Hanssens Oudbeitje Lambic

Tonight’s selection is the last beer that I picked up from Maine. It came highly recommended from one of the staff members there, and after drinking it, I’m not entirely sure as to why. But, I’m always into trying something new and unique, so let’s pop the cork on this one.

ABV: 6%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: According to the importer’s website, “Strawberries announce themselves in the nose where they mingle with aromas of earth, sharp cheddar cheese, vanilla, yogurt, and a Riesling-like petrol note.”

Random: I keep all of my bottle caps and corks. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them, but I guess I’ll either figure it out or toss them.

The cork was very tight in the bottle, but there was almost no pop when it came out. It poured with absolutely no head on top of a golden-yellow body that was quite cloudy. There was also no carbonation visible. The nose had very little in the way of strawberries or earth, or vanilla. Instead, I just get intense sourness that had white grapes. The taste had a bit more depth, but was again, intensely sour, to the point of being off-putting. It had some vanilla and some oak as well, but the sourness overwhelmed everything. It also had a white vinegar characteristic too. The body was light and there was no carbonation on the beer, which didn’t work for me either. The finish was thankfully quick and again sour. A bottle of this was expensive at $12, which came to $1 per ounce. This beer had a lot going on and it was definitely interesting, but I don’t think I’ll be having it again.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0

Mikkeller Spontancassis

This is one of the last beers that I have left from my Maine trip. It came highly recommended by the staff at the Bier Cellar, so I gave it a shot. They have a lot of other beers in this series that I haven’t tried, like chokeberry and rosehips. I’ve only had a few beers with currants, so this one is still unique, although I would like to try a chokeberry. Anyways, let’s see how this went.

ABV: 7.7%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “In the spontan series we present Spontancasssis – this time, forming an alliance with cassis (black currant) that were generously added underway the brewing process, creating a truly unique and distinct, sour beer.”

Random: This was brewed at D’Proef in Belgium.

This beer poured with a one finger, thin, pink head. It dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was clear and deep reddish-purple in color, almost wine-like. There was some carbonation visible. The nose was filled with cherries, lactobacillus and funk. The taste was intensely tart and dry. It had a lot of cherries and other berries and white vinegar. The body was light with moderate carbonation. It had a long and tart finish. This was a really nice beer that had a great fruit characteristic that was backed by a lot of tartness. A bottle of this was $14.99, which came $1.25 per ounce which was really pricey. If it were a bit cheaper, I would have this one again, but still, it was a solid and interesting beer.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Chapeau Fraise Lambic

Since I write the posts so far in advance, this will be old news by the time you read this, but I’m stuck home for a few days because I had surgery. I’ve never had surgery or been put under before, so this was a bit of a nerve-wracking experience. I also can’t drive for a few days because of the prescriptions they’ve put me on. I’m also a really crappy patient according to Val and I suck at relaxing. I also can’t drink until I’m done with the meds, so I guess this is a good time to get through my backlog.

ABV: 3%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: The website doesn’t offer much information about the beer, except that you can drink it 2 years after bottling.

Random: I have started watching some new shows since I’ve been home. I really like “Public Morals” and went through 5 episodes last night.

When I opened this bottle, the one thing that worried me was that the cork was soaking wet. I popped the cork and took a sniff and it smelled okay and quite fruity. It poured with no head on top of a pink-tinged body with moderate carbonation. The nose had fresh strawberry notes with vanilla and toasted wood. The taste had more of the fresh strawberry notes with a touch of the same oak that was in the nose, but no vanilla came out. It had a thin body with light carbonation. The finish was swift with strawberry. This was $6.99 for the bottle ($.41 per ounce), which wasn’t insanely expensive for an import. This was a nice lambic that went down easy. I would have this again. What was even more surprising, was that Val really enjoyed it and finished the entire glass.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Drie Fonteinen Intense Red Oude Kriek

This was the last bottle at Half Time and I knew it had to come home with me. I cracked it open last week.

ABV: 5%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: According to wikipedia.com, “3 Fonteinen was founded in about 1887 as a café and geuzestekerij, a place where geuze is produced by blending old and new lambics, acquired from other breweries. The enterprise was bought by Gaston De Belder in 1953, who expanded it with a restaurant and left it to his sons Armand and Guido in 1982. In 1998, a brewery installation was bought. Apart from using its own lambic, 3 Fonteinen uses lambic made by Boon, Girardin and Lindemans for its geuze. 3 Fonteinen is one of the few remaining geuzestekerijen. The Mijol Club, a literary club, founded by Herman Teirlinck, used to convene in the café. In May 2009, a faulty thermostat caused 3000 bottles to explode. The remaining overheated geuze was made into an eau de vie called ‘Armand’s Spirit’, the sales of which enough allowed the brewery to continue operations. In March 2013, after four years of interruption, Brewery 3 Fonteinen inaugurated its new brewing installation and is brewing its own lambic again. During the four year without its own installation 3 Fonteinen managed to keep its head above water by blending lambic that they bought from nearby lambic breweries like Boon and Girardin.

