Armand'4 Oude Geuze Herfst (Autumn) - Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen

Etan

Illinois

4.4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle shared by Agold and Willcarrera, side-by-side with Winter. Poured from a 750ml into a tulip.

A: Pours a light orange-gold with a billowy white head. Great lacing.

S: Light lactic funk, mouth-watering moderate tartness, ripe fruit.

T: Berry-oriented. Relatively sour, floral, and clean. Blackberry and raspberry. A little garlic, a little soapiness, a little oak. Pleasant wheat and lactic character. Lemon. Cleaner, fruitier, and more sour than Winter.

M: Great body for a geuze. Sort of light with lively but not overpowering carbonation.

O: Really nice. Very well-done, balanced, clean blend. I liked Winter a little better, but this is superb.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 07:23:20 | More by Etan

Agold

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours with a huge billowing light head that leaves sheets of sticky lacing on the glass. Great retention. Aroma is sharp and funky, dry, woody, musty. The only of the series that didn't blow me away with the aroma. Flavor is really tart. I get some woodsy earthy funk and some citrus rind. Mild sulfer but very nice. Mouthfeel is very nice and light. Great beer, just not quite as awesome as the others.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 02:31:54 | More by Agold

andrewinski1

Maine

4.33/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Claaark13 for this one! Poured into a tulip. This one was a gusher even though it came straight from the fridge. The color is medium orange with a bit of haze. There is a giant sticky head.

The aroma blends lemongrass and wheat with a gentle touch of spicy hops. This is a really nice balance; it's very welcoming.

The taste starts out dry and crisp, leading to a nice dose of clean tartness with a bit more spicy malt character. There is a touch of rubber in the aftertaste.

This is light and very carbonated. Very refreshing.

This is really delicious. Very happy to have tried this one.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2012 03:48:02 | More by andrewinski1

Bendurgin

Maine

4.03/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Giant thanks to Andrewinski1 for sharing this one with me. Poured into a tulip. This one gushed out of the bottle and pours initially mostly head with a cloudy orange brown body. Big gobs of spotty lace on the side of the glass.

Clean sharp lemon right up front with aromas of hay and some woody oak. Slight aromas of grass with a little bit of a mustiness to it. Mellow tart flavor with hints of nutmeg and baking spices in the background. Nice oaky flavors with hints of tart fruit.

The body is light with high carbonation. Overall this one is well done. I hope I get the opportunity to try the rest in the series.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2012 03:47:48 | More by Bendurgin

falloutsnow

Illinois

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

Bottle from Etre Gourmet
Bottled 02/04/2010
Poured into a Drie Fonteinen gueuze glass

Herfst: my first tasting of the Armand season series. While I can't compare it to others at this point, this gueuze was about 1.5-times as expressive in aroma and taste as the typical Drie Fonteinen gueuze I'm able to find somewhat regularly. The difference in taste is great, and this is definitely one of the major current pinnacles of the style, but is it worth the extreme price, and difficulty to obtain, relative to other gueuzes? Probably not, but if the patronage of the Armand series helps him resurrect his brewery plans and leads to more of these self-brewed lambics/guezes at a lower price and greater availability, then this would be a worthwhile cause.

Pours a tall, fluffy, off-white head composed of small and medium-sized bubbles. The head retention is amazing, with a tall pillar of foam remaining minutes after the initial pour. Lacing is largely of splotches and stripes, not too much or too little. The body's color is a rich orange-gold, with orange-yellow highlights when held to a light. Carbonation is strong and easily visible through the semi-cloudy beer (which becomes completely cloudy if you add the sediment).

Aroma is sharp, of lemon zest meets old armpit sweat, nicely present oak barrels, wet leaves/mulch, and mild musty basement.

Taste is tongue-buckling sour (I had a Lindeman's Cuvee Rene after this, and found it tasted boringly sweet and flat, which it never has before). These beers are something like the DIPAs of gueuzes, palate wreckers for the rest of the night. Flavor profile suggests wheat malt, tart lemons to the point of being mildly grapefruit-like, oak barrel, and a bit of damp basement mustiness. I really can't think of a better tasting gueuze (though, admittedly, I have not tried all), and consider this as one variation on what would be a recipe that needs no improvement in taste.

