Armand'4 Oude Geuze Zomer (Summer) - Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen

ahalloin

Virginia

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Brought this to a tasting, so I have the honors of opening the bottle. The cork was barely being contained by the cage as it tried to sneak out once the restraint was removed. Luckily we had a pitcher ready to catch the first couple of ounces.

Poured a light, slightly opaque gold color with a dull hue. A beautiful white foam cap proudly formed atop the beer and slowly receded to a thin layer leaving some lacing on the glass.

The smell is quite unbelievable! That patented Drie Fonteinen funk is greatly apparent mixed with hints of charred oak, sour dough bread, and light hints of stone fruit. Amazing!

The taste is outstanding as well with that blunt sourness and barnyard funk we expect from a well crafted Gueuze! Sour Peach and white pepper linger in the background. A bone dry finish makes me want another sip.

The mouthfeel is perfect. Medium high carbonation provides a pleasant effervescence. Bone dry finish works very well.

Overall this gueuze is quite outstanding. Plenty of funk and barnyard for sour lovers but with the scrubbing carbonation to lift the flavors keeping it from being cloyingly sour.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2011 02:04:04 | More by ahalloin

chippo33

Vermont

4.5/5  rDev -3.2%

05-24-2013 04:36:26 | More by chippo33

LockeSD

New York

5/5  rDev +7.5%

05-23-2013 14:19:17 | More by LockeSD

oldp0rt

Quebec (Canada)

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

05-22-2013 23:42:32 | More by oldp0rt

tom10101

Quebec (Canada)

4/5  rDev -14%

05-19-2013 16:55:31 | More by tom10101

cosmonick

Indiana

5/5  rDev +7.5%

05-19-2013 03:13:47 | More by cosmonick

gueuzedreg

Colorado

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

05-16-2013 21:10:53 | More by gueuzedreg

smakawhat

Maryland

4.54/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Poured from the bottle, cork is just bulging out of the foil with the cage barely hanging on, into a Drie Fonteinen crystal stem glass. Huge pop, and a large gush with some saving, luckily didn't loose too much.

A real gorgeous looking beer. Honey peach orange glowing, opaque, with a roaring column of middle fast carbonation. Head retention in gigantic, with huge bubble bath and shampoo like appearance. Off white and tan colored head, with a creamy top as it settles. One impressive looking brew.

Nose is just full of deep earth and large funky notes. Hints at barrel aging round character (is this barrel aged I have no idea?) full and luscious, toasty also. Large amounts of pepper, and dirt and soil grit. It's large but in control, a little bit one dimensional. Floral components come when the beer is quite warm though, it smells like a tilled earthy garden.

Big lemon tartness mixing with large funk qualities. Soft acidic feel, but a sharp hot white pepper, in fact pepper continues to come out often, with a little bit of bready malt character. Giant earth qualities, with a hotness not coming from alcohol. I keep thinking of stinky cheese when I drink this even though it doesn't taste like cheese luckily. Super spritzy carbonated but with a good thick body and thick pepper finish.

It's very impressive, I just wish it was a little more complex and diverse. It is without question a gueuze heads beer. I would love to try the other seasons to see if they are better, cause if they are then those beers would just be phenomenal.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 23:38:24 | More by smakawhat

pperez38

California

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

05-02-2013 09:53:45 | More by pperez38

cfrances33

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

04-29-2013 01:40:01 | More by cfrances33

sweemzander

Illinois

4.83/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

750mL corked and caged bottle poured into a snifter. Major thanks and kudos to Kevan for generously sharing this with us!

(A)- Pours a cloudy golden orange hue that produced a subtle but pure white froth and lacing left behind.

(S)- Such a lovely dry but funky cheese with lemon peel and an earthy oaky quality that is just that excellent to breathe in. It gets more fruity as it warms revealing pineapple and maybe even a slight hint at orange.

