Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze 1998 (50th Anniversary) - Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen

Tnudish

Wisconsin

3.9/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A very big thanks to spdyfire83 for popping this bad boy, one of the last 3F I haven’t ticked. Thanks Bryan!

A-Pours a brilliant orange color with a half fingers worth of tight white head.

S-Wow, nose is kinda weird. Right off the bat, it smells minty, it overwhelms the gueuze characteristics of it honestly. Must and lemon are in the background, but very subtle.

T-Mint character is very light in the flavor, it leans more towards balanced gueuze with lemon and funk.

M-Good mouthfeel, light carbonation, gentle acidity, with a moderate finish.

O-This is a peculiar gueuze. The mintiness is kinda distracting honestly, it is way different than anything I’ve had from 3F. Thanks to Bryan for popping this guy, a real treat.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 15:50:10 | More by Tnudish

SpeedwayJim

New York

4.43/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A huge, long time want. Thanks to Mike for this one. 750ml corked and caged bottle shared at a tasting on 12/8. Reviewed from notes. 5oz pour into a Cantillon flute.

Pours slightly cloudy goldenrod. 4 finger, foamy white head with great retention. No lace and thin legs. About what I'd expect from a 3F Gueuze. Solid. Huge carbonation.

Nose is oddly minty, hay, lemon rind, and yeast and wet wood funkiness. Mint notes throw this one off a bit but all the old, funky components make this one solid nevertheless.

Light and spritzy lemon rind, hay, wet wood. Barnyard funkiness with a light, tart finish. Overall tartness is very mellow with incredible balance. Not the most funky or cheesy but with a larger hay and straw presence. This one's aged very well.

Light bodied with moderate carbonation. Lively, tart, and dry in the mouth with a bone dry, puckering finish. Pretty clean aftertaste. Exactly what I want from the style.

Don't expect a beer that'll blow your mind here. Flavor profile is mellow, with decent complexity but incredible balance. Tartness is present but not overwhelming with a mouthfeel that really delivers drinkability. Very, very good. This one lived up to what I expected.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 17:28:38 | More by SpeedwayJim

HopHead84

California

4.6/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

10/27/2012

Thanks to Paul for opening this. Snifter. Long time want.

A: Very attractive yellow orange color. Big fizzy white head. Nice appearance.

S: Mushroom, damp forest floor, lemon. Musty barnyard with some blue cheese. Restrained lactic aroma with light horsey notes.

T: Moderate citric acidity up front with a firm tartness. Lemon blends with brackish character, earth, mustiness, a touch of peach, oak, and tannins. Finishes with a piquant citric punch.

M: Upper light body with light carbonation.

Overall: Well balanced and excellent overall. Simultaneously bright and earthy.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2012 17:20:54 | More by HopHead84

spdyfire83

Ireland

4.65/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

220th Review
Unlabeled 75cl bottle shared at Akkurat with a great crew
Poured in a gueuze glass
Enjoyed on 9 May 2012

Vintage: 1998 - the one and only!

A: Straw yellow. 3+ (fluffy white) fingernail head on soft pour.

S: Wow! Must, barn yard funk, aged cheese, crisp lemon zest, matured, and so nice. Almost perfect, but not quite. Maybe with another couple of years though...

T: So complex, yet so easy to drink. Follows smell, but very dry and refreshing. My glass disappeared to quickly, but even the dregs of this were wonderful!

M: Light bodied with loads of carbonation.

O: A truly wonderful beer! Crisp, clean, and very easy to drink. The simplicity is beautiful and the pronounced zest is amazing. Well done Armand!

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2012 16:09:30 | More by spdyfire83

craytonic

District of Columbia

4.35/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

4/14/2012 tasting, thanks Brad!

Appearance - typical for the style, golden-yellow pour with a very faint haze, small head and lacing
Smell: Delicious earth and funk, slightly sour
Taste: Earth, funk and sour, well integrated with each other. Touch of some herbal notes
Mouthfeel: Medium body and carbonation
Overall: Really delicious, yet another outstanding 3F

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2012 17:15:05 | More by craytonic

drabmuh

Maryland

4.05/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle shared by ygtbsm at a recent tasting, served in a Drie Fonteinen tumbler. Beer is yellow and hazy with thin white cap of a head, some lacing, moderate carbonation, looks good.

