3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Golden Blend

3F Golden Blend

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Description

Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze Golden Blend is the first commercially released geuze with a 4-year-old component included in the blend, as well as the standard 1, 2, and 3-year-old lambics. It has been released in various batches since 2011. The 2011 batch is listed at 6% ABV while the 2014 batch is listed at 7.5% ABV. When the third bottling was released in 2014, the format was changed to 750 mL bottles.

History / Other Notes

The first batch of Oude Geuze Golden Blend was released in 375 mL bottles in early 2012 after being bottled in early 2011. It was released with two labels, one for the U.S import approved on February 24, 2012 and one for the rest of the world. Part of the Armand-brewed lambic remaining after the thermostat incident was used for the 4-year-old component of this blend.

There were at least two other attempts to release a similar blend in 2012 and 2013 between the first and second release, but these blends did not carbonate and were released as Golden Doesjel.The second batch of Oude Geuze Golden Blend was released in the summer of 2015 after having been bottled in March 2014. The second batch consists of the same 1, 2, 3, and 4-year-old lambic blend as the previous batch. Initial descriptions via online retailers noted a 5-year old lambic in the blend; however, the oldest lambic used in the second batch was four "brewing seasons" old and thus somewhere between four and five years old at the time of blending and bottling.

As of the 2017 bottling, Golden Blend continues to be a regular release from the brewery.

Unsubstantiated Stories

The small amount of four year old lambic that was left over after making the first batch of Golden Blend was bottled and released at the Sour and Bitter Festival in 2012 as 3 Fonteienen Oude Lambiek (4 Year Old), the only unblended lambic bottled by Armand to be released to the public.

Label

2017 Label:

Bottle Log

Bottle Log

Bottle Date (mm/dd/yyyy)	Bottle Size	Label / Notes	Image Link
02/17/2011	375 mL	6% – Blend of 1, 2, 3, and 4-year-old lambic
03/12/2014	375 mL	7.5% – Blend of 1, 2, 3, and 4-year-old lambic, some labels may say 6%
12/12/2014	750 mL	6% – Blend of 1, 2, 3, and 4-year-old lambic
02/05/2016	750 mL
09/27/2017	750 mL	51st blend of the 2016-17 season. Screen printed bottle, yellow cage/cap, 6.3% ABV
10/11/2017	750 mL	52nd blend of the 2016-17 season. Screen printed bottle, yellow cage/cap, 6.3% ABV. This specific Golden Blend has a proportion of 25% of 4.5-year old lambics on the moment of bottling. The lambics originate from 5 different barrels and 5 different brews of which one from January 2013 and one from May 2013.	-
11/30/2017	750 mL	6th blend of the 2017-18 season. The lambics in this Specific Golden Blend originate from 6 different barrels and 5 different brews. The oldest lambic was brewed by Brouwerij Lindemans and will have past the five year mark by the time of the release of this blend.
02/08/2018	375 mL	24th blend of the 2017-18 season. The oldest lambic in this particular Golden Blend was Brewed by Brouwerij Lindemans on the 27th of March 2014 and will have passed the five year mark by the time of release of this blend. The remaining lambics are different vintages of 3 Fonteinen.
07/16/2019	750 mL	91st blend of the 2018-19 season, 8.4% ABV. The lambic in this Golden Blend comes from 3 different barrels and 4 different brews. The older lambic was brewed on 1 February 2015 and was aroudn 4.5 years old at the time of bottling. The weighted average is just over 34 months at the time release.
01/23/2020	750 mL	31st blend of the 2019-20 season. This golden blend has been blended with lambikken from four different barrels and seven different brews. Three quarters of this blend consists of lambikken brewed by us. The oldest lambik was brewed in early 2016. As we have increased the average age of both the barrel room lambikken as well as the geuze bottle conditioning over the last three years, this blend resonates with Golden Blends 37 and 44, created in the same period.
02/11/2020	750 mL	37th blend of the 2019-20 season. This Golden Blend has been blended with lambikken from three different barrels and five different brews. The lambikken were brewed by three different breweries. It is one of the first blends in which we used lambik brewed by Brouwerij De Troch in Wambeek. The oldest lambik was brewed in early 2016. As we have increased the average age of both the barrel room lambikken as well as the geuze bottle conditioning over the last three years, this blend resonates with Golden Blends 31 and 44 created in the same period.
02/17/2020	750 mL	44th blend of the 2019-20 season. This Golden Blend has been blended with lambikken from four different barrels and four different brews. The lambikken were brewed by three different breweries. About one third of the blend consists of 3 Fonteinen lambik in which we jused Pajot-grown cereals, amont others Zeeuwe Witte wheat. The oldest lambik was brewed in early 2016. As we have increased the average age of both the barrel room lambikken as well as the geuze bottle conditioning over the last three yeyars, this blend resonates with Golden Blends 31 and 37, created in the same period.

Photos

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