Beer is medium-bodied, with very light and effervescent carbonation, making this foam up very quickly on the palate. The resulting mouthfeel is smooth and lightly bubbly. Close is expectedly dry, with a bit of stickiness on the lips.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2012 20:58:50 | More by falloutsnow

jethrodium

California

4.58/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle. Pours a slightly cloudy dark golden amber with small white head that has good retention and leaves a decent amount of lacing. The aroma super musty with mushroom, lemon, light apple, apricot, a hint of grapefruit, earthy funkiness, and oak. Quite awesome. The taste has a light sweetness. There is mushroom, apricot, lemon, a funky earthiness, forest floor. Tart, but not really sour. The finish is funky with more mushroom and apricot. Relatively light bodied with a slightly fluffy mouthfeel. Medium carbonation. Another amazing blend from Armand. This isn't quite as good as lente and was slightly more enjoyable than winter. It is probably between lente and winter in sweetness. The mouthfeel was good, but not quite as nice and fluffy as lente. If lente didn't exist I probably would have rated this higher.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2012 20:38:21 | More by jethrodium

FosterJM

California

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

1258th Review on BA
Bottle to Bruery Taster
750ML

Shared by Jay from Naja's
Poured by Jerz

Thanks for the pour guys

App- A very dark orange without a lot of highlighting colors behind it. Had a very small formation of bubbles and was gone quickly. Didnt leave any stick behind.

Smell- A great smelling beer. Not on par with Lente but quite nice. Didnt have as much of the citrus on the nose but had a touch more tart behind it witout being overly done. The flavors seemed a bit thicker on this one.

Taste- A very well done beer. I have a feeling I am going to love all in this series once I have them all. The Herfst was a bit more tame in the citrus than Lente and to each there own. This was a bit more funk and dampness.

Mouth- A small light body with a lighter medium carbonation level. Wasnt a fresh and popping. Lacking a bit of pop on residual flavors.

Drink- A very well done beer. This series is really something magical. Cant wait to try the other two. Hope it happens

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2012 17:38:57 | More by FosterJM

mdfb79

New York

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

From 04/14/12 notes. Group bottle purchased off Beer Planet for out DC Sour Tasting. All 4 Armand'4 series beers were sampled side by side.

a - Pours a murky dark golden color with two inches of white head and moderate carbonation evident. Looks like the rest of them.

s - Smells of sweet fruits, sour fruits, bready malts, funk, and earthy notes. Very nice nose, though not as sour as the Lente or Zomer.

t - Tastes of cheese, funk, eartyh notes, bready malts, fruity malts, sweet fruits, spice, yeast. Not really sour but a lot of funk, mixing with sweet fruits.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation. Very nice body and easy to drink, like the others.

o - Overall this was my least favorite in the series, though it is still a great beer. The taste is definitely funky, but it is sweeter and less sour then the others.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 17:53:35 | More by mdfb79

DavoleBomb

Ohio

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

Poured into a tasting glass. Bottle shared among six of us, so about 4 oz. for me. Consumed third of our four seasons tasting.

4.0 A: Moderately hazed yellow orange. A little darker than Zomer, which was a little darker than Lente. The most orange. Two and a half fingers of foamy white head. Worst retention of the four, but the stickiest and left lots of lacing behind.

4.5 S: Dankest funk. Huge amounts of bleu cheese and sweat socks. Definitely the most tangiest without being too fruity. The feature and sole fruit is lemon. Otherwise, damp earth, damp forest, damp grass.

5.0 T: Follows the nose and I'm loving it. Huge cheesy funk featuring bleu cheese. Sweat socks just as strong. No astringency at all. Just pure dank funk. Some earthiness. Probably the most aceticly sour.

4.0 M: Lighter body. Least carbonated of the four, but still easily in the gueuze range. Spritzy carbonation nonetheless. Otherwise, this is similar to the others, but has the least creaminess.

4.5 D: This was my favorite season. Love the bleu cheesiness. Still probably not worth the price, but close.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2012 18:05:04 | More by DavoleBomb

srandycarter

California

4.25/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottled 2/4/2010

A - Somewhat cloudy copper, humongous head that lasts a long time. Lots of cling. Lots of cascading bubbles. Sitting pretty.

