Boon Faro

