like a huge chunk of the people on this board, i love 3f's various lambic/gueuze/etc blends, and i've become interested in acquiring one of these. however, i'm unable to find info online about things like bottle counts, where it's sold other than the brewery, whether it comes up for online sale, etc. i know that the '02 and '03 are borderline (if not real) whalez so i'm not even thinking about trying for one of those, but iirc there's an '08 which might actually be doable given my cellar (though this is entirely speculation on my part). so, my question is, what does it take to land some of the various years? could i do '08 (or '07 if it exists) with something like a '12 fou foune? thanks in advance.
Unsure of bottle counts, but I can tell you multiple vintages (at least '05, '07, '08) were available on the Belgian websites for at least a few years, so it was definitely sold outside the brewery. I don't think they've been up on the sites for at least several months at this point though. IMO a '12 FF could get it done with the right person.
They have not been available online in quite some time, and even when they were available, bottle limits were imposed and total quantity was minimal. The '07 does exist and is my favorite geuze. And I think it would be an uphill battle to get that done with a '12 Fou' Foune. I think the problem is just a combination of a) older vintages, b) high pedigree, c) very limited access for purchase, and d) Fou' being available online several times over the past couple of months. But I see your cellar, and it looks like you have more than enough to get it done.
Like FF and the LP series, the rarity of OGV is more perceived than actual because of the monetary costs of acquiring it within the USA. I would argue that recent FF would be fair for the '08 or '09 or whatever year is the most recent release of the OGV. The flavors of OGV seem a bit polarizing among 3F lovers. Some like it more, some like it less, or at least that's what I've found through my experience.
The '08 is the last in the vintage series. My understanding is that Armand has discontinued the series, unfortunately.
As probably the biggest 3F homer at a recent tasting that had the '07 (pretty sure that was the vintage), go after Armand & Tommy or any of the Armand '4s instead. If I reviewed beer, which I don't, my wording would consist of "Oude Gueuze lite" for the Vintage. IMO, the beers I previously stated are better and for the most part maybe even easier to come by.
Are you sure? It's still on the website and there's nothing about it being discontinued there. Last year the '08 came out sometime around now (I remember being mad that it was JUST after I got back from Europe, missed that and Blabaer by weeks that trip). As to the OP's question, this is one of my favorite beers and I've traded for it a lot lately. I did 2x '03 375's for a Cable Car, then a package deal with '07 and '08 750's for another cable car (both of those were huge trades so that's not necessarily 1:1), then a Fantome Extra Sour for a 750 '07, and a Sour in the Rye w/ Peach for another 750 '07. FF might be able to get it done, but since anyone who has it got it from Europe my guess is that they're set on FF. You never know, though.
havent had the A&T yet but i'd rate that as slightly more difficult to obtain and a one off. i'd also take the vintage series over the armand 4's. the 02' and 07 valentine were basically perfect and flawless.
There were 3 or 4 bottling dates for 07 OGV. One was 2-14. I've asked this question myself and no one has ever provided any indication that there was anything special about that blend other than the date.
Brought back two 02 OGVs a couple years ago. Drank one, very good (very bright and lots of lemon peel) but prefer Armands so I traded my second one. Long story short, agree with JohnfromPurdue. Yet to have the 07, but soon.
thanks for all the feedback. it looks like i'll just sit back and enjoy my armand'4 set, and maybe if i take a quick belgian day trip when i'm over in england next in 2014 or so, i'll finally visit 3 fonteinen and maybe they'll have it in stock.
Nope. It's the same beer but a different bottling date with another name. The I don't know why it has a seperate listing here. Jeff
If it's the same beer I'd expect it should be lumped together (with an alias). One thing that bugs me is that ALL the OGV is listed with one entry, whereas each year is very different from the others. I'd prefer to have different vintage entries for each gueuze (from all the gueuze makers/blenders). These can vary so much year-to-year versus other beer styles.
