UPDATED: AUG 17, 2021 Golden color with a small white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Oaky, wood, lacto, lime, hay, and a sour finish.

UPDATED: AUG 10, 2021 Bottle, 750 ml at Lambikodroom. Shared with Miro B, Hrvoje, Gerardo, Miro and Kris. Hazy deep orange with medium white head. Fruity, some nuts, Tad sweet, caramel, chewy, funky, medium sourness. Seems less funky and complex than Lente, but still very nice and gentle.

UPDATED: AUG 3, 2021 The summer version in this highly coveted series of ‘seasonal geuzes’ by 3 Fonteinen’s Armand Debelder, one of the last to contain lambic brewed by Debelder himself before the ‘thermostat incident’ that put an end to brewing. I never had this version when it was released as a one-off back in 2011 and it has become increasingly difficult (and expensive) to find them as vintage bottles, so I was ecstatic to learn that Lambik-o-Droom is now selling a remainder of these ten year old vintage bottles for on-site consumption. Dusty bottle – complete with cobwebs and even a shriveled dead spider on it – without label, but I will assume that the guy who served it, picked the right one from their stock. Thick, dense, off-white, thickly plaster-like lacing, very stable head remaining closed for a very long time, on a misty deep ‘honeyish’ orange blonde beer with amber tinge, turning darker as the bottle gets emptied – and showing a lively swirl of sparkling, so apparently carbon dioxide levels have not suffered from ten years of storage, on the contrary. Utterly refined, delicate bouquet: a lot of medium dry sherry from oxidation, but matching remarkably well with the ‘original’ lambic features which are largely intact, though in a softened way; impressions, apart from that old sherry effect, include old wet wood, dried apricot, roses, dried thyme, old straw, dusty cellar, mandarin peel, hints of grass silage, purple gooseberry, very old dry white wine. Fruity onset, very lively and convincingly so even, with a lot of old wrinkled apple, dried apricot, gooseberry and yellow-green plum, bathing in a finely tingling carbonation effect lifting up the flavours rather than interfering with them, thanks to all these minute bubbles; a sweetish peachy core is there too, but soft tartness prevails. Soft, almost velvety mouthfeel, soft bread-crusty, fluffy malt core gently dried by lactic tartness, wet-woody tannins and strong ‘old sherry’ oxidation, while all the estery complexity, refreshing apple and gooseberry sourness and, eventually, moldy orange-like Bretty funkiness add further layers of flavour. This whole flavour structure remains remarkably soft, elegant and even juicy, a bit orange-like even in the end, while a thyme- and dried lemon peel-like, earthy, ‘deep’ bitterness closes things off in a most delicate way. I unfortunately missed this one when it was young, but this bottle is clearly ‘graced with age’, having matured perfectly with a layer of old sherry that matches the rest of the flavours, which have remained lively and intricate as ever. An absolutely beautiful, very ‘malse’ geuze – compared with a strongly oxidized and therefore rather disappointing bottle of Horal Mega Blend of the same age that I got a sample from later the same day, it is clear that this Armand’4 series is a very powerful one, one which can stand the test of time like only the greatest geuzes can. Bafflingly beautiful and sophisticated.

UPDATED: JUL 1, 2020 Rami Rami is drinking an Armand'4 Zomer (Summer) by Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen at Artezan - craft beer pub Mocno owocowe, dosc juz czuc wiek, tak papierowo nie piwnicznie, w uscie jest nieco kwasnosci, nieco slodyczy, grzecznie dosc, te owoce takie morele jakby? Slodkie, suszone? Ocet? Moze mini w posmakach. Pyszka, unikalne, ale... za stare kapke

UPDATED: APR 3, 2020 (Bottle, purchased ar De Bier Tempel, Brussels, a couple of years ago) Pale amber colour, slightly hazy, with frothy off-white head. Fruity, sourish nose with cellar, grapefruit, sour grapes, unripe apricots, barnyard and funk. Fruity, tart taste with pink grapefruit, wood, cellar, unripe fruit, tart apples, apricots, grapes and a solid, but balanced, barnyard tartness in the finish. Medium body, dry. Tart and funky, still elegant and very nicely balanced. Decent lockdown consolation beer. Ridiculously good.

UPDATED: NOV 10, 2019 Bottle: Poured a dirty golden color lambic with a rather large off-white foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of funky Brett notes with some tart notes as well as oak. Taste is a complex mix of tart notes, oak and funky barnyard notes with very little sour notes with some light chalk notes also noticeable. Body is about average with good carbonation. Solid lambic and quite lively considering the age of the bottle.

UPDATED: SEP 24, 2019 Wineglass showing pale amber with half a finger of clean white foam. The nose shows subtle notes of brett, hay, and grass. The palate is well carbonated and light bodied. Moderately tart with light flavors of brett and biscuit.

UPDATED: SEP 14, 2019 Bottle @ home. Hazy amber colour, lots of foam. Lively carbonation. Tart, lemony, notes of citrus. Some minerally notes. Very complex and well balanced gueuze. Great!

UPDATED: AUG 7, 2019 750 ml bottle, shared by Werckmeister, many thanks! Pours a hazy amber with a quickly disappearing white head. Aroma of smooth funk, leather, tart grapes, wood, light peachy notes - very smooth smell. Medium body with a lively carbonation, a medium acidity and a medium tartness. The flavor is similar to the smell - wood, mild leathery funk, tart wood, berry pits and a light tart fruitiness. Finishes dry and woody. Overall very smooth and balanced with a good complexity. Very good! Aroma: 8 Appearance: 4 Taste: 8 Palate: 4 Overall: 18

UPDATED: JUL 28, 2019 750 ml bottle, 2010 vintage. Many thanks to Werckmeister for organising this! Dark amber, medium hazy body, with a big, fluffy, yellowish head. Beautiful aroma of wood, red apple, apricot, old cheese, horse blanket, green apple skin, slight vinegar. Tastes similar, while a bit straighter. Medium, slick mouthfeel, with a moderate carbonation. Finishes dry, fruity, wooden, musty, with green apple skin, earth, some apricot, slight funk. Very tasty! Especially the nose is great, very complex, with diverse fruit and funk notes. Very crisp for the age. Lovely, while not my favourite from the set. Score: 9 / 4 / 8 / 4 / 17