Rastacouere (5409), Montréal, Quebec, Canada Sep 11, 2007 Old beer from De Ranke mixed with Girardin Lambic (possibly the finest one to my taste) - Is that a winning formula or what? Yes it is. Huge yellowy head tops the cloudy light orange hue. Remarkable lacing. Hugely attractive cheesy, mushroomy nose. Bright and mostly clean, the lambic character is subdued, yet present and enhancing of the already tremendous base beer. Excellent grip on the palate, tart white chardonnay with its nutty creaminess. Pineapple brettiness with very fresh light lemony and floral hops. Absolutely unique for a sour beers, it has this confident hop kick that never intereferes with the sourness. Complex, lively, multi-faceted farmhouse ale. Refreshing, supple flavours. What a kickass brewery. Every ingredient can be retraced to its origins in this one, yet it feels completely united. I would have expected this beer to be racking the 4+, it is amongst my top 5 favourite beers of my 2007 european trip.
JPDIPSO (4286), Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, USA Oct 9, 2008 Hazy dark golden color. Modest wispy white head. Sweet sour scent with hints of malt, aged hard cheese and mild barnyard. Sweet start with some oak, leather and citrus joining in. Seems a bit lifeless and week. Expected more. Will rerate at some point, not sure what the occasion will be. MrChopin (207), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Oct 8, 2008 Amber with pink hues, a large but thin white head, mainly of bubbles. Nose is very lambic like with acidic sour and fruit, but the musty note is larger here, very earthy and damp. Flavor is conflicted, as if the mix never came together fully: sweet fruits taste syrupy while acidic gueze qualities seem too bitter. Palate is full, but the insufficient carbonation doesn’t hold it up, leaving it a little sluggish. This problem is alleviated slightly by warmth. All in all, this is a really good beer, but even though it comes from a dominant Girardin base, the mixing seems evident. thornecb (1144), Marblehead, Massachusetts, USA Sep 27, 2008 Pours amber into a snifter. No head whatsoever. Sour aromas. Tart and oaky from front to back. Lasting bitter finish. RCL (1083), Waltham, Massachusetts, USA Sep 27, 2008 Aroma reminds me of some sour candies from my childhood that I can’t quite put my finger on. Tart with light funkiness and what seems like some tannin backbone. bb (2168), Martinez, California, USA Sep 23, 2008 Bottle. Caramel colored beer with a whitish head. Oaky, musty, tart aroma. Tart flavor with oak and some woodsiness. Medium body. Lingering tart, wood, and oak. Lacking a bit of complexity and sourness.
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