Drie Fonteinen Doesjel

Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen is a small Belgian brewer that has also mastered the art of lambic blending. They have utilized traditional brewing methods from the beginning and produce some of the most amazing lambics in production today. These sour, spontaneously fermented beers may come as a shock to the uninitiated but are extremely nuanced and utterly enjoyable.

This particular beer, per the label, is a blend of one, two and three year old lambic fermented and matured in oak casks by wild yeasts carried through the open air. During re-fermentation the younger yeasts have inexplicably gone dormant, leaving the original flavors of the lambic in their purest form. I'm about to open the bottle and try it from myself:



Bottled Feb 23, 2006

Pours into my glass a deep harvest orange with good clarity and as per the style no discernible head at all. Cork was quite a workout to get out. Aroma is big on the funk with barnyard and old oak all over the place. Mellow sweet crisp malt with sharp acidic tones. Vinegar mingles with light fruit scents. Bright and wild.

First sip brings big wood / oak tannins upfront. Hay and barnyard funk flowing around with lemon juice and puckering citric accents. Mild malt sweetness midway through with an acidic finish and lingering oak. Tartness wins in the end and develops more so as it warms.

Mouthfeel is smooth and crisp with just a mellow tingle of carbonation as it flows down. This "sleepy" lambic is pretty tasty and the only other beer I have to compare this to is the Cantillon Loerik I drank a few years ago. Overall, it's fun to drink a beer like this that shows off another aspect of brewing and the variations that can occur. I wonder what 10 or 20 years in the cellar might do to this!

Overall this garners a rating of Great from me.

Check out more of the world of Drie Fonteinen at http://www.3fonteinen.be/