Aroma is a little odd for a Drie Fonteinen, almost more malty, interesting beer though. I like the earthiness and oaky funk. A little papery.

This beer was probably the least interesting of all of them sampled that day, seemed to be a bit over the hill with a few obvious signs of oxidation but that being said it was still very good. Very oaky / tannic bitterness on the end, mild tartness and nice lactic acid presence, a pretty good beer but I don't think I'd have it again.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2012 19:42:32 | More by drabmuh

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

3.9/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Shared by ygtbsm94 at our insane sour and wild ales tasting on April 14, 2012. Sampled alongside 1999 Oude Geuze and Millennium Gueze.

The beer is mildly hazy and golden yellow hued with a small white head. The aroma is unlike any I have experienced from a Drie Fonteinen brew, with a huge mint and herbal character. The flavor brings abundant minty notes, followed by herbal, floral, and earth. The beer is smooth, with lingering funk and mint notes. I feel that the mint character overpowers the citrus, grass, and classic lambic character that would make this beer wonderful. I doubt I will ever try this again, but I would be curious to taste a different bottle. Millennium Gueze was the clear favorite of this trio.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 03:37:26 | More by Huhzubendah

mdfb79

New York

4.28/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

From 04/14/12 notes. Big thanks to Brad for sharing this on at our DC Sour Tasting. Tried side by side with a 1999 Oude Geuze and 2000 Millennium Geuze.

a - Pours a hazy dark yellow-orange color with one inch of white head and moderate carbonation.

s - Smells a bit minty, of bready malts, sweet fruity malts, earthy notes, and some light funk. Nice but not sour and very little funk.

t - Tastes of funk, spice, earthy notes, bready malts, light swet fruits. Taste is better then the nose and a little more funky, but is kind of old still.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation. Very easy to drink.

o - Overall I thought this was a good beer but I preferred the '09 Geueze, then the Millennium, to this one. Nice but a little old, and not as sour of funky as others. A good beer but a bit faded at this point.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 15:32:57 | More by mdfb79

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle at the DC Lambic & Sour Tasting on April 14, 2012. Served in an old-school Drie Fonteinen fountains gueuze tumbler. Huge thanks to Brad for this one.

Pours a clear golden color with a bit of a tawny hue to the background. The head is white and small, falling somewhat quickly and leaving behind some sparse lacing as it lays down in a thin collar.

The nose brings some heavy earth and funk with lightly-oxidized malt. Some interesting light herbal characteristics in the background that I've never gotten from a Drie Fonteinen gueuze before.

The flavor is much more complex and integrated, with the funk, earth, and light herbal character headed to the next level. Average flavor duration with light acidity and moderate funk through the finish.

The body is medium and slightly-chewy with light carbonation. Really great feel and complexity.

We had this side-by-side with the Oude Geuze 1999 blend (supposedly one of Armand's favorites) and Millennium, and both of those quite handily beat out this bottle. With that said, this beer was still very, very good.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2012 10:29:22 | More by Thorpe429

cpetrone84

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Drank at Akkurat on the longest lambic binge I could endure. Had with many of the classics and enjoyed this beer twice. The one bottle was the best beer I have ever had and was absolutely perfect, reviewed based from that. Pour is a hazy golden amber with tight fluffy white head. The nose has a rindy cheese to it, light dusty paper quality as fruits are unfolded. Lemon rind, hint of mint, bright ripe tangerine and peach notes. The taste has slightly less chessy find and a touch more dusty paper, the fruit flavors are even more bright and take stronger hold on the presence of the beer. more peaches with a little less of the tart lemon than I anticipated as the sourness takes hold and adds to the overall awesomeness and complexity of this beer. The body is extremely light, lovely effervescent feel, high crisp carbonation and just enough driness. Mid to late bottle pour is more funky, early pour is more fruity. Absolutely perfect!

