Lindemans Framboise

I sampled a 355 ml (12 oz.) bottle, which filled the quirky fluted Lindemans glass that I purchased with the beer about two times. The bottle produced a glass of beautiful copper colored liquid and a surprisingly large, but quickly falling off-white head with an unmistakable pink hue. Holding the glass to the light, the beer is crystal clear, and reveals much more of its raspberry content. Of course, there’s no missing its advertised raspberry character right up front. The aroma and taste of this lambic are emphatically “framboise.” This was a bit off-putting on first impression. In fact, before reaching room temperature, this beverage more-or-less resembled a liquid version of a sour raspberry Jolly Rancher. But, with the benefit of a few minutes outside the chilled bottle, the unique flavors produced by the wild yeasts used to ferment this beer really step forward to reveal a curious mix of flavors. There is the raspberry-jam-like backbone, but the sour earthy flavors produced by the yeast balance out any treacly sweetness, while the sugars mellow the sour and wild yeast flavors, particularly those produced by the Brettanomyces strain. In the end, I also picked up some flavors of dark cherry, raisin and oak, but there is very little to remind the drinker that this is beer. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. There is a pleasing long dry finish on this lambic, and the clear flavor shift that develops once the beer comes to room temperature make it worth trying again.