S - Metallic in a degree, sharp to the nose. Maybe too cold? Malt just sneaks in over the wire.

T - Bam. Sharp, acrid, very funky. Sour and wild. Malt plays second fiddle here.

M - Medium body, good carb, not much malt. Ends on a somewhat sour note, albeit fairly clean.

D - The clean finish and the relatively low ABV make it very enjoyable for a session.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2012 03:41:25 | More by srandycarter

islandboi8204

Hawaii

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

Opened along side Lente, Zomer, Winter, shared 4 ways.

Pours more a pale copper color, slightly hazy. Big fluffy head with lacing down the glass.

Smells earthy, mineral, lemon zest, oak and some mild must.

Tastes initially citrus, with lemon, oranges, maybe some green apple. Not as much acidity compared to Lente or Zomer, but more heavy on the wet oak/earthy leaves.

Lots of carbonation, light to medium body.

Overall this is a very interesting beer. Lente was very bright while Zomer had a more mellow and balanced citric character. Herfst is similar to Zomer in citrus and sourness, but combined with more earth and leaves. My least favorite of the four season.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2012 18:38:15 | More by islandboi8204

orangesol

Pennsylvania

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

Thanks to foofaa for sharing this one with us at a recent gueuze tasting. Served next to the other three Armand'4 series beers.

A - Pours amber orange with a nice one and a half finger tall white head leaving spotty lacing down the entire glass.

S - Smells of earthy funk, grass, minerals, oak, musty basement and a bit of citric fruit - mostly lemons. This one is pretty funky with very little sourness in the nose.

T - Starts off with a bright citric kick up front - mostly lemon and grapefruit - quickly giving way to hints of musty funk, light lactic sourness, minerals, fresh cut grass and some dry oak, leaving the pallet dry long after consumption. Fairly well balanced, not as sour as I was expecting it to be, more funky really.

M - Medium body and flavor with moderate carbonation. Smooth, dry feel with a moderate amount of sourness compared to the others.

O - I would say this is the most approachable of the series for the novice. It has some of the better characteristics of the first two but it is more mellow, allowing for easier consumption. Not my favorite of the series but still a solid gueuze.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2012 23:24:04 | More by orangesol

MasterSki

Illinois

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

Decided to share one of these last night with dschuster03 being in town and all. Served in a ZBF tulip.

A - A dollop of lightly yellow-tinged foam settles to a thin cap, splotchy lace, and thick collar. Murky apricot body - someone agitated the bottle a bit too much.

S - This is really musty, with a serious aged quality to it. Reminds me a lot more of Lente than Zomer. Cobwebs, attic, hay, earthen floor, mushrooms, and a bit of stone fruit malt sweetness. Not particularly sour, with only a hint of lemon.

T - The taste is significantly fruitier, with some peach and citrus mid-palate, as well as some mild wheat and grain. Again, the funk character is predominantly earthy and dusty, with only mild lactic sourness.

M - Medium body, fairly mild carbonation, smooth texture, and a lightly dry and tannic finish. Could use a tad more spritz.

D - This was very easy to eat, and is far more mellow and delicate than Zomer. If you loved Lente you'll probably enjoy this just as much - I'm more into brash funkiness. In any case, a superior gueuze that I could easily consume on my own - it's a really a shame these are so expensive.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2012 21:21:17 | More by MasterSki

DarthKostrizer

California

4.6/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to JealousChalice for sharing this bottle

Look: Pours a cloudy orange/amber color with a 1/2 inch foamy head and great retention with some spotty lacing

Smell: Funk upfront with some citrus fruits and straw notes

Taste: The taste of this is excellent. Lots of citrus flavor upfront including lots of lemon zest. Slight sour notes throughout the beer with some nice grassy notes cleaning the palate. Finishes with just a touch of oak

Mouthfeel: Thin body and ample carbonation

Overall: To date this is the best gueuze I have had

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2012 02:45:37 | More by DarthKostrizer

ehammond1

California

4.58/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle (2011)

Thanks for sharing, JealousChalice!

