An unexpected new geuze, blended with lambics from Boon and Herberg, released about a year ago to celebrate the 70th birthday of the 3 Fonteinen restaurant; at the same time a tribute to the late Armand Debelder as well, godfather of the current owner of the restaurant (Thomas Debelder) - and also a godfather of traditional geuze in general, of course. Oddly perhaps, this geuze is not, as one might expect, created at the Lambik-O-Droom in Lot, but in the cellars of the restaurant itself, located in Beersel - as it was done in the many decades preceding the establishment of the Lambik-O-Droom in 2016. It has been ages since I was at the original location in Beersel but I vividly remember eating well in the restaurant as well as buying bottles of geuze from the hands of Armand himself fifteen-odd years before the Lambik-O-Droom even existed, so I guess one could argue that with this Parrain, the circle from Beersel to Lot and back is, in a sense, restored... With this symbolic thought, let us open a bottle and see what it contains - a beautiful bottle with gilt lettering on the label that I was lucky enough to obtain from a limited sale through Etre Gourmet, because normally they are only served at the restaurant itself. Highly pressurised and even gushing for a moment, but nothing to worry about if you have a glass right next to the bottle (as one does when opening a geuze)... Thick, briefly fizzing, eggshell-white, moussey, regular and stable head over an apricot blonde robe with ochre-ish tinge, misty but visibly filled with countless small bubbles sustaining the head, which eventually opens and diminishes. Aroma of wet leather, old books, old furniture, oak tuns, dried lemon peel, hard unripe green plum, cobwebbed dusty attic, lightly toasted pumpkin seeds, dry hay, some background farmland growing stronger later on, hints of very old Parmigiano, green olive, pickled capers even, rose petals, petrichor and something very vaguely meaty (proteins). Very spritzy onset, stinging more than champagne in terms of effervescence, with strong minerally effect; tart lemon peel, green plum, gooseberry and lime flavours, lovely bread-crusty core under severely drying lactic acidity, pairing with strong woody tannins. The lemony edge remains altogether quite 'mals', as in dried lemon peel more than lemon juice; unripe sour berries linger too, under a 'horseblanket' of leathery, funky Brett dryness and mustiness. The spritzy, utterly crisp, dry character remains very refreshing till the very end, with wood and Brett lingering in its wake; all the way at the back, buried under wood, funk and tartness, lurks a structurally vital old hop bitter note. The general dryness and crispness make this a relatively easy-drinking geuze, but given the brief gushing, stingy effect on the tongue and even stingy effect in the nose right after pouring, I guess one could argue that even for a geuze, one of the beer world's most effervescent styles, this one may just be a tad overcarbonated - but I do not mind, the old 3 Fonteinen spirit is certainly present in some kind of way, reminiscent of the 3 Fonteinen geuze with the old paper labels I used to drink two decades ago. Aromas shift as the content of the bottle is gradually emptied and in the end, seen by itself without its great heritage in mind, this is a very sparkly, pleasantly funky and woody, dry and appetising geuze - I really love this one, also because it brings back memories of the old 3 Fonteinen site in Beersel, reminding me that I must absolutely visit the restaurant again soon.

Soft, woody and sour

Bottle 18/05/2024 Malmö May 2024 tasting at Palace Hall - tangy sour fruity with notes of apricot, orchard fruit, barnyard, light funky, dusty, medium body and acidity, fruity sour lingering finish. Very nice. --- Beer merged from original tick of Oude Geuze Parrain on 27 Mar 2025 at 05:55 - Score: 8. Original review text: Malm� May 2024 tasting - tangy sour fruity with notes of apricot, orchard fruit, barnyard, light funky, dusty, medium body and acidity, fruity sour lingering finish. Very nice.

Huge, dense off-white head over very lively carbonated, light-copperish golden beer. Farmyard odours, horseblanket, carrots, old wet oak, bit peppery. Very dry gueuze, bit faintly lemony, but with lots of wheat. Lactic acid arrives in the finish, bringing some woody and earthy notes. Quite wheatslick, very good carbonation, maybe medium bodied. A very good gueuze - and that for a very first batch.