Framboise Lambic (Lindemans)

sdixon · September 22, 2011, 10:03:10 PM

I recently picked up a few bottles of Belgian beer in Freeport (Lambic Framboise / Chimay - Red / Steen Brugge - Dubbel Bruin)... the best stocked grocery store I have ever seen! I sampled these 3 - 750ml bottles in the best form... with good friends. It was tasted in champaign flutes.

Framboise Lambic by Lindemans:

Fruit beers are one thing... Framboise Lambic is a journey unto itself! I'll spoil the ending right now... this beer was fantastic, if not a typical beer.

Appearance - The first appearance was that of deep ruby with obvious berry look. The head was deep (1/2 poured depth) and pink, with fine bubbles. My second thought was "this doesn't look like beer" unless it was in a psychedelic techno color world. My third thought was this looks nice! So deep ruby, nice pink head with good retention.

Smell - Raspberry! It is all raspberry. It smelled like desert. But it smelled real, not fake and contrived. It was pleasant and complex. At this point, I'm still wondering... what is this going to taste like?

Taste - First impression is raspberry pie with almost perfect balance... not too sweet, but a little, real raspberry taste but not overpowering (hard to describe this beer actually). The taste lingered with a refreshing mild aftertaste. I thought, this would be a nice aperitif or warm summer afternoon refreshment... well actually, one of these would taste good anytime of day :-)

Mouthfeel - Think Prosecco. Prosecco is a nice Italian white sparkling wine (I prefer it to Champaign). It had nice bubbly feel, refreshing, but still somehow, substantial on the tongue... it wasn't too light, it had some body, with fizz and a nice smooth berry finish.

Overall Impression - Not your standard "beer", but I liked this beer. Both friends really enjoyed it as well, and I must say, one of them has not been considered an adventurous beer drinker. Excellent taste, mouth feel and overall enjoyment. I will be buying more of this beer.

Lambic has a new respect in my mind for beer.

Kyle · September 22, 2011, 10:22:11 PM

good to know, this was available last time I went down South, but I ended up skipping it... next time.

JohnQ · September 23, 2011, 01:09:25 PM

Thanks for the review,

I've got 2 bottles down in the cellar with what's still left from all the micros I brought back in July...I think I may be tempted to sample this now.

JQ

sdixon · September 23, 2011, 10:34:39 PM

I'm sure if you guys have a bit of an open mind... you will enjoy! I sure did.

Richard · September 23, 2011, 10:46:03 PM

Had a couple of lambics in the UK. Bloody wonderful; would be interested in figuring out how to brew them without spontaneous fermentation.

HappyHax0r · December 28, 2011, 01:04:42 PM

Quote from: "Richard"Had a couple of lambics in the UK. Bloody wonderful; would be interested in figuring out how to brew them without spontaneous fermentation.

Apparently White labs and Wyeast have strains of both weakened Brettanomyces, and Lactobascillus for just such a task. The problem is that it takes forever for these beers to sour and age (up to 1 year or more in some cases!) and you have to be very careful with your equipment (practically doing steam sanitization...)

There are people who've done it on homebrewtalk, you should check it out

. Also HBT's IRC channel is an awesome resource for such things, talk to "Bsdx", or "Ikonis", or "Saq"

.

Shawn · December 28, 2011, 03:01:38 PM

If you liked this beer, I strongly recommend you try to get your hands on some other Lambic (fruit or non-fruit)... Lindemans is ok, but once you try some Hansenns, Drie Fonteinen, Cantillon, you'll be completely blown away.

sdixon · December 28, 2011, 07:42:23 PM

Love to get my hands on some of those that you mentioned. I've heard of the Cantillon, but not the others... do you know where I can get some?

Shawn · December 28, 2011, 09:36:27 PM

If you're ever in Portland or Bangor, ME, there's beer bars that have them by the bottle. Some beer stores in Portland have them as well, but the Cantillons usually blow off the shelves as soon as they're on there.

Oddly enough, whenever I've been in Calgary visiting my brother, there's ALWAYS Cantillon readily available, and for quite decent prices, considering how hard they are to get. I therefore always bring back a couple, and get my brother to bring some to me if he's coming to visit. I currently have 4 different types of Cantillon on hand, and hopefully will have another couple in a few weeks. I've managed to pick up some Hannsens as well from a recent Maine trip. Keep an eye out for Fantome (a very small Belgian brewery that makes some fantastic, funky Saisons) as well; also Jolly Pumpkin from Dexter, Michigan is doing great things with sour beers... those are usually quite easy to find in Portland, Bangor, etc.

Richard · December 28, 2011, 10:13:43 PM

Aye would be a lot harder to pin down the technique with something like that when you're waiting a year rather than a few weeks for feedback on your process... Still might give those white labs cultures a go once I've got the Saison down. I figure this is one of those things where you need exceptional beer to start with, before you move on and start layin' down the funk.

HappyHax0r · December 28, 2011, 10:25:11 PM

Quote from: "Richard"Aye would be a lot harder to pin down the technique with something like that when you're waiting a year rather than a few weeks for feedback on your process... Still might give those white labs cultures a go once I've got the Saison down. I figure this is one of those things where you need exceptional beer to start with, before you move on and start layin' down the funk.

It's a lot more involved because apparently really good sours contain multiple strain infusions over time...

Richard · December 28, 2011, 11:02:28 PM

Definitely would need a lot of reading first. Will look for a book - anyone got any suggestions?

sdixon · December 29, 2011, 11:20:05 AM

It would nice to have some of these cultures in our library to experiment with.

Shawn · December 29, 2011, 11:37:03 AM

Arguable, but probably NOT the best cultures to keep in a library and try to build up from a slant. Keep in mind a lot of the Wyeast cultures, for example, include bacteria (often several different types) as well as yeast(s). All of these have different oxygen requirements (if at all), and would definitely change with starters, previous uses, etc.

Richard · December 29, 2011, 11:49:46 AM

Yeah I think the issue would be the same as propagating a yeast blend... likely not ideal for slanting or propagating mixed. Best ask Thomas what he thinks.