French Broad Cellar Reserve Lambic Style Beer

Formerly brewed at French Broad Brewing Co.
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Asheville, North Carolina USA

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Date: 08/13/2005
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewery

cloudy amber, lots of tiny bubbles, solid lasting beige head with a pink hue, drippy lace, nice light tart fruit aroma, great mellow flavor with the fruit and tartness perfectly balanced, essence of blackberry, great dryness, hint of oak but not oak aged, holds up very well through a whole pint, a 3 year old grand cru blended with young lambic made with blackberry puree
-------- /> Date: 03/31/2006
Source: brewery

same as it ever was
-------- /> Date: 12/21/2006
Source: brewery

still holding up well, getting dryer

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

pretty good lambic. carbonated tinge on front, cloudy yellow pour, sour front, with blackberry on the finish.

on tap-pours a white head and hazy yellow color. Aroma is vinegar, blackberry, yeast, spice. Taste is vinegar, blackberry, yeast, spice-coriander. Dry. Good effervescence. Occasional.

Draught at the brewpub. Pours gold with white head. The aroma is funk and sweet berries. The flavor is dry with berries and earthy acidity. The sourness is mild, but present. Some zesty yeast notes come out, too. The aftertaste is very dry. Passable, but not great.

Draught. Pours cloudy gold with a tall white head. I sensed pear, raspberry, and some musty scents of basement. It’s just slightly funky in the way of flavor with raspberries up front. Notes of flowers and cork float around the palate. It’s rather light and fizzy, not something that I thought loaned itself to slow sipping and savoring.

On tap at the Knoxville Brewers Jam pre fest reception. A hazy off orange pour. A yeasty and light fruity aroma. A flavor of fruit with a sour finish that I think is what it should be like. Just a tad on the watery and fizzy side for my taste. Not one of my favorites but not bad for what it is.

On tap at the brewery. Deep golden and hazy in my glass. Flanders style ale aroma. Lots of fruit and crisp. I noted apricot, blueberry and under ripe cherries. Alcohol hints as well. Lightly sour taste but the malt body held it up well and mellowed it. Light fruit cocktail flavors and a light wood bitterness. Watery but semi-slick body. Unique beverage. Glad I tried it.

Copper/gold with a really big white head. tart aroma with just a satisfying hint of blackberry. Subtle but definate blackberry on top of an appealing sourness and other tradional lambic flavors. dry, sour finish. Surprisingly good.
Earlier Rating: 9/16/2003 Total Score: 3.4
Brewgrass Festival, Asheville, NC 2003. First of all, i do not know if this a "real" lambic or not. But I can tell you it taste fairly authentic, to my relatively untrained palate. Dark Gold, with a HUGE white head. Familiar dusty farmhous smells and palate. Sharp, almost acidic initial flavor, with some spice (coriander?) thrown in. Sure, it pales in comparison to most Belgians, but I applaud the brewer for tackling a difficult and, to the American South, fairly obscure style.

Growler, compliments of kp. Brown orangey pour. Light fruit and light blackberry aroma, some malts there too with some sourness. Blackberries were more prominent in flavor, and was semi-sweet upfront. Finished lightly bitter with a little yeast and funk. Decent lambic - I’d go for a growler of this if I were local.

Pours a dark copper amber with a lightly-lacing off-white head. Subtle blackberry fruity aroma has some earthy biscuit malt and a touch of tartness and cinnamon spice. Body starts with some light sugary fruity sweetness turning more funky and earthy with some bready yeastiness toward the finish. An interesting and complex brew, but could be more balanced.