Faint haze throughout the gold and amber body. Quickly forming, tall, and persistent white head. Thin sheets and spots of lacing mess the glass.

Tart and sour aroma, though rich, deep, layered, and complex: tart citrus, grass, earth and rock, body funk, and of course stinging, explosive sourness throughout. Not quite as good as the Lente or Zomer versions.

Taste follows the aroma very similarly: huge sour and tart character, lots of lemon, earth and rock, grass, musty body and funk, and the oak shines through more and more as the beer warms. Wonderful! I still would choose the Lente and Zomer over this.

Light to medium bodied, though incredibly well carbonated. Spritzy and light yet coating and full all at the same time. A joy.

A near perfect gueuze.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2012 03:12:33 | More by ehammond1

UCLABrewN84

California

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

Thanks to JealousChalice for sharing this one at MrHirschybar's place!

Pours a murky copper orange with a tan head that settles to a thin cap. Small dots of lace stick to the glass on the drink down. Smell is very sour and funky with fruits, hay, and an earthy aroma. Taste is very much the same as the smell with a very tasty sour and funky flavor that highlights lots of fruits and earthy flavors. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is an excellent gueuze and definitely a highlight of the night at the tasting. I am very happy I was able to try this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 22:51:20 | More by UCLABrewN84

stakem

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Credit goes to FooFaa for sharing this brew. Poured into a stemmed taster glass, the brew appears a hazed copper color with a finger of white froth. Some patchy strings of lace stick to the glass. A light swirl revives a finger of yellowish coloration back to the surface.

The smell of this brew is cheesy with funk, oak ad a bit of mildew character smelling of old cork and must. The grain inclusion comes across like dry biscuits, mildly toasty blending into more of a barnyard character that is horsey with straw.

The flavor includes notes of citrus twang that is both tangy and tart. There is a dry oaked quality about this brew that brings out a fair amount of dryness, oak, must, mildew and old cork feel to it. There is an herbal inclusion that is mildly cooling and almost minty.

This is a medium to light bodied brew with a modest, yet lively level of carbonation. There is little to no alcohol inclusion whih really boosts the drinkability of this offering. In this series of Armand blends, I found Lente the best by leaps and bounds, Zomer my second favorite mostly because it's sharp yet easy drinking nature. While the winter and herfts are still outstanding offerings, they are very similar in nature to what I expect of a Geuze with only minor nuances showing as differences. I wish I could afford to drink these regularly because I would without hesitation take any of them again.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2012 19:22:52 | More by stakem

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

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

I enjoyed this courtesy of foofaa, from a cervoise. review #1800

The color is a golden amber with light haze and thick pale cap has an ultra fine bead. The fruitiness in the nose is strong with lemony odor and light floral accent, the nice thing about the aroma is the fruit tinges interwoven with a mild hay-like hop odor and light toasted grain accenting the wild yeast esters. A strongly carbonated feel with mild sweetness throughout and subtle acidic tinges which help to augment the mild funk in the feel with warming finish which is mostly dry.

The flavor has a rather bold quality with a mildly hoppy taste which comes off as woody with slightly dry nutty sweetness which could be wheat flavors but the sour citrus is the focal point from all the lactic sourness in the bugs with a pretty complex wood component the beer finish is dry with a light acidity that is refreshing and bold. Overall a great Gueuze ...I am glad I had the chance to share in the enjoyment of this with friends. a light accent of funk which helps bring out the acidity refreshes - highly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2012 19:40:50 | More by Slatetank

callmemickey

Pennsylvania

4.63/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle opened 1/16/2012

A: Pale copper body. Slightly hazy. Massive bubbly head. Amazing, dense lacing coats nearly every inch of the glass.

S: Earthy, mineral qualities dominate the initial aroma. Lemon, hay, and a bit of funk rounds out the back end. Zesty. Mild must.

T: Juicy citric notes are the first to leave their impression. Lemon, oranges, a bit of green apple. Must and funk is mild and is pushed to the background. Restrained acidity. Some wet oak. The nose was deceptive here. Very nice, but I was expecting an earthier blend.

M: Assertive carbonation, mild acidity. Dry and crisp up until the very last second when a pinch of tartness kicks in.

