Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze
Late last month I purchased a couple of Gueuzes. The first, a St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition, was a darn tasty, super tart beer. This 2009 vintage bottling of Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze was still tart and puckering, but a little more refined. I’m not sure if that difference is due to some time in the bottle or if that’s just the beer’s nature. Either way, I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze
The Drie Fonteinen’s gueuze is a blend of 1, 2, and 3 year old lambics aged in oak barrels. I’m not entirely sure how long each was barreled (or, again if it was the age of this particular bottle), but I didn’t really pick up any oak influence. What I did get, however, was a wonderful mixture of tartness, pleasant sour notes, a little funk and an all-around enjoyable drinking experience.
Appearance
Oude Gueuze pours a bright amber and crystal clear — the muddied photo above does the beer no justice. The large, frothy head faded slowly to a sparse ring around the glass.
Aroma
Straw, hay, citrus, a light funk and subtle sweetness are the dominate aromas coming out of the glass. I don’t recall any wood on the nose, but then again the lemony citrus pretty much blocked access to anything else.
Taste
Wow. This is a crisp and refreshing beer that hits with a solid sour tartness that builds toward the finish before slowly fading to a light, lingering bite. The citrus/lemon is dominant with the light funk backing it up with some hay/straw characteristics. Again, I didn’t pick up any oak or wood, even as the beer warmed. Drie Fonteinen’s version the gueuze still packs a wallop with a solid puckering bitter sour presence, but it’s not as raw as the St. Louis product I had earlier.
Overall
Since enjoying this beer a couple of weeks ago, I have since purchased a couple more bottles that I plan to sit on for a little while. I’m very curious to see how well they do with additional time under their belt. Keeping them safe in the basement, however, is going to be tough. I can see a craving for the beer’s tart nature on the first really warm day of Spring.
Rating: 4.5/5