3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Selectie C
Description
3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Selectie C is a geuze blended specifically for the Japanese market from barrels chosen by Frank Cornelissen and Yoko Sano. It was bottled in the Spring of 2000 and was labeled as 7% ABV, making it slightly stronger than regular 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze. Bottles were sold at a restaurant in Mount Etna, Sicily, and through minimal distribution in Japan.
History / Other Notes
Frank Cornelissen is a Belgian born winemaker who owns and runs a winery in Mount Etna, Sicily. There are a lot of parallels between his work and those of the lambic brewers in Belgium. His wines are spontaneously fermented by placing the pressed grape juice (must) outside in plastic containers or in amphora pots that are buried to their necks in volcanic ash.
For Selectie C, a member of the Lambic.Info Facebook group adds the following from his conversation with Frank in 2016:
"Frank was initially dismissive of beer and beer culture but once he realized I was speaking specifically about geuze & lambic he opened up a little. In the late 1990s, shortly before moving to Sicily to become a fantastic winemaker, Frank had been working as a wine (but also some spirits and beer) broker in London and had been expanding his territory to Japan where his wife was from. He had a colleague in Japan who was interested in distributing an exclusive blend of geuze and he recommended approaching Armand at 3 Fonteinen to construct a blend.
Once at 3F, Frank was particularly interested in some half or partially filled barrels of 1997, '98 & '99 lambic that contained quite a bit of rich dregs and sediment for the blend. Once the blending was done, he chose the name "Selectie C", the "C" standing for Cloesjke (or "kloesjke", Flemish slang for remainders or dregs).
Almost all of the bottles were distributed to Japan in mid-2000 where they pretty much dried up off of shelves around 2011."
Bottle Log
| Bottle Date (mm/dd/yyyy) | Bottle Size | Label / Notes | Image Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05/25/2000 | 750ml | 7% ABV | 
|
Label
Bottle Text:
Brewed according to ancient traditions, this unique beer ferments in a natural, spontaneous way, and ages in oak barrels to transform into the complex Lambic. Master brewer Armand Debelder has blended a variety of the more concentrated 1 to 3 year old lambics into this selection. After the spontaneous refermentation in the bottle due to the residual sugars in Armand's final blend, this special selection aged 3 years in the 3 Fonteinen brewery in order to gain its enormous complexity that equals great, natural wines. This beer was bottled 25-05-2000, and has not been filtered nor pasteurized. It will therefore show a natural deposit which is a sign of the quality. Due to this beer's naturally high acidity and extract, it can be tasted now for its freshness, although long aging will add to its complexity.
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