3 Fonteinen J & J Oude Geuze Roze

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Pours with an almost three-finger thick, light tan colored head. The beer sits in my glass an amber tinged, honey color, but shows a brilliantly clear, copper color when held up to the light. The aroma has an appetizing lactic sourness to it up front that only becomes more intoxicating as one digs deeper into the aroma. Aromas of berry-like nail polish, tart grapefruit, perhaps a touch of pear, hints of honey-like malt, a bit of cat piss, maybe a hint of woodiness. Somehow this manages to smell thicker and heartier than your typical Gueuze. It is mellow for a Gueuze, at least the aroma is, not nearly as funky as some, though it is note anything near an artificial Lambic.

This beer is very dry, quite tart, and it does not feel thick as the aroma suggested, which is good as a Gueuze should not be thick. It does have some structure to it, with tannic oak character providing a creamy mouthfeel to this brew. The oak also seems to contribute a touch of character in the finish that has some light spiciness to it. This has a full on sourness to it that is not just Lactic, some other acids play a part here as the acidity seems a bit sharper than lactic gets on its own; it has touches of nail polish and maybe some acetic notes. Brettanomyces character is here, but does not play an aggressive role; musty leather, a touch of barnyard, butyric soaked cotton balls, and a sharp mushroom note are each noticeable to varying degrees. A medium level of carbonation is evident and provides a soft prickle as it passes through my mouth.

The second pour of the bottle provides a bit more haze from the sediment and yields some aromatic notes reminiscent of tart cherries, though this note seems to quickly dissipate. The texture becomes much more carbonated again, which makes the beer seem quite a bit lighter. Additional noticed flavors of sour grapefruit, light notes of tannic green tea, a touch of hot higher alcohols in the finish.

This is on the light side of the carbonation spectrum for a traditional Gueuze, but honestly the level of carbonation seems to have dropped considerably in the last couple of years, as most seem to be slightly more carbonated than your standard beer, which this is, as opposed to aggressively carbonated. I prefer the aggressive carbonation, as it seems more rustic and makes the beers feel lighter. I like this beer, but the nail polish note seems a bit off-putting at times, though it is always fairly light.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Orange colour with mediumsized off-white head. Aroma is sourness, wood and some fruits in a really nice balance. Flavour is sourness, wood, some grass and slight fruity notes. Aftertaste is grapes and sourness. Really wellbalanced and fullbodied thing.