What? you may ask. There are a couple of things I should clarify first of all. Lambic beers are brewed mostly in Payottenland, southwest of Brussels in the River Zenne valley. They are neither classed as ales nor lagers (although at a push you’d call them ales), but fermented from wild yeasts, and probably the most complex beer style produced. They are the most difficult beers to produce, taking up to 3 years of aging, and lending much to 17th century brewing techniques.
The 2nd point to explain is that Framboise translates as raspberry, and this is actually part of a family of 4 available in the USA the others being Kriek (cherry), Peche (peach), and Cassis (black cherry). These are in fact the most common types of fruit lambic. It’s a process whereby fruit is added and creates a 2nd fermentation; I guess you could say it’s a little like turning beer into wine, these Belgians really are clever.
With framboise lambic you get exactly what you’d expect, pull the cork (yes cork) and you’ll get an immediate raspberry aroma waiting to escape. Smell the cork and you’ll also notice the raspberry there too.
I poured mine and got a little liveliness at first. The body is a deep bloody red, the head is pink. Unlike most Belgian brews, the head quickly disappears. The aroma is pretty deep. Of course the raspberry jumps out, but you’ll also get a little earthiness, which may be hard to detect at first. The beer is pretty light on the palate and drinks as easily as a sweet cider. I actually had to discipline myself to drink this slowly. The flavor, as you would expect, is predominantly sweet, it’s raspberry and it’s also sweetened to cover the tartness. There is a hint of sourness which hits you towards the back and a slight lingering dryness. You are left chewing on raspberries though for some time afterwards. The more studious may notice that there is actually a beer behind the raspberry.
As far as I’m concerned this is a great creation although not for everyone and not for every occasion. I would never consider buying a six pack although I’d certainly buy a bottle 3 or 4 times a year. For me it’s an ideal beer to share with my wife, although they always seem to disappear pretty quickly.
Basically this is a dessert wine. Enjoy it as an after dinner drink or with a little chocolate cake, or why not raspberries?
Tasting Notes - Long before hops were common in most beers, various fruits and vegetables were used to season beers. The acidity of Lambic beers ble...More at Napacabs.com
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