523. New Glarus Raspberry Tart

We picked this beer up in Wisconsin in January on our trip back from Seattle, and pulled it out today to drink while watching Stage 9 (long individual  long time) of the Tour de France. Beer and cycling? Sacre bleu! This is our third beer from New Glarus, everyone’s favorite Wisconsin brewery (sorry, Leinenkugel’s!); the last two were Wisconsin Belgian Red and Fat Squirrel Brown Ale.

Raspberry Tart pours a crystal clear and luscious ruby red with hints of brown at the edges; the head is thin, white, and quickly goes the way of the dinosaurs. And as the label warned us, the nose is resplendent with bright and tart raspberry aromas followed with a touch of jammy sweetness. Flavors are equally delightful—Raspberry Tart starts sweet and, well, tart with plenty of raspberry. There is a soft doughy wheat malt in the middle, and the jammy sweetness comes through here as well. The tartness returns in the finish, combining to linger with the sweet jam and fruit flavors of the raspberry in a wonderful mélange of taste sensations. Carbonation is bright, prickly, & spritzy, while the mouthfeel of the malt character is light and soft on the palate. The combination is clean, refreshing, and crisp—there is a wonderful balance of tart and sweetness from the fruit in the beer. This beer may even be better than the Belgian Red—I know Elli thinks so. I myself am on the fence. The consolation of philosophy connected to that discussion, however, will not do much considering that our cellar is currently bereft of both beers.

From the bottle: “Treat yourself to a rare delight. The voluminous raspberry bouquet will greet you long before your lips touch your glass. Serve this Wisconsin framboise very cold in a champagne flute. Then hold your glass to a light and enjoy the jewel-like sparkle of a very special ale. Oregon proudly shares their harvest of mouth watering berries which we ferment spontaneously in large oak vats. Then we employ Wisconsin farmed wheat and year old Hallertau hops to round out this extravaganza of flavor. Life’s too short to wait for dessert.”

ABV: 4.0%

(7/9/2012)

279. Lindemans Framboise

Tonight’s beer is from Brouwerij Lindemans in Vlezenbeek, Belgium; this is our first beer from Lindemans. We had this on tap @ South Park Tavern. Always something new on tap will keep us coming back, I tell you.

Served to us in a tulip glass, Lindemans Framboise is a clear raspberry red with an ever-so-slightly pink head; the tart raspberry nose has a crisp fruit sweetness to it. Starts tart and bright before moving into sweet raspberry; the fruit flavor hits hardest in the middle, stripping away the other flavors, although this does lessen at the end, finishing with a tart citric tang that cleanses the palate. Framboise has a light to medium body accompanied by a medium carbonation that is bright, sharp and bubbly on the mouth. Low amounts of tart puckering at the start and the finish. A good beer, although the fruit presence did have more sweetness than we anticipated. A bit less fruit sweetness would have allowed some of the lambic qualities to shine through in more detail—we’ve seen more balance in other version of Lindemans fruit lambics.

From the Lindemans website: “Long before hops were common in most beers, various fruits and vegetables were used to season beers. The acidity of Lambic beers blends perfectly with raspberries.”

ABV: 2.5%

(4/5/2010)

207. New Belgium Transatlantique Kriek

This is our fifth beer from New Belgium, and another from their Lips of Faith series (our last four were Biere de Mars, Fat Tire, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale and La Folie). Basically, more yumminess for our tumminess. And while my rhyme is lame, it is still not nearly as sad as the trite beer advertising hoo-hah we’ve seen this year (that’s right, I’m talking to you, Grand Teton and Lilja). But this has nothing to do with this beer...

Transatlantique Kriek is a radiant ruby red color, clear and bright with a fine white head. The nose has distinct cherry aroma with a hint of almond in the background; there are also low levels of yeast esters and some sour smell, which may be part of the cherry aroma. TK starts decidedly cherry—it moves from fruity to sour to tart as the beer progresses–and ends dry with some lingering sourness and a touch of mustiness. The body is light and dry with a crisp bite on the tongue, some from the dry tartness at the end and some from the carbonation bite (which is itself dry). Transatlantique Kriek is a exceptionally well balanced and deceptively simple beer, one that hides its 8% ABV very well—I’d call it drinkable, but this is the kind of beer that puts you in the hurt locker after a couple of glasses because the lightness and crispness make you forgot about the punch it carries. You’re all drinking along, lovin’ on this beer, and the next day you’ve trying to figure out where the truck is that ran you over.

From the bottle: “New Belgium Ale blended with Brouwerij Frank Boon Lambic with real cherries. 45% ale with cherries added, 55% ale.”

From the New Belgium website: “In a never-ending quest to create new beers and defy category, New Belgium Brewing and Brewerij Boon of Belgium have partnered together again to create Transatlantique Kriek - a spontaneously fermented lambic ale made with Polish cherries. This authentic kriek beer began life in the oaken vessels at Frank Boon’s brewery in the Lembeek region of Belgium. After more than two years aging, Boon’s offering shipped across the Atlantic and found its way to the intuitive palate of New Belgium’s Brewmaster Peter Bouckaert. After much sampling and internal consultation, Peter and his brew staff created a full-bodied golden lager to round out the light-bodied kriek. The cherry nose gives way to a pleasingly sour flash across the palate that rolls gently into a slightly sweet finish. Crisp, effervescent carbonation keeps the mouthfeel bright and delightfully tingly.”

Beer envy, thy name is dinner...

ABV: 8%

(1/23/2010)