Bottle, 750 ml at Lambikodroom OBD. Shared with Tin and Hrvoje. Hazy orange with medium white head. Intensive fruit, lots of quince, barrel. Some funk, juicy. Medium sourness.

Pours a darker, very unclear blonde. Small white head. Scent is full, deep and thick lambic. Milder quince, fine and balanced. Taste is full, dry, medium intense tartness. Chewy quince. Full, more fruit than expected. Less amazing than the (good bottles of) Kweepeer I , but a very enjoyable beer that I might even prefer over Kweepeer II

The third quince lambic version in 3 Fonteinen’s ongoing Twists of Fate series – and contrary to the first version, this one, being a blend rather than a single barrel one like the second and containing a somewhat less fruit density due to backblending with young lambic, was available at the same time as the second version, so I was able to compare these two. Medium thick, breaking, bit irregular, egg-white head lacing in small shreds over a cloudy orange-tinged peach blonde beer – a different, and in any case slightly darker look than the second version (and, from memory, the first one as well). Aroma of strong quince again (as expected of course), Granny Smith apple and apple core, haystack, sulfuric accent of freshly struck matches, minerals, chlorine (swimming pool) hint, sorrel, dust, bitter tree leaves, kefir. Lots of green apple- and green pear-like quince in the mouth, notably astringent, hint of unripe peach, fizzy carb; bready malt core, some quince jam sweetishness popping up in the middle (clearly more so than in the first two versions – but still very subtle and ‘surrounded’ by the fruit and lambic acids). A firm lactic tartness runs underneath, accentuating the wryness and dryness of the quince, in an even old lemon peel-like way, with the wood tannins taking over in the end. Light dusty and funky notes but generally remaining focused on the quince, albeit with some more ‘distraction’ from other elements than in the second version. Indeed different, fuller, more sour, more astringent – but these differences are altogether quite subtle, if interesting. I think I still prefer the first version, after all, but that may well have been the excitement factor at play, of being confronted with this marvellous brewery’s first quince lambic…

The second quince lambic experiment in 3 Fonteinen’s Twists of Fate series, only 134 bottles made apparently – which is still more than they made of the first version two years ago. Snow white, moussy, medium thick, opening head, misty pure ‘old gold’ robe with vague khaki tingen, deeper peach-hued and cloudy with sediment. Aroma of indeed strong raw quince and quince peel, unripe peach, green apple and apple core, dusty old wood, lemon peel, dry hay, sake, dried garden weeds. Crisp, dry, bright ‘green’ onset so to speak: green quince, green apple, green pear – the latter two also derived from the quince, of course; finely tingling carb, smooth and even somewhat creamy mouthfeel. Bready core with strong yoghurty lactic tartness and earthy lambic complexities, but that quince astringency and ‘greenness’ prevail till the end, accentuating a lemony acidity near the end as well as the dryness of the tannins from the wood – enhanced strongly by quince astringency. Meanwhile this unexpected, sake-like phenolic aspect hovers over it all. Feels a bit creamier and fuller than that glorious first version, with a less compromising dryness and astringency to it. A side by side comparison would prove useful, but unfortunately this is not possible anymore due to the first edition being long gone – and at a mere 134 bottles and after the Open Beer Days the brewery held last weekend, I imagine not too many being left of this second version either…

Taster from 0,75l bottle at Lambic O Droom. amber murky color, small white head. smells baby diaper, funky, earthy, bit leathery, stone fruits, peaches, lovely smell. full body, soft carbonation. tastes of quince, stone fruits, peaches, cinnamon, light vanilla, some funk, peppery. finishes super balanced with a subtle sourness and notes of stone fruits, cinnamon and some funk. very very lovely one, liked this a lot more then the Kweepeer II

9, 4, 9, 4, 18

Better aroma and carbonation, similar finish but fuller body

More bitter, dry