We recently hosted a semi-blind tasting of 6x Drie Fonteinen gueuzes: Lente Herfst Zomer Winter A&T A&G (375ml) Any guesses as to rankings, and which one came out on top? Full disclosure: the seasons were tasted completely blind (we'd covered the bottles with paper bags) but we saw the A&T and A&G so we knew what those were.
How were these beers acquired? That is my only question. My only opportunity to ever try a Drie Fonteinen bottle was at Hill Farmstead a few weeks ago. I opted for the 2012 Cantillon Lou Pepe in a coin toss however.
Haven't had A&G yet, but I've had the first 5 at a tasting last year (not blind). My order of preference was: A&T Herfst Zomer Lente Winter
I haven't had any of these, but I would be curious where Golden Blend would rank if it was added to the lineup. If was a step above the regular old 3F OG (in both taste and price).
I love golden blend. I thought it's "funk" was more intense than any of the others we tried. Would've indeed been fun to have that in this tasting!
Results: #1. A&T By a wide margin. We unanimously were blown away, having heard it was no better than regular old Gueuze, it was evident to all present that this Gueuze is on a whole 'nother level than the others. Funk, complexity, mouthfeel, all world class. Certainly one of the greatest lambics ever brewed. #2. & 3. Winter and Lente (tie) Half of us preferred one, the other preferred the other. Winter was decidedly highly carbed which helped differentiate it from the others perhaps. Different tasters tasted the Seasons in a different order, yet we came to similar conclusions. As far as the shiny new A&G is concerned...er were shocked how well it held up. It in fact tasted very much like Lente, and was unquestionably better than regular Oude Gueuze. Surprisingly so. It held up quite well even in such hallowed company, and we are excited for what it will become with time, and if A&G is any indication of the direction Armand is taking with his Gueuze from now on, that bodes well for the future of lambic brewing. As if it needs to be said again, when it comes to Gueuze, 3F beats Cantillon every time. Cheers!
