Oude Geuze Golden Blend
Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen

Oude Geuze Golden BlendOude Geuze Golden Blend
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From:
Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
 
Belgium
Style:
Gueuze
Ranked #4
ABV:
6.7%
Score:
99
Ranked #182
Avg:
4.5 | pDev: 6.67%
Reviews:
213
Ratings:
1,208
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 06, 2023
Added:
Mar 14, 2012
Wants:
  286
Gots:
  320
The Golden Blend is made with 4 year old Lambic that accounts for 25% of it’s contents, the rest of the blend is made up by a "secret" combination of 1, 2 and 3 year old Lambic.

The exact mixture is only known by the master-blender Armand himself.

The name "Golden Blend" is not far away from the truth, in fact, the 4 years of maturation in oak-wooden barrels is making this particular Lambic very expensive.

Due to the "evaporation" through the barrels, only a small percentage of the lambic is left over after 4 years of maturing.
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Ratings by BEERchitect:
Photo of BEERchitect
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

4.49/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
It's often the delimma of a sour ale fan to achieve the exclusive taste of unblended lambic, but with gueuze like zest. Drie Fontienen answers the that question with this blend of four years of blends that culminate in exquisite earthiness and sharp complexities that are simply unparalleled.

The burnt orange hued beer pours with the carbonated creaminess that's expected from a well made gueuse. So if you are expecting a more still lambic stillness then expect a slight champagne livelihood. As the carbonation builds a creamy, cottony head, a swirl of the glass leaves traces of the Belgiany lace that we've come to expect. Solid retention accompanies the beer 'til the end of the glass.

The bold sourness of the beer reveal the unadulterated scents of dried limes, lemons, crab apples, rhubarb, and citrus. But a deeply embedded grouping of aromatics reveal more earthen character: saddle leather, dusty woods, and cork all play into the scent that's both fragrant and pungent.

The decadent tastes start with the sweet and tawny interplay of white wine, cider, and dry wheat. Pile on the sourness of citrus, white wine vinegar, under ripened apples and berries and we have the majority of the taste. But then there's the earthy components of dried hay, sea brine, sandalwood, corkish wood, and chardonnay soaked oak that round out the taste. It's a fairly consistent beer as it traverses from it's initial impressions until its ultra-dry taste in finish.

But here's where the real secret of this beer separates from other world class gueuze: The fine carbonation resonates through a somewhat silky-sour note that's never been expected before. With no carbonic bite (as with champagne), the beer delivers a teeth-churning sensation that couples with the most delightful powdery-sour marriage that could ever be expected in a beer. It's simply magic what this beer does the the trigemental senses to the mouth.

Although the subtleties that this four-year blend gives is very well appreciated, I do think that this is not the beer for the uninitiated. Reserve this refined ale for those who are well versed in well made gueuze and lambics before opening- and be sure to have some steamed mussels and well aged gruyere on hand.
Oct 18, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of beergoot
Reviewed by beergoot from Colorado

4.51/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours a slightly hazy, golden honey color; fairly dense, slow-rising carbonation; thick, white head, dense and billowy. Incredible nose of mild green apple and dry Riesling wine; ripe pear; foeder wood; barest hint of barnyard funk. Sweet apple cider and white wine taste; pear and a nebulous sense of citrus like lemon and tangerine; mild to moderately acidic taste; little (if any) bitterness; faint hint of wooden barrel tones. Medium-heavy mouthfeel; moderately prickly on the palate; semi-juicy and acidic feel.

I was very pleased to find this beer locally and equally happy to drink it. The beer brings a nice, delicate overall flavor to the beer, is not overbearing with acidity or tartness, and goes down well on a mid-summer day.

Pouring temperature: 43 °F; bottling info: no° 31 · 19|20 23/01/2020
Source: local purchase (Coaltrain Fine Wine, Craft Beer & Spirits)
Aug 06, 2023
 
Rated: 4.48 by crobinso from Colorado

Jul 18, 2023
 
Rated: 4.37 by Gkruszewski from New York

Jul 14, 2023
 
Rated: 4.28 by Lucoli from New York

Jun 12, 2023
 
Rated: 4.54 by Bhubbard34 from Pennsylvania

Jun 07, 2023
 
Rated: 4.55 by Bum4ever from California

Apr 13, 2023
 
Rated: 4.24 by codytwo from Connecticut

Mar 18, 2023
 
Rated: 4.35 by Gooseman80 from Illinois

Mar 11, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by MGibbons from Maryland

Mar 05, 2023
Photo of Benish
Reviewed by Benish from Utah

4.46/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Peach color. Classic wild funk at the nose with a little mineral; taste very robust, citrus, maybe aged cheese, complexity beyond what I can describe. Very heavy carb. Aways a treat opening a lambic!
Mar 04, 2023
 
Rated: 5 by redfox405 from Virginia

Feb 21, 2023
Photo of hopley
Rated by hopley from Massachusetts

4.63/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Bottle date 12/3/2014. Drank 12/25/2022.

Awesome.
Dec 26, 2022
Photo of Sheppard
Reviewed by Sheppard from Massachusetts

4.57/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a hazy golden, not in an IPA way, but a regular beer way. Frothy looking head. Fresh cut apples, some meyer Lemon on the nose. Sweet, champagne-like cider notes up front that is confronted by some sharp acidity. It is, overall, the right amount of acidity with the acidity presented in a very nice way. This is really nice, as advertised.
Nov 26, 2022
Photo of Holderness
Reviewed by Holderness from Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
L -- Golden amber body with a slight haze and a half finger of sudsy white head produced with aerated pour. Some retention and minimal lacing. Looks less cider-like than a lot of lambic
S -- Green apple candy, barnyard funk, dried floral, hint of herbal hop. Just super rustic and lambic-y
T -- Has that rustic, barnyard, funk-forward lambic thing going on again, but with a nice dose of lemon candy and oak
O -- Essentially a more refined version of 3F's standard gueuze

85/100
Oct 13, 2022
Photo of Falcon91Wolvrn03
Reviewed by Falcon91Wolvrn03 from California

4.17/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Look – A light amber color, with a nice head.

Smell – A pleasant tart smell with barnyard funk, oak, hay, and a light hint of vinegar.

Taste – Has a nicely dry tart flavor, very similar to the smell. Pleasant, but seems somewhat plain.

Feel – Nice carbonation, with a bit of tartness.

Overall – A very nice gueuze. One of the best I've tried, though that may not be my style.
Oct 07, 2022
 
Rated: 4.44 by BarrelAgedG from California

Jul 21, 2022
 
Rated: 5 by gbiello from Massachusetts

Jul 17, 2022
 
Rated: 4.5 by Stevem68 from Ohio

Jul 10, 2022
 
Rated: 4.09 by MaximumYuks from Oregon

Jun 16, 2022
Oude Geuze Golden Blend from Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Beer rating: 99 out of 100 with 1208 ratings