At last I had the chance to sample this peculiar 3 Fonteinen blend: a tribute to the late Armand Debelder, a man I had several lengthy conversations with in my earlier days of beer exploring: one of the men justly credited with keeping traditional lambic alive during its darkest times, a man of wisdom and kindness, and an eternal source of inspiration. His "Zotte Kadeeën", the new generation operating the Lambik-O-Droom and the rest of the 3 Fonteinen business, wanted to surprise this lambic legend on his 65th birthday by - in a way - reassuring him that the future of the brand is safe in their hands, and of course honouring him as the engaging and inspiring person he was. Especially in hindsight, considering his passing five years after this blend was made in his honour, it is difficult to find a more emotionally charged beer in this country (and beyond) so I was very happy to get the chance to taste it - cheers to Bart and Daniel. Off-white, moussey, medium thick but opening and thinning head, hazy peachy orange blonde robe with lively sparkling. Aroma of dried grapefruit peel, orange pith, young mugwort leaves, rhubarb, unripe peach, dry oak wood, crabapple peel, green gooseberry, lively minerals, dry hay, old cracked dry leather, scorched farmland in high summer, southernwood, gentian leaf. Utterly crisp, full onset, lively and very minerally carbonation that will continue until the end, through impressions of green gooseberry, Granny Smith apple, redcurrant and wood sorrel, moving into a smooth, 'juicy' stage of bread-crusty graininess upon which a drying-fruity lactic acidity, astringent tannic woodiness and restrained yet characterful leathery funkiness are built. Lemon juice- and green apple-like flavours keep refreshing everything even when the layers of flavour are at their deepest - so that in spite of all the 'fullness' and richness this geuze offers, it also remains remarkably juicy (especially in view of its age as well, of course). On a more subtle, detailed level, there is a jasmin tea-like floral or herbal aroma lingering somewhere at the back - adding only elegance and lightness. Technically an obvious masterpiece in that wonderful art of geuze blending: juicy, aromatic, powerful and elegant all at the same time, citric and funky, crisp and radiant - if the intention of the new generation at 3 Fonteinen was to prove to then-retiring Armand that he could 'sleep on his two ears', as the Flemish saying goes, then I think the mission was convincingly accomplished (and one of those young staff members vividly described to me how satisfied and fulfilled Armand reacted to this blend when he was first presented with it). Above all, however, this blend, actually not intended for sale but originally shared by Armand himself with those worthy sharing it with, is a noble and lasting tribute to one of the giants in lambic culture. It brought me back to pre-craft-hype times when he told me how he had created a grape lambic (the famed Malvassia Rosso) but did not really believe in the idea and abandoned it - or to that other time, many years later, when he guided me in private trough his (then) new Lambik-O-Droom, pondering about geuze bottles still lurking around there that were made by his famous father Gaston, describing how young lambic behaves after brewing or giving me his unvarnished opinion on the exorbitant prices one encountered for rare bottles back then (prompting me to admit I had bought a bottle of Millennium Geuze from a private collector in Halle that very same day)... Those moments belong to my most cherished memories in the three decades during which 'beer' has been my hobby, so to speak, so I am sincerely happy that I finally had the chance to taste this formidable tribute.

Lovely funk, stone fruit, long finish

Sour, tart, a touch sweet. Stone fruit, dry wood, citrus, some earthy funk. Smooth, medium acidity, very nice.

Slightly hazy golden amber color. Tangerines and very deep funky barnyard and barrel character. The palate a touch lifeless, but modest funky, barrel, but nit nearly as good as the nose. Still good