Monday, June 16, 2008

Father's Day gueuze-lambic

I admit it.

I do read reviews at ratebeer.com. And I do enjoy reading them, but not for the reasons that maybe I should.

As an illustration, read these three comments in reviews of 3 Fonteinen's Schaerbeekse Kriek:

Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek
  • Acidic fruit that’s almost gueze [sp] like.
  • The aroma is mostly sour.
  • This is as close to a fine pinot noir you get by using cherries and beer.
Review comment 1
3 Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek is a gueuze beer; so I would be surprised if it didn't have a gueuze character (or as the brewery spells it, "geuze".)

Review comment 2
I don't know what sour smells like. That's something I normally associate with tasting.

Review comment 3
Burgundy (aka French Pinot Noir) would be my wine of choice, that is, if I were a rich man. 3 Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek is most definitely not a Pinot Noir. (Purchased for $24 in an Athens, Georgia beer/wine/spirits shop.)

It is however, a most delicious kriek gueuze-lambic: a slightly pink head, a bright red hue (from the infused and fermented Schaerbeekse cherries), a gentle garrigue like the aroma of a soaked backyard after a rain, a bright pitted fruitiness, and a creamy sourness which was more lactic than acetic, producing a softer beer than other lambics such as Cantillon. I'll need to taste other 3 Fonteinen lambics to see if this is a house character.

There is a lot of sediment in the bottle, so pour carefully. The more turbid glasses, although not as aesthetic in appearance as the initial, clearer pours, were still fine going down.

We enjoyed this 3 Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek on a Father's Day sunny, pleasantly warm afternoon.

Remembering Albert C. Cizauskas (1920-2002), my father.

***************
Ignore that Clipper City mug. Not that brewery!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comment here ...