Sour, Funky, Tart, Stinky and ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!
Written: Oct 16 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sour, intense, and infinitely complex
Cons: Too tart for some...
The Bottom Line: Boon Framboise is an amazingly complex lambic with a tart flavor and a deliciously light raspberry flavor. An absolute classic.
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Boon Framboise |
As I was poking around in the beer fridge last night, trying to decide what to sample for the evening's tippel, I realized that I have a heck of a lot of beers in there that I've never reviewed and that have been in there a while and should probably be sampled before too long. This could portend a spate of new beer reviews from me, unless of course I get sidetracked...
One of those unreviewed treasures is a bottle of Boon Framboise. (How the heck have I managed to ignore this beer for the past two years??)
I've got a soft spot in my heart for the wildly bizarre flavor sensations of great lambic ales, and everything Frank Boon brews is "one of my favorites". This Framboise is a case in point. In my opinion, Boon's Framboise is one of two brands that I consider to be the absolute perfection of the lambic framboise style (the other being Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus). I love great lambics, and I'm a big proponent of traditional craftsmanship, so there should be no big surprise that I hold Boon in such high regard.
Before I pop open this bottle of Boon Framboise, let me pause for a moment to share my views on what exactly it is that represents a truly good lambic style ale -- especially a good fruit lambic.
What Constitutes a "Good" Lambic Beer?
If ever there was a style of beer that earned Belgians the right to be known as the "artists" of the beer world, it's lambic. The beers are weird. Or more precisely, bizarre. They taste sour -- strongly sour -- as in you would throw it away if you didn't know better. Not only that, but they have strong aromas and flavors that would indicate a serious brewing flaw in any other style -- things like the smell of old horse blankets or an outhouse that could use a good flushing. Hang with me...I'm serious! These are good things!
Here's a foolproof way to judge just how good a lambic is. Give a glass to your mom, your neighbor, or maybe a poor unsuspecting co-worker. What happens?
A) S/he takes a sip, makes a face, and hands it back. (Average lambic)
B) S/he takes a sip, gags and spits in your face. (Good lambic)
C) S/he takes a sip, face turns red as a radish, falls over on floor with legs in air looking like an armadillo on the side of I-10, erupts in explosions of uncontrolled flatulence (Excellent lambic)
D) S/he takes a sip, smiles, dances for joy, kisses you, downs glass, proposes marriage, asks for more (God I hate those smartass beer connoisseurs)
So where was I?
Oh yeah! Weird.
Lambics are weird and they're sour. They get that way because of the way they're brewed.
Lambics are a Belgian style, made near Brussels in an area called Payottenland, along the Senne River valley. If it is not from this region, it is not a genuine lambic.
The mash uses a proportion of unmalted wheat (typically about 1/3) in the grist and the hops that are used are old, aged hops that often smell of stale cheese. When hops get too old, they lose their ability to contribute floral aromas to the beer, but they still contribute bitter flavor that can counter-balance the sweet flavors of malt. That's just want lambic brewers want! Hence, the older the better.
The real trick of lambic brewing isn't in the brewing though, it's in the fermenting. After the brewing stage, the unfermented wort is piped into large open fermentation vats and the roof of the brewery is swung open to let all of the naturally occurring yeast and other microflora that nature cares to provide in to ferment the beer. After the beer ferments, it is aged in wooden barrels, further contributing microflora that can potentially ferment out any remaining sugars. While most of the world's breweries are clinically sanitized and sterilized to limit microflora only to pure strains of saccharomyces cerevisae, the natural spontaneous fermentation is caused by a range of different micro-organisms, including brettanomyces, pediococcus, and lactobacillus. This is what gives the beer so much complexity and what creates the bizarre mix of aromas and flavors that would mean a spoiled batch of beer in any place in the world.
Knowing that lambics aren't a flavor that most drinkers will easily adopt, Belgian brewers temper the flavors by creating different sub-styles and varieties, like the raspberry framboise that Boon produces.
Belgian brewers often add fruit to their lambic beers and they then do a second fermentation. The sugars and sweet flavors of the fruit helps temper the rough lambic. Lambics labeled kriek are flavored with cherries, framboise with raspberries, peche with peaches. Other fruit flavors may be available, but these three are the most common. Look for these varieties from Liefman's, Timmerman's, Cantillon, and Belle-Vue. If you are lucky enough to visit Belgium, you will undoubtedly find other brands that the Belgians prefer to keep for themselves...