(T)- Just an awesome showing of bright pineapple and lemon citrus. Subtle but complex funk and smooth yet oaky acidity with earthy complexion. Really dynamic in that my review probably fails to describe it fully.

(M)- Such a vibrant yet complex carbonation level and balance. Incredibly dynamic and exciting with a great play on acidic citrus meets a perfectly dry yet funky oak.

(O)- This is just further proof to me that Armand is the premier gueuze blender, if not the BEST in the world. Superbly complex yet balanced and a wonderful gueuze to enjoy. Another serious thank you to Kevan for sharing this!

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2013 20:58:32 | More by sweemzander

pmoney

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

04-08-2013 14:11:01 | More by pmoney

Caudalie

Quebec (Canada)

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

04-05-2013 20:59:43 | More by Caudalie

jsm1289

New York

4.93/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

to be sour, or not to be sour? that is the question....

Let it be known, on the 2nd day of April, 2013, that I have had the best sour I have ever had. It was a difficult day , trivial at best, filled with professional obligations, chaos and silliness. The Armand4' zomer traveled from my fridge at home with me to work, where it laid in wait in a drawer with my smelly gym shorts. I opened my drawer at least ten times, looking at the label of the belgian country side, hoping i could be transported there so I could frolic in the grass with all the aging gueze barrels rolling in the hills. Alas that dream was not meant to be for now, but no matter.... I had a gueze to drink !

I knew something magical was about to happen, as my gueze crew unwrapped the bottle to reveal a cork that was slowly rising and popped with a gentle hissing noise... all on its own! The smell was strong lemon zest, gueze funk and a touch of sweetness and farmyard odor. The taste was highly carbonated , with a strong lemon zest and gueze funk flavor from start to finish. Incredibly smooth and drinkable, it was marvelous.

This would normally be where the review would finish. However, some spicy beef and broccoli and the knicks game halted my zomer experience temporarily. We let the zomer air for an additional twenty minutes while the chinese food was cleansed from our palates. When we had returned to it something amazing happened.. the flavor profile changed entirely. I am talking a total change! I got huge gueze funkiness with a deep barnyard, leather notes practically transporting me to farm in the belgian countryside. It tasted almost identical to izzy at this point, super funkiness, some cheese and stink notes just smashing my palate and then dancing majestically over the broken pieces.

When you can taste like a fantastic lemony gueze and then taste like Isabelle proximus a short while later, you win the quidditch cup in my book.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2013 02:01:00 | More by jsm1289

zestar

California

4.5/5  rDev -3.2%

03-20-2013 08:25:59 | More by zestar

madtrixter787

Virginia

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

03-17-2013 04:22:50 | More by madtrixter787

yourefragile

District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev -3.2%

03-15-2013 02:12:29 | More by yourefragile

rlasker3

New Hampshire

5/5  rDev +7.5%

03-15-2013 02:06:58 | More by rlasker3

drummermattie02

Texas

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

03-12-2013 14:25:55 | More by drummermattie02

joel66

New York

4.25/5  rDev -8.6%

03-07-2013 02:07:26 | More by joel66

Blanco

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

02-19-2013 04:40:59 | More by Blanco

DaveHack

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev -3.2%

02-17-2013 15:22:56 | More by DaveHack

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.24/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

This poured out as a hazy yellow color with a big foamy white head on top. Even with the gentlest of pours this beer is very active. The retention is pretty strong on this as well as the lacing. The look of the beer is really nice. The smell of the beer is funky, not much else to say... it's like bile or some other form of acidic pungent aromas. The taste of the beer is tart, also more funk with a sharp lemon zest in there also. The mouthfeel has a lot of sharp carbonation to it. Overall this beer is a good representation of the style. It's not an easy one to get so I'm glad I got to try it.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2013 19:55:48 | More by Knapp85

millerbuffoon

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev -8.6%

02-16-2013 02:01:16 | More by millerbuffoon

KevSal

California

5/5  rDev +7.5%

01-27-2013 08:24:10 | More by KevSal