Random: Cherries are in season now. I should get some from Fresh Direct.

This beer poured with no head on top of a deep red, clear body. There wasn’t any carbonation visible. The nose was huge with sour cherries, oak and vanilla. Brett was present, but not as strong as the other notes. The taste was intense, as the name suggests. There was a lot of tart cherries and oak. Light chocolate was present too. The beer was tart, but not intensely so. The body was medium thick with light carbonation. It had a long, tart finish with cherries. This beer was expensive at $22.29 for the bottle, but definitely worth it for one of the best lambics I’ve ever had. If you see this on the shelf, you need to grab a bottle.

Untappd Rating: 5.0/5.0

Boon Framboise

Another day done. My boss was at my terminal today, which means that I was stuck in lots of meetings today. It was nice to get home at a decent time thought. Let’s get to the beer that Val ordered at Memphis Taproom.

ABV: 5.5%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Raspberry lambic was once a rarity and only produced for a few weeks during the summer. Frank Boon was the first brewer to again prepare a raspberry lambic in the summer of 1976. More than 300 grams per litre of fresh raspberries give Framboise Boon a fresh fruity taste. The young lambic supports the flavour. But this is very much about raspberries, not the lambic. Of course we do not use artificial flavourings, only real raspberries. Boon Framboise has an alcohol volume of 5%. Drink it when it is young.”

Random: I find the “rhyme time” category in Jeopardy irritating.

This beer poured with a one finger, pink head that dissipated slowly and left a lot of lacing o the glass. The body was a clear red color with light carbonation. The nose was very fruity with raspberry. I didn’t get much else from it. The taste had a lot of raspberry and light funk, which was disappointing as it could have used more. Some vanilla and toasted wood came through as well. The body was very light, bordering on watery with light carbonation. The finish was quick with raspberry and vanilla. This was a nice beer and if you haven’t tried it, it’s worth a shot.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek

Here’s another gem that I snagged at Half Time. It was the last bottle on the shelf, so let’s see how it was.

ABV: 6%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Oude Kriek 3 Fonteinen ontstaat door rijping van krieken (zowel het vruchtvlees als de pitten) in jonge lambik. Dit proces duurt tussen 6 tot 8 maanden en na de botteling rijpt het bier nog minstens 4 maanden in een warme kamer waar de spontane hergisting in de fles gebeurt. De schuimkraag van Oude Kriek is zeer gevoelig aan de concentratie van olie die de kriekenpitten bevatten en kan van jaar tot jaar lichtje verschillen. Aan oude Kriek 3 Fonteinen worden geen smaak-, zoet-, of kleurstoffen toegevoegd wat maakt dat dit bier zeer natuurlijk en vooral dorstlessend is.”

Random: I don’t understand any of that either.

This beer poured with a one finger, pink head. It dissipated slowly with no lacing left on my lambic glass. This is also the first time that I’ve had to use the glass, which I got for free at Half Time. The body was a deep, cloudy red with no visible carbonation due to the cloudiness. The nose had a lot of cherry notes with grape and some horse blanket. The taste was intensely tart with horse blanket and tart cherries. The intensity died down after a few sips. It had a light body with moderate carbonation. The finish was very long with horse blanket and cherries. This beer was $16.49 a bottle, which broke down to $1.37 per ounce. This was a really complex, enjoyable beer that I would have again, despite the high price tag.

Untappd Rating: 4.5/5.0

Free Will Key Lime Lambic

In other news, I think we got about 4-5 inches of snow here. I am beyond sick of the snow. It’s pretty and all, but we’ve just had so much of it this year. I guess I shouldn’t complain too much…I could live in Boston after all. I was hoping that this beer would remind me of summer.

ABV: 4.9%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Rotating series of Lambics, using natural fruit and NO back-sweetening. Planned offerings: Kriek Lambic (Sour Cherries), Peach Lambic, Key Lime Lambic, Framboise Lambic (Raspberries), Pomegranate Lambic, Barbera Grape Lambic”

Random: It’s not a good idea to watch a cooking show when you’re hungry and your other half is asleep.