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2012 18:59:31 | More by cpetrone84

rvdoorn

Netherlands

5/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A special beer for rating number 500, opened during an EPIC sour tasting with PapaEugene and others! Thank you Michel for bringing the mythical 3 Fonteinen 50th Anniversary geuze.
Look: the beer pours a golden-yellow color with a nice white head that disappeared fast.
Smell: Barnyard, leather, horseblanket, wheat, tart, apples, hints of lemon, oak and sour
Taste: Mild but nicely sour, malts and funk. Some sour fruits appear as well, funky citrus.
Mouthfeel: well bodied for a geuze. I agree with previous rater that this beer is very close to champagne.
Overall: What an experience! This beer is so smooth, mild and still so fresh. More mild than most other 3 Fonteinen geuzes, but therefore more special. Exciting and a absolute want for geuze connoisseurs. Close to perfect. Blew away, although much younger and therefore difficult to compare, the Armand'4 series in a comparative tasting. WOW

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2011 12:12:27 | More by rvdoorn

Sean9689

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle collectively obtained by our tasting group. Poured into mini-snifter tasting glass.

A - Pours a hazy golden straw color, fizzy white head, slight spotty lacing, no retention/cap.

S - Slightly sweet, farm, floral, barn, tart, sour slight. Not near as tart/sour as I was expecting. Very delicate then anything, nice soft floral notes, light on the funk.

T - Slightly tart/sour, barn, funk, champagne. This is the closest beer to a champagne I've ever had. No real sugary sweetness, but light tart/sour and nice floral funk with a touch of oak. Like the nose, very delicate.

M - Body is light, fizzy champagne-esque head, dry oaky finish.

O - Enjoyable and as close to champagne as I've ever had. I was very surprised how delicate this beer was and glad we cracked it first-thing. You really need a super-fresh palate to enjoy this one. A very subtle gueuze. I prefer the 1999 vintage and Millennium Gueuze over this one.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2011 14:43:13 | More by Sean9689

MasterSki

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Todd Ashman for getting this into our collective hands. Served in an Alvinne snifter.

A - Quick-dissolving white foam settles to a partial ring of bubbles. Visible streams of bubbles inhabit a hazy peach flesh body. Looks like gueuze alright.

S - Cheesy funk, big floral and grass notes, some lactic acidity, grapes and white wine vinegar, buttery oak. Very nice, with plenty of intensity for a thirteen year old gueuze. No obvious oxidation at all actually.

T - Taste is heavier on the damp, earthen basement, sweat, feet, and a slight mineral water quality. Feels a bit...empty? Some nice citrus and grape character, and the slightest oxidation creeping in.

M - Zesty carbonation that tickles the palate, super dry, with mild pucker, and a medium-light body. Quite refreshing actually.

D - This actually reminds me a little of the Malvasia Rosso, but with a more aged quality to it. It's eminently drinkable, and a fine blend of lambics, but I don't anticipate it getting any better and could see it falling off quite precipitously with further age. A very different gueuze from Millennium and definitely worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2011 00:12:05 | More by MasterSki

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.72/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Sampled alongside a '99 and Millennium at a recent tasting with sideshowe, callmemickey and his wife Marie.

Pours a dark golden yellow color with pale golden straw colored hues and a two finger soapy white head. Good retention, slowly fading into a lasting cap that leaves sporadic spots of lace in it's wake.

Earthy, musty aroma that isn't overly funky with barrel/wood character as well as some barnyard/horsey notes, crisp light fruit and subtle citrus.

Medium bodied with a soft, earthy funkiness that isn't harsh, solvent-like or overpowering allowing the citrus notes and vinegary acetic acids to shine through. Very clean, complex and smooth with a well balanced flavor profile that makes it very easy too drink. This beer has aged very gracefully, retaining it's puckering, funky character while remaining clean and quaffable. It became more funky as it warmed and we came back to it, with hints of puckering citrus/lemon and a lingering vinegary, dry finish that left me salivating for more.

This beer is pretty amazing at this stage and is worth seeking out. Highly recommended!

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2011 05:41:00 | More by corby112

callmemickey

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Shared with my wife, corby112, and sideshowe at our Drie Fonteinen tasting.

A: Deep orange-wheat colored body. Large, fluffy off-white head. Stuck around for a few minutes before leaving behind a nice coating of lacing.

S: Subtle musty, earthy tones. Damp hay. Smells like the barrel room at Drie Fonteinen. Mild citrus.

