Liefmans Frambozenbier

Formerly brewed at Liefmans (Moortgat)
Style: Sour Ale
Oudenaarde, Belgium

12oz bottle, 2005 Vintage, Cellared @ 60* F for duration, very raspberry smell and taste, not very acidic surprisingly this was very enjoyable due to my stomach not knotting after 3 sips, Taste is key here, I’m glad to have another bottle downstairs.

Tasted 20/08/2008. 375ml bottle from Beerstore. Like the gorgeous Kriek from the same brewery but the raspberries are more aromatic and spritely on the nose and subtler in the mouth. Base brown ale sneaks through a little more, a nice balance of sweet and sour "balsamic" acidity and slightly toasty malt sweetness. I like a lot, and so does Fritha (she’s having a gerat run!).

2007 bottle. Pours with a large off-white head covering a murky dark brown body with small particles. Good lacing too. Aroma of raspberries, sugar, light tartness and grape skinss. Taste of raspberry, light tartness, and grape juice. Lots of soft little bubbles. Dry mouthfeel

Bottle @ home. Murky dark pinkish purple colour, thin disappearing head. Musty aroma of raspberries and some sourness. Taste is raspberries, not sweet, a bit sour, a bit cardboard. Mouthfeel is prickly and dry. Not my style.

Draft @ BCTC, served at the VIP dinner. Pours a hazy, ruby-amber color; light pink head with good retention and fine-bubbled lacing. Tons of fresh, pitty raspberries and lightly toasted malts in the aroma. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: lively carbonation; chewy, pitty raspberries and cherries, toasty malts, touches of vanilla, and just tons of red fruits; very soft edges and exceptionally drinkable. Medium finish: pitty red fruits and toasty malts; nicely dry.

From a corked and caged bottle this poured a rich red color with pink head and good lacing. Nose of raspberries and not much else. Creamy mouthfeel. Flavor is that interesting mixture of sweet and sour you get from Belgium beers. Sour finish.

Bottle. Very sweet smell of frambozen and sugar. Average sized creamy off-white head, normal long lasting, very dark red body. Moderate sweet and light acidic, medium duration. Medium body, creamy texture, lively carbonation, medium astringent finish. Nice summer beer.

Bottle - 2005 vintage from cork. Pours a deep brown with normal highlights around the edges and a fizzy head that dies down quickly. Aromas are funky tartness at first and then blossom into a raspberry presence. Flavor is wonderful, but I would like the sourness to be a little more pronounced as it gets overwhelmed by a sweet raspberry finish. Things start off well... initial flavors are kind of a sour raspberry (almost cranberry) initially, and this gives way to a bit of a tart funkiness and then finishes with sweet (borderline syrupy) raspberry. Nice on a hot summer day.