Oude Geuze Cuvée Armand & Gaston Honing
Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen

 

 

 

 

A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend n°4, season 19/20, bottled on 18th November 2019, with a best before date of 26th October 2039. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.

Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had good retention, but eventually settled to a nice fluffy cap, while leaving lots of nice lacing.

Aroma: Tart, funky, hay, damp wood, oak, green apple, light citrus, lemon zest, with notes of leather and honey.

Taste: Sour, tart, green apple, grapefruit, funky, oak, lemon zest, white grape, slightly herbal, with notes of honey sweetness and peppery spice on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.

Overall: Another excellent 3F gueuze that’s just so enjoyable and easy to drink.

 

It's withdrawn.
It's a Blend of traditional 1,2 and 3 year old lambics (brewed exclusively for 3Fonteinen, who blended them) with addition of organic honey from their own hives.
Assembled n.57 - Season 17/18
To be consumed by October 26, 2038.
Pungent hint of Brettanomyces Bruxellensis on the nose, mixed with woody and straw-colored hints.
Faint foam, as always in Geuze.
Straw color, completely transparent.
In the mouth a phenomenal balance between acetic, acid, wood and hay scents.
Dry, very delicate finish, which leaves the mouth clean and a pleasant scent on the palate.
The acidity is also very delicate and elegant.
Great Geuze, dominated by a wonderful balance that makes this beer extremely elegant.
Excellent pairing with aged or semi-aged cheeses, also with seafood dishes (spaghetti with clams, risotto with scampi cream).
Wonderful, very elegant and very balanced.

 

 

 

Drank from a 12.7 fl. oz. bottle purchased at Craft Beer Cellar, Belmont, MA
Bottling Date 26 JUN 18
Best Before 26 OCT 38
Blend no 66 • season 17|18
Served in a Drie Fonteinen lambic tumbler

Slightly hazed, medium amber appearance. The body was topped by a fluffy, two-plus finger tall, off-white crown that slowly dropped to a thick cap of froth. Minimal lacing trickled down the glass.

The aroma was outstanding. Super musty and funky with big notes of damp earth and wet hay. Moderately tart. Lemon zest was apparent. A Band-Aid-like quality came through as well. Crackery pilsner malts were also detectable. Touch of oaky barrel too.

The flavor profile was just as spectacular as the nose. Loads of must and funk. Nice dry, crackery malt quality on the front end. Hint of caramelization. Zesty lemon rind appeared in the center. Fairly tart and acidic. The tartness intensified as the beer moved along the palate. Dry oaky barrel notes and tannins came through on the back end. The beer finished even more dry and acidic with a bit of lingering earthy hop bitterness.

Fluffy, medium bodied mouthfeel. The liquid contained a subtle effervescence that seemed understated compared to most other 3 Fonteinen offerings. Somewhat slick and smooth on the palate.

With nearly two years of age on this bottle, the honey seemed to ferment out entirely and was practically undetectable. That aside, this beer really blew me away. Every time I drink a 3 Fonteinen gueuze, I am reminded by just how much complexity and depth of flavor they contain, and this one was no exception.

Clear copper with a half-finger of off-white head. Sloppy sheets of lacing.

Powerfully musky, peppery aroma reminiscent of a high-quality, sunflower seed-encrusted, toasted bread crust.

Delicately tart, sour flavor shows first in the taste, with a touch of oak, some apple and pear and a little vinegar. There’s really just a hint of that strong spicy, seedy, toasty character from the nose. Tart, semi-sweet finish.

The feel is quite lovely with — sort of squishy and juicy — with tight carbonation.

A fun and fruity-tasting lambic with a nose that doesn’t match at all.

Blend no 57 | season 2017/2018
Bottling date 22 MAY 18
Best before 26 OCT 38

A slightly cloudy gold color with a finger worth of off white crown. Crown dissipates quickly.
The nose carries in a beautiful flowery aspect mixing with stone fruit and very slight sweetness.
The taste reminds me a lot of what I remember from oude gueuze but with that slight resin being cut with sweetness from honey.
Lowly carbonated, almost flat feeling in the mouth. However, it does leave some in the chest to come up. The tartness is well balanced.
Overall, my least favorite of the 3F beers I’ve had so far, but still very enjoyable and greatly balanced.

 

 

 

 

 

i feel so lucky to have scored this semi randomly at a bar here in town, ive never had or even seen the honey version around, looks like they are doing more and more of their beers this way now. its been a little while since i have had the original cuvee here, so its hard to compare the two without a side by side, but as with all beers from these guys, i am immediately taken by the uniqueness and quality, evident right away in the nose of this richly colored lambic. its sour and farmy and rustic and woody and full of wet animal, musty basement, and dank funkiness, lots of oak, lots of lemony character, and the herbal aged hop thing as well. its not sweet, any honey sugar in this has been fermented and turned into carbonation in the bottle i reckon, but there is a nice meadow sort of floral thing going on here, some residuals from raw honey perhaps, adding nuance to an already enormously complex beer. the maturity is crazy, super dry and woody, a touch of flattering oxidation in the grain, just a little deeper malt character here than some of their others, some body to it as well. piquant mouthwatering sourness, old world rustic funk all the way, moderate acidity, high carbonation, and things like iodine, orange peel, and dried grass there as well. its amazing lambic, an awesome blend, and the honey is a cool element, even if it does a little more for the texture than the flavor of this. id love to do a side by side with the original, but this is special on its own as well. definitely a beer to seek out, and just a joy to drink at the end of a long week. lovely stuff!

edit: should have noted the blend and year when i had it before, over six years ago now, finally enjoying this one again, courtesy of a generous friend that i see too infrequently, this is blend 57, from 17/18 season, plenty mature now here in the spring of 2026! the beer looks a little paler than i recall, but its been awhile, and it drinks less malty too, the honey is maybe more forward to my senses now as well, floral and earthen and outdoorsy and just amazing, of course elite lambic of different vintages at the core of this, never gets old from these guys, and each blend brings so much nuance, they are all worth tracking down. the bottle conditioning is superior, this is effervescent, dry but still with the honey character, and there is a textural softness despite the pep and the acid. i could drink gallons of this, so refined and funky, so distinctive. a masterful blend, the honey adds a lot, feeling thankful for the experience, this is world class through and through!

Bottle from the brewery.

In many ways, similar to the regular A&G, though there is a mild floral honey and sherry like note that I hadn't previously noticed. Also, this batch is a little sharper on the lactic acid front with less citrus and forest/mushroom funk. Awesome.