Armand'4 Oude Geuze Winter
Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen

 

 

A 750ml very dusty corked and caged bottle at 3 Fonteinen lambik-O-droom, bottled on 22nd April 2010. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.

Appearance: A cloudy dark orange colour, with a two finger beige head that had excellent retention, and left very nice lacing.

Aroma: Musty, dusty, apple, wood, sherry, funk, grapefruit peel, and spritzy lemon zest.

Taste: Mildly sour, tart, funk, wet wood, hay, grapefruit peel, and apple peel.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium bodied with soft carbonation.

Overall: My second time trying, but this one at the source was much better. I suspect the first bottle probably travelled too much. This bottle was smooth, easy drinking, with layers of complexity, and just super enjoyable.

Having this last in the series of seasons on-site in Lot, I found this to be the sweetest, by only the finest degree, exhibiting some notes of plum, yet contrastingly perhaps hosting a little more more oak tannin than the rest.

Even still, this runs right along the beautiful excellence of the softly, mildly acidic gueuze expressions the rest of the series showcases.

 

Bottle: Poured a dirty golden color lambic with a rather large off-white foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of funky Brett notes with some tart notes as well as oak. Taste is a complex, mix of tart notes, oak funky barnyard notes with very little sour notes with some light chalk notes also noticeable. Body is about average with good carbonation. World-class gueuze.

 

Deep saturated amber, a finger of foam and spotty lacing. Aroma and taste are more subdued, soft and oaky with citrus and funk present but receding into the background. Full bodied and well-carbed, unique and expressive. A bit more austere than the rest of the blends, appropriate to the season. 4th place in the series for me, but this is very much Armand Debelder's masterpiece series. Thanks to Mark for sharing the bottles!

 

 

 

Bottle at Akkurat in Stockholm. This is the lowest rated of the Seasons, so I expected a bit of a drop off following Lente and Zomer. I was pleasantly surprised by just how incredible this beer is. My least favorite of the four, but that is all relative. Still incredibly well done and a world class gueuze.

 

 

 

 

Pours a slightly darker hue than Herfst (still honey in color) with a loose, off-white head that disperses into a frothy band and a soapy slick. Nose is mild and unassuming - notes of citrus, must and cork. Taste is solid; however, really no different than the standard 3F OG in my opinion. Carbonation is a bit too assertive and amps up the acidity. All and all, very good, but doesn't live up to the hype.