Boon Faro Pertotale

Formerly brewed at Brouwerij F. Boon
Style: Lambic - Faro
Lembeek, Belgium

So its getting late and I'm not using my best judgement. I see this in the cooler and decide that I should try it - new style and all. The girl says "Well, It's $14.00". So I figure I'll really impress everybody if I buy it - "Wooo, look at me , Mr. Big Shot!". Actually, what I looked like was a ripped off drunk. Sweet and sour, but also more than a bit artifical tasting. Feh. Sampled at the Great Atlanta Pub Crawl, 2004.

Bottle, cellared for 2 years. I guess this is a beer that probably should be drunk less than two years after pruchase, because I'd say this one went south a while ago. Color is dark amber, without much red tint to it--like the brown suede JPDIPSO mentions in his rating. The head was nice, fine and a light tan or dark creme color, but faded very quickly to a thin layer on the top of the beer. Nose is musty, cidery and pungent, as are most lambics, with hints of apples, grass, maltiness and lambic funk. The taste is astringent, with the lambic sourness offset by a vinous acidic edge. There's a bit of maltiness to this, but almost none of the hoppiness that Boon claims. This tastes to me like a poor cousin to Gueuze--less provocative. I'd skip this one in the future unless I can get it fresh to compare. I'd be interested to see what the cellaring did to it.

A major disappointment. I had read that draught faro was hard to find and attempts to bottle it had been a sad failure. So when I was told that it was available on draught at La Porte Noir, I needed no prompting to high-tail it down there (from the bar 50 yards up the road where I was drinking). I know that some people find straight lambic just too demanding (not me) so can well understand the thinking behind adding sugar to make it less astringent. However, this tasted as if the entire stock of sugar had fallen in by mistake. The lambic character was almost entirely obscured by this excess sugar. The closest I could come up with for a flavour match was that gloopy (the beer did not have a glutinous body) sweet and sour sauce served up with pork balls in dodgy Chinese take-always (not sure if this will mean anything to our US friends). I know from reading Tim Webb’s book that Boon beers have swung alarmingly in sweetness and style, I guess that most of the tasting notes on this site are based on the bottled version, so I presume the blend is very variable. Drinkable but just not what I was expecting. Draught, La Porte Noir, Brussels.

Aroma has caramel, a hint of oak and plums. Flavor has some herbal bitterness, plums and just a bit of sourness. Sweetish, a bit milky, but rather thin. 5% on the label. Lovely session beer, a fine mix of drinkability and complexity.

Pours a murky brown with a very thin whispy head. Light vinegar, plums, and sugar in the aroma. Very interesting flavor profile. Good balance of sour lambic and sweet wheat malt with nice dark fruit complexity. A good beer and a truly unique style.

Medium cherry brown color. Pours with moderate head. Moderately tart. As it warms a nutty sherry wine character appears. I enjoyed this one. Taste, head, color seem to vary in the reviews; different years, freshness, handling????

Dark suede color with a moderate dry bone colored head. Aromas from an initial cider vinegar to later hints of caramel, sherry and floral hops. Smooth on the palate. Initial cobwebs swept away by a near citric sweet sour. Finishes with a light oak and mild maltiness. the fruit flies love this one.

This beer has a yellow body - hue with an sweet initial flavor and a light body.