Zenne y Frontera Blend no. 94
Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen

750 mL bottle. Clear golden. Smells of oak, citrus, dried grass. Tastes of sour citrus, lots of dried grass, oak, light sherry flavors in the back end. Medium body. Very nice.

Lightly hazy orange with an unevenly short, bubbly yet surprisingly retaining white head.

Orangey kumquats accented by a spicy funky pungency before dusty nutty oak ushers in a moderate acidity of juicy lemon curd. Really quite kumquatty, this batch. Zesty, zippy, not super carbonated but somehow simulating effervescence. Sherry caramels open up as it warms.

Season 18|19

 

 

A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°94, season 18/19, bottled on 25th July 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed Zenne glass.

Appearance: A very nice clear golden orange colour, with a one finger white head that had pretty good retention, while leaving some nice lacing.

Aroma: Funky, musty, citrusy, lemon zest, green apple, sherry, and some light nutty notes.

Taste: Lightly sour, lemon, lemon zest, minerals, a touch of funk, and very light nutty sherry notes.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to no carbonation.

Overall: The citrus and minerality is quite strong and the funk and sherry is not as prominent as in the other blends.

Cradled 750mL bottle served in decanter, sat for ~20 minutes, then served into glass.

Pours a beautiful gold color with a light haziness to the transparency. Head is two fingers of white foam. Aroma is sherry and barrel right off the cusp. Funky stone, lemon, and earthy notes round it out with a light funky nose. Sherry smooths things out, elevating the whole nose from base, while delivering stronger, more potent notes of dried fruit. Flavor profile builds on the nose, hitting sherry and barrel character first. Stone, lemon, tangy green apple, and earthy notes round it out - again. There is a sublime twist of funky tartness that does well to give the whole flavor profile an additional dimension. Mouth feel is medium in thickness. Texture is driven by a consistent, smooth, even texture. Overall, just a splendid beer, in each terms of complexity, quaffability, and thoughtfulness. Lovely.

Blend no 94. Season 18|19. Bottling date of 25/07/19. Served from a 750mL bottle. Decanted. Reviewed from notes. My first pour of a Zenne y Frontera.

 

Poured from a bottle (25Jul2019) into a wine glass

L: pours a gorgeous, very slightly turbid orange gold with a bare minimum of white bubbles at the edge. No visible carbonation; slight tight lacing left with each sip

S: nice and complex barnyard funk, oh boy. That musty old blanket aroma, bit of cheese, oversteeped tea. Some Granny Smith apple, Chardonnay grapes - earthy… something haha. Maybe a little meaty too? Definitely tart, some assertive but fitting acidity - light and bright first from the fruit but some earthy notes right behind

T: follows the nose well, that great mix of weird funk and some nice fruit notes. Slight bit of hay but mostly those granny smith and white grape notes lead. Get a nice lemon flesh note toward the finish, didn’t really find that on the nose. There’s a richer note I’m having a hard time describing, but it adds unique depth to the sip - perhaps that’s the sherry barrel in action? Acidity is very nicely balanced. Overall lacks some complexity, vs. expectations and the nose

F: just this side of carbonated, light+ body. Present but appropriate acidity, lightly drying. I think how flat the beer is a negative for me

O: a delicious lambic, some unique almost umami flavor I haven’t encountered before, but overall I’m a little underwhelmed. Chalk that up to hype - also, for me would like more carb

Pours an unfiltered amber color with a small, soon diminishing head.

Aromas are of an intense interplay between old Sherry barrels, matured, spicy hops and wet basement together with a well pronounced note of dusty leather.

Has a surprisingly low carbonation, leading to an emphasis on the ongoing, refreshing tartness in this, revealing a late sparkly note.

Tastes of wet sand, dry, matured hops and alcohol soaked wine grapes among soothing cream cheese and a fistful of dusty sawdust. The Sherry barrels in this are quite pronounced, so is the overall tartness in this, creating a rapidly appearing apple sourness among bread dough and a lighter mineralic quality. Finishes with a short aqueous glimpse, followed by an even more intense sourness, gently balanced by a maintaining wooden, dry Sherry appearance.

This is nice, due to the well rounded Sherry barrels, although, compared to other vintages of Zenne y Frontera this just isn’t as complex as the others. The overly pronounced sourness in this overshadows a lot of potential nuances, feeling like a late heartburn unfortunately, not entirely balanced by the sweeter, alcohol soaked barrels.