Upland Raspberry Lambic

15 DEC 07, Southeast YeHa. Big raspberry pink. Aroma of tart berries. Flavor is of a raspberry Kombucha Tea that I picked up at Whole Foods. Sharp, tart, clean, Fruity and refreshing. WOW! Tart & Yum!

GABF 2007: Poured a hazy light brown-pink color with a light pink head. Tart , leather and funky aroma. Good notes of raspberry. The flavor was very tart with a moderate amount of acidity. Nice raspberry. The beer was mouthwatering. Light body.

Rerate #2, Learned lesson from first bottle and took over 15 minutes to remove cork and not upset the beer too much. The mild funk is coming forward more now but the Raspberry is still vibrant and fresh. The palate is so wonderful, aggressive and yet oh so refreshing. I am increasing my Flavor score and palate +1 each. I will be opening my last bottle with some friends this weekend. I hope they enjoy it as much as I do. PLEASE CALEB, do this again!

Rating #1, First off, note that the cork will very difficult to remove. The brewery does know about it and does warn the buyer. It seems the wrong corks were put in the bottles of the Raspberry only. Upon removal I did notice that they are way too big. HAVE A GLASS READY UPON OPENING for there is no way to get the cork out without shaking up the bottle!

Now for the good news, this looks the part with a beautiful coppery rose hue topped by a fading but mostly lasting pink fizzy ring and some spotty lace. The aroma is also newsworthy with big sour raspberries vapours in addition to just a hint of sugar, nice oak, a hint of cheesy brett and other associated yeasty esters.

The taste starts with a sharp jab of raspberry and acidic overtones. There is indeed some noticeable brett like funk in the midsection before finishing with a slight oak and herbal quality. The mouth feel is sprite and refreshing, mouth watering through the tartness and a bit dry on the finish. All in all, a well crafted attempt at the style. I think in a blind tasting this would hold it’s own against many in the genre. GET YA SOME but be ready for a fight with the cork. Very limited distribution.

GABF 2007. Many, many, many samples. The beer pours to a muddy strawberry colored lemonade with a thin white head. The aroma is very tart red raspberries. Nice balanced funk with tart acids. The flavor is extremely tart red raspberries with a nice sweet and sour red raspberry jam. Lactic leathers. Did I mention raspberries? The palate is full of lactic acid and a dry leathery palate. Awesome.

Traumatic cork-removal aside, the packaging for these Upland lambics is pretty exceptional. The pour is explosive, to say the least, white head forming and rapidly dissipating and then repeating the process all over again. Carbonation flows aggresively upward through cloudy but super-bright watermelon pink hues. Pieces of raspberry seeds and yeast remnants are clearly visible. Funk and acetity in the nose are commendable and full-bore. Raspberry is fresh and lively. Yeast is powerful and soured. Fresh raspberry juice and near-perfect additions of extractions of sweetness and refined sugars are quite startling in their authenticity. This is truly funked and while it lacks the heavy must and barnyard power of some of the traditional greats, it is satisfactorily executed, and then some. The first thing I think of upon sipping is the overwhelming and easy comparison to powdered acerola, like the flavor found in chewable Vitamin C tablets. Tartness is medium-high, sourness is the same. Acetity is low but notable, acidity is very high and engaging. Sweetness is medium and well-integrated. This is fantastic, though the flavor unfortunately lacks much of the funk-leanings that the nose eluded to. The mouthfeel is velvety and full, nicely carbonated with big, fat, zippy bubbles and insanely easy to drink. The finish is sweet and satisfying, sourness lingering and growing slowly. A fantastic experience. A revisit is necessary and will come soon, what fun this was to sample!