experimenters Angerik and Publitasting, but those made use of actual peated whisky barrels whereas here, the ‘peated’ moniker can be a bit misleading, as I did not have a real ‘peaty’ experience here and no peated whisky was involved in the first place; instead I got a brilliant 3 Fonteinen lambic soaked in dry sherry, with a kaleidoscopic shift in flavours that can entertain me for hours on end.

7.4

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Pours unclear amberblonde. scent is full, thick, creamy lambic. peat is at a low level. Taste is sharp, tart, peat, recognizable but not OP. Strong acidity, higher carbo. Creamy MF

8.1

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle. Bit hazy golden. Funky, smoke, peat, sulphur, wheat, soft alcohol, ash, oak. No idea why the abv are s so high and if the smoke is from sulphur like I suspect or from real peat (how). It’s actually OK.

7.6

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

0,75l bottle at home. Bottled 15.04.2020. bit of a gusher this one. amber lightly hazy color, rather big white head. smells earthy, grassy, peated, spices, sherry, wood, oak, smoky, peppery. lovely smell. full body, pearly carbonation. tastes smoked, some peat, herbal, earthy, stone fruits, underlying sweetness, peppery, spices, some horse radish. finishes lightly dry and lightly sour with notes of peppery, peat and stone fruit notes. hmm, pretty good one. peat is pretty noticeable, and for me doesnt work so well with the beer. Possibly this just needs more time, also rather heavy for a geuze. Peat gets more noticeable when warmer, also on the smell, which I loved at first. Overall good, possibly could like this more with some age on it.

7, 8.5, 7.5, 7, 7.5

7.9

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle pour at St. Gambrinus. Pours gold. Lemon, bright white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, smoke, earthy rich peat smoke, vanilla, apricot, green apple, grapefruit juice, strong barnyard. Medium body. The smokiness plays very nicely with the barnyard, leading to something very complex and oddly drinkable. Very good.

9

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9.5

Small white head, disappearing over hazy orange beer. Typical gueuze-farmyard odour, chalk, sherry, faint lemon. Lemon, sherry, and then, retronasal, indeed tarr, phenol - blended in and not overwhelming. Light acidthinning but no or very little acidburn; lipsmacking acidity, good carbonation. Peat is just that little bit over to be truly refreshing, but it doesn't harm at all. No smoked malt - and yet this flavour, blending in perfectly. This is... outstanding in the litteral sense of the word. And great.

7.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Pours unclear blonde, small white head. Scent is full, tad fruity, somehow. Mild on the funk and oak. Taste is full, mild smoke, medium sour. Low on the funk, more on the peaty side than B62.

8

26-12-21 // 750ml bottle.

8

Gusher :( funky, puuviljane, roheline õun, nisu, tsitrus, nats suitsu, turvast. Hea.

7.5

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

11 September 2021. At Summer Belgian Beer Geek Gathering. Many thanks, Klaas & Liesbeth, cheers to the whole crew!

Season 19/20, No° 62. Hazy orange, thin, off-white head. Aroma of hay, horseblanket, leather, plum, green apple, oak. Taste has very sour plum, peach & gooseberry, funky hay, vinegar & lemon acid. Old grassy hops in the tart finish along wood, funky fruit & leather. Medium body, slick texture, fizzy carbonation. Missed out on a the peat somewhat, apart from a more leathery aspect. Mainly a sharp Geuze.