T: A truly fantastic flavor profile. If you aren't going in expecting something super dank and funky, this will amaze. Delicate complexity. A refined blend bringing together a little bit of everything... lemon, orange, sweat, musty oak, barnyard notes of straw and musty air. The complexity of this really came out when we returned to this after trying the 1999 and Millennium Gueuze.

M: Stellar. Medium to light bodied. Lively effervescence. Restrained sourness in the finish.

O: An exceptional blend. Lucky to have been able to get to try it with a dozen years on it.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2011 00:59:35 | More by callmemickey

jedwards

Rhode Island

4.88/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Bottle coordinated by Glouglouburp and freud at the Hill Farmstead Winter Beer Event. Thanks, guys!

We were all ready with glasses for the rush, so it was a pleasant surprise when this beer opened with a healthy pop and no explosion. Pour is a golden orangey straw with a fluffy but not quite rocky white head that fades to half a finger. Aroma is classic farmyard brett-dominated, with musty floral and vitamin notes. Taste is much more balanced than expected -- no bitterness, but incredibly dry. Tart cherry and citrus flavors initially dominate, and as it warms it becomes more floral/grassy and distinctly mineral. Carbonation is high but not overpowering, and mouthfeel is surprisingly rich. Zero astringency.

I can't get over how smooth and mild this is, especially in comparison to some of the other great 3F vintages (2002, 1999). So easy to drink, and so hard to get. A real treat.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2011 15:24:25 | More by jedwards

sisuspeed

New Hampshire

4.93/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Bottle opened by Glouglouburp on RB at the Hill Farmstead. An awesome beer to cap an awesome day of beers.

Like most vintage Drie Fonteinen bottles, this bottle was opened with much care, and to our delighted surprise, was not a gusher. So plenty of beer to go around amongst the group.

3F's 50th Anniversary Oude Geuze pours a cloudy orange with a thick, foamy, white head. The head eventually fades to a thin film, but still leaves a few patches of light lacing on the glass.

The aroma is phenomenal. Beautiful floral, citrus, funk. Oak, hay and barnyard balanced perfectly. Lots of orange and flower petals. Quite floral. I could smell this forever.

The taste is filled with orange, floral honey, oak and a touch of vanilla. Wet hay, grass and light acidity. Lots of 3F funk throughout. Like the nose, the taste is very floral. Almost seems like a bouquet of flowers were soaked in the gueuze. Amazing.

Mouthfeel is smooth, slick and lightly carbonated. Medium body. Almost perfect. Feels like a quality gueuze.

This goes down so easily. Drinkability is exceptional. Easily the best gueuze I have ever had. Armand is a blending genius. I haven't had this beer fresh, but with 12-13 years on it, I couldn't detect any signs of it going down hill. Seems like this blend can definitely keep going for awhile. I highly recommend seeking out a bottle if you can.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2011 16:35:24 | More by sisuspeed

BearsOnAcid

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cork shot out like a bullet into the ceiling like a Vintage 3F gueuze should. The head went away as quickly as it appeared. Hazy sunburst orange color.

Aroma contained hay, lemon, damp wood, earth, and mushroom. Brett dominates most vintage 3F gueuzes and this is no exception.

Taste is refined and quite lovely. Lots of earthy brett up front with a soft lactic acidity. Smooth is the only word I can use to describe it. The acidity is only there to compliment and play off the characteristics of the brett. The carbonation is very high from aging and makes this beer a slow one to drink, hurting it's drinkability. It doesn't lacerate the tongue or distract you from the beer but it's still quite noticeable. The body of it felt thinner than water.

This doesn't beat the blend from '99 but it seems unique compared to most 3F gueuzes I've had because of how subtle it was. I don't think this has much life left in it to age any longer.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2010 16:15:30 | More by BearsOnAcid

baggio

Sweden

4.35/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle@Akkurat (98 vintage)

A: Yellowish with an enormous, white, head.

Sl: Funk, Hay, Manure, Citric notes, Sweaty cheese.

T: Lemon, Grass, Funk, Herbs, Wood, Grapes.

M: Plenty of carbonation but this beer is surprisingly mild and very drinkable.

Mildest geuze i've ever tried from 3 Fonteinen. Superb!

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2010 10:08:46 | More by baggio