This beer poured with a half a finger of white head on top of a slightly cloudy, greenish-yellow body. There was no lacing left on the glass and the head dissipated quickly. There was moderate carbonation visible as well. The nose was filled with key limes and sour notes. So far, I was really into this beer. The taste was very tart and had lots of key limes, with none of the sweetness you’d fine in key lime pie. There wasn’t anything else to the flavor. The body was on the medium side with moderate carbonation. It had a long tart finish with limes. I liked this beer, but I really enjoy tart things and I love limes. The other half couldn’t stand it. For $15.49 for a bottle, this is definitely expensive and although I thought the flavor was good and I enjoyed it, I wouldn’t buy it again due to the price.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Mikkeller Spontanframboos

Happy Monday everyone! After the most exhausting week ever, I have two days off. I’ll go into the details in a later post, but today the other half has charged me with “relaxing.” So, for me, that means reorganizing the beer area and updating the blog. This beer was originally purchased for the other half, although as soon as she took a sip, she didn’t like it, so it became mine to finish.

ABV: 7.7%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “WE AIM TO…… brew beer that challenge the concept of good beer and move people. We do this by using the best ingredients and work with the most talented and creative minds around the world. Make quality beers a serious alternative to wine and champagne when having gourmet food.”

Random: It seems like the NFL is just having a huge amount of high-profile issues. Definitely not cool.

This brew poured with a one finger, white head that dissipated slowly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a dusky, dark brown color with a pinkish hue. It had no visible carbonation due to color and cloudiness. The nose was tart with raspberries and not much else. The taste was really nice with lots of raspberries and yeast and light funk, which wasn’t nearly as intense as I would have guessed from the nose. There was a touch of light oak as well. It had a medium thick body with high carbonation. The finish was lengthy with raspberry and funk. I really enjoyed this beer. It was complex and had just the right amount of funk. I would definitely have this beer again.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Timmermans Pumpkin Lambicus

I picked up this beer awhile back for the lawyer. I think that my sister tried this a year or so when we went to City Tap House in Philly and she really enjoyed it. Let’s see how it was out of the bottle.

ABV: 4%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: According to anthonymartin.be, “Two traditions are brought together here in a unique complacency, namely an original succulence never tempted before. The result is sublime, liberating a graceful taste tinted by a controlled acidity on the lambic confused with the dry fruity of the pumpkin and the discreet sugar added. By crossing the middle of the mouth appears a taste of brown sugar remembering and accentuating the convivial touch of Halloween.”

Random: I feel like SNL is getting slightly funnier. I’m really enjoying watching it.

This brew poured with a half a finger of white head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a clear copper color with moderate carbonation visible. The nose presents with more spice than pumpkin. I got cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg primarily. It smelled a bit like a light pumpkin pie. The taste was pretty good. I had expectations of it being a tart bomb with spice and not meshing together at all. Instead, it had all of the pumpkin pie spices that were apparent in the nose, coupled with a bit of apple cider vinegar that was slightly tart, but not overwhelmingly so. It was very well-balanced. The body was on the light side with moderate carbonation. It had a quick finish with spice. The lawyer thought this one was okay, but nothing spectacular. This was a decent beer and an interesting take on a lambic that is worth a try if you see it on the shelves.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Allagash Coolship Cerise

Another day, back at work. This one day off a week thing really isn’t working for me. I woke up this morning and was more tired than when I went to sleep. Add to that, the fact that I hate sleeping in the heat. I would love to live somewhere that was cold all of the time. Anyways, onto the beer, which is a brewery exclusive and fermented on a coolship (thus the name).

ABV: 8.1%

Style: Lambic – Fruit

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Coolship Cerise is our spontaneous beer aged with a blend of Maine-grown cherries, including Balaton and Montmorency. Using local cherries makes our Cerise uniquely Maine, just like us.”

Random: When I was 16, I had the bright idea to dye my hair red. It didn’t really work for me.

This brew poured with a full finger of pure white that dissipated rather quickly. It didn’t leave any lacing on the glass. The body was a very cloudy orange/pink color with a lot of visible detritus floating around in the glass. The nose had a lot of funk with tart cherries as well. The aroma was quite pungent and really inviting. The taste started with a generous amount of tartness and funk. The cherry presence was a bit more subtle than expected. It came through at the end of the sip, but it was definitely the funk that took over this beer. The body was medium thickness with heavy carbonation. I couldn’t find any evidence of booze warming either. The finish was really quick with a dash of tartness to end the sip on. This beer is another example of how Allagash can really do no wrong in my book. It was a really well done sour that had enough fruit to make it really interesting. If you’re at the brewery, grab this one.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0