Fruit flavored lambics vary considerably, with some putting an overwhelming emphasis on the fruit flavor (usually implying huge amounts of added sugar to temper the acidity of the underlying lambic base) -- Liefmans Framboise is a classic example of this approach. Some brewers (such as Boon and Cantillon) take the polar opposite view, celebrating the tart and the funky as much as possible and using the fruit in smaller doses to augment and work with the lambic.
Sampling a Glass of Boon Framboise...
It's been said that lambic beers are a style that walks the line between beer and wine. There's some truth to that, especially when it comes to what kind of glassware best shows off the character of the drink. I've always thought that tall, delicate, well-balanced, sparkling clean, champagne glasses are the way to serve a good lambic, and so I'm pulling down a clean Riedel Vinum champagne glass for this brew. Without further ado, let's pop this bad boy open and taste what all the fuss is about...
Appearance:
The beer pours with a light red, pinkish color, excellent clarity, and an aggressive carbonation level with coarse bubbles that make it look more like a champagne than the thick head of a typical beer.
Aroma:
Very complex and vinous with a big fruit nose of tart raspberry -- there is an acidic sharpness on this, almost like sniffing a fresh squeezed lemon or lime, but without the citric signature. Swirl the glass around, especially as it warms a bit, and the complex mix of fermentation by-products make their presence known. There is some soft mustiness and a light barnyard scent that are the hallmark of a brett. infection in an ordinary beer, or one of the signatures of a true lambic.
Flavor:
Boon Framboise is dry and fairly acidic with a big tartness that first-time lambic drinkers will very likely find offensive. The body is light and spritzy feeling, in the same way that champagne or mineral water feel when they cross the palate. The raspberry flavor is refreshing and unmistakable, and (as is usual when brewing with fruit), the sugars have fermented out, leaving behind more of a tart fruit signature than a sweet fruit signature (think of the difference between Sweet Tart candies and a raspberry jam and you'll be on the right track).
Verdict:
Boon Framboise is a sophisticated, elegant beer that delivers a true taste of how authentic lambic framboise ales should taste. It is not a beer that easily rewards the novice beer drinker, but it holds out the promise of authenticity and tradition to the drinker who is as much a purist as Frank Boon is (not only as a beer enthusiast, but as a lambic brewer and blender).
This is a fine glass of beer that lives up to every expectation. A mere sip calls to mind many evenings drinking this brew with good friends who love beer as much as I do...
About Boon...
Frank Boon's claim to fame is more as a master of the art of blending lambics than as a master brewer, although he garners huge respect from beer purists for his dedication to traditional brewing methods. Boon's brewery is located in the town of Lembeek -- the town that gives the style its name.
Boon's reputation as a lambic blender is no small feat since lambics are one of the few beer styles where blending is really the crux of the art. I can think of no other beer style that is routinely blended to the degree that lambics are. Blending allows the brewer a very good control over the flavor characteristics and the level of tartness in the bottled product. Batches of young and old lambics are blended at different levels based on the tastes of the blender.
Boon's Framboise is a blend of old and young lambics that is aged in oak for 2 years. Raspberries are added to the blended lambic at a rate of 200 grams of berries per litre of beer. Boon uses only whole fruit -- no juices or flavorings. Although Frank Boon does sweeten his lambic with a little bit of sugar, he uses a far more restrained hand than some of his competitors. Boon Framboise is imported in the United States by Vanberg and Dewulf of Cooperstown, New York (the people who run the Ommegang Brewery -- and for whom Belgian beer is a passion, not just a business).
Bottom of the Glass...
This is a true example of the pinnacle of the lambic art.
I won't go so far as to say this is the absolute definitive example of what framboise represents -- after all, there are beers like Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus out there (not to mention a few small brands that don't get sent across the pond). I will tell you that this is a world-class beer and is probably the best framboise that is widely available in the United States. Seek it out if you want to know how an authentic lambic framboise is supposed to taste!
Until next time, see you at the beer warehouse. As always, I'll be the guy signing second mortgage papers to pay for my purchase...
Recommended:
Yes
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