Hopfenstark Framboise Forte Édition Spéciale (Oak Aged)

Brewed by Hopfenstark
Style: Fruit Beer
L’Assomption, Canada

Bottle. Bright red colour with a light pink moussey head. Aroma is very oaky and vanillaish with lots of buttery chardonnay-like character. As it warms there is a lovely light raspberry fruitiness that comes out. Light leathery aroma and a touch of lemony citrus on the back. Light acidity that accentuates the crisp dryness of this beer. It’s sort of like drinking prosecco, with the same level of drinkability. As it warms more of the raspberry aroma comes out of the glass. I would love to be able to get my hands on more of this stuff.

Rating #2100! Bottle kindly shared by Fred of Hopfenstark during a visit to Montreal. Light pink-orange with a slight haze, small head, and very still looking body. Awesome aroma - fresh tart raspberries with a hint of oak and a great funky edge. Medium bodied. Flavour is bracingly tart and dry to start, with some sweet woodiness filling out the middle, and a nice level of acidity in the crisp finish. Very, VERY good - I’m glad I brought a couple of bottles home with me. Thanks very much, Fred!

500ml bottle at the brewery, hazy reddish-orange-pinkyish hue, with no head, nice yeasty, funky, acidic, tart raspberry sourness nose, with a good musty, oakiness accent, within a sharp fruity aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a dazzling yeasty funkiness, with a tart fruity raspberry sourness character, reminiscent of a raspberry lambic, with a dry acidic raspberry fruity flavor, underlaying some wet oakiness, within a well hidden alcoholic content leading towards a raspberry fruity, acidic, dry finish.

In short: A somewhat funky raspberry beer. Original and excellent.
How: Bottle at the brewery. First issue, freshly bottled.
The look: Cloudy orange-red body topped by a little off-white ring of foam.
In long: As expected the nose is very fruity (raspberries mainly) but also surprisingly funky with some barrel notes. In mouth the barrel doesn’t show much, the funkiness of the nose turns into a Saison-ish feeling, the intense raspberry flavour also hints on strawberries and all that is supported by a nice taste of dry hay/wheat. The beer is very dry and packs in quite a bit of tartness, acidity and sourness. Very mouth drying. The carbonation is appropriately pickling. No alcohol presence at all. This is an intense and tasty wild fruit beer. Fruit beer as sometimes seen as "girly" but this one is about as girly as a pack of chewing tobacco and a spittoon.

Bottle. Shared by the brewer, Fred @ Hopfenstark himself - thankyouthankyou! - Great guy - go buy his beer!. Hazy peach-coloured pour with a small drizzly head - looks like a friggin lambic!! Wonderful aroma - goddamn this guy makes great beer - acidic and lemony raspberry sourness, funky and sweetly oaky, definite tannins in there. The taste follows but even more acidic - very fruity and sour, and the oak deftly complements the overall character rather than overwhelms it. Slick, still body, decidedly alcoholic but I was amazed that the malt and fruit carried right through to the long, tart finish without fading. No word of a lie, this is GOOD STUFF, complex, refreshing, smooth and subtle. Please make more - then send me some!!

Shared with the TO ratebeerians : Pink in colour, slightly cloudy too, zero head. Sweet rasberry, pepper-oak aroma (quite comforting <I don’t know how to explain that!>) Flavour: Rasberries & blueberries, grapefruit too, quite sour and very very tasty. mmmmm

Bottle. Graciously shared by Fred of Hopfenstark during our weekend visit to Montreal. Thanks again Fred! Pours a hazy pink-orange-red with no head -- looks great! Aroma: Wow, that’s nice! Funky yeast, tart raspberries, light spices -- so fruity, it almost smells like a New Glarus Raspberry Tart, and that’s high praise indeed. Flavour: First thing to note is how balanced the oak is in this, which is always nice to see. Along with the oak there’s tart raspberries, some sweetness, light funk and the acidity is just right. Alcohol’s hidden. Medium bodied. This is simply fantastic!!

Pub. 2007 vintage. No head. Orange-rose colour. Sour scent, strong with no real fruit presence. tasty dry light raspberry. Finish has a building sourness.