O: Herfst is interesting. For me Lente has that huge earthy/mineral/funky character in both the nose and the flavor. Zomer has that cleaner citric character in the flavor department. Herfst is a somewhere between the two... earthy in smell, juicy in taste. Another winner.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 18:48:46 | More by callmemickey

largadeer

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks Nick!

Light brown body with slight haze, capped by a huge mousse head that lasts.

Earthy, funky nose. Hay, grapefruit, damp wood, aged sharp cheese. More earthiness than Lente. Mushroom, soil, unique mix of earth and citrus.

A lot of citrus on the palate up front, very grapefruity with lemon undertones and a slight raw graininess. Faintly herbal, much more earthy and funky toward the finish. Balanced oak and citrus, with mild lactic sourness. Moderate tannin in the finish, though not too sticky or lingering. Exceptionally good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 22:35:21 | More by largadeer

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.97/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Served side by side with the other three Armand'4 variants on this New Year's Eve. Served in a Drie Fonteinen tumbler.

Pours a clear ultra light copper color with a foamy white head and great lacing on the way down. The nose carries loads of funk. Some light citric character in the background as well. Flavor has loads of earthy funk as well. Incredibly complex. Light citrus and good acidity. Light body with spritzy carbonation and a very dry finish. Light acidity. Awesome. Boom.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 22:25:38 | More by Thorpe429

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.83/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle (in a Lambic basket, which is always a nice thing to see stateside) into a Weyerbacher tulip. Thanks to the generous sharer at CdC!

A: Cloudy orange body under a lovely finger of creamy tan head. Great retention, solid lace. Lovely looking Lambic.

S: Spicy, earthy, cheesy funk. Almost leafy, like autumn itself. Terrific.

T: Classic 3F: dry, earthy, dirty funk up front, with some fruity green apple sourness backing it up. Absolutely fantastic, clean finish. Dry, delicious, amazing.

M: Almost full, creamy body with plenty of lively, similarly creamy froth. Great, but actually a little creamier than they style calls for. That's how good this beer is: I'm complaining about it being TOO luxurious.

O: The only reason I'm not giving it a perfect score hear is that it's still not as good as Lente. It's a damn close second, though, and certainly better than Zomer IMO. I can't wait to try the Winter. This series is proving again and again to be the absolute pinnacle of Geuze perfection.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2011 20:33:35 | More by woosterbill

bashiba

Iowa

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

Poured a nice dark cloudy amber with a thick and creamy head, long lasting and nice sticky head.

The smell is nice and musty with a nice sourdough bready and a touch of balsamic and lemon.

The flavor has a nice sour bite, has a smooth griany malt flavor with a dry crackery finish. Has a very balanced and even level of sourness.

The mouthfeel is crisp and ultra dry.

Great gueze. Very drinkable and enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2011 02:15:35 | More by bashiba

alcstradamus

Illinois

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

Pours a deep copper/gold with an enormous fluffy head that requires careful pouring.

The aroma is dirty earth, lemon zest, dust...beautiful, classic gueuze aroma. Can't barely take my nose out of the glass.

The flavor is a complete departure from the first two in the series. Almost in an indescribable way, especially considering the base lambics are the same. Incredibly juicy and fruity with a dull earthiness and pucker that screams drinkability.

The body is heavier for the style and carbonation is high.

Overall, from memory I like this better than Zomer and better than my most recent bottle of Lente. But the first two bottles of Lente were better. This is top shelf beer. A side by side will eventually crown the victor.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2011 01:58:18 | More by alcstradamus

oline73

Maryland

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

I was able to try this beer at the bottle share during the Jackie O's release event. Awesome! Poured from a bottle into a goblet.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy golden amber color with a half finger of foamy white head that fades to a good size ring around the edge of the glass.

Smell: Quite sour and super funky. Some herbal notes, quite light and crisp.

Taste: This is a very sour and funky beer. The best description I can give is that hay like flavor that you find in a good gueuze. Herbal notes join the sourness, very light and easy to drink.

Mouthfeel: The body is light with very smooth, delicate carbonation. The finish is extremely dry.

Overall: This is an awesome gueuze. It is so sour yet so easy to drink. I wouldn't change a thing.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2011 00:10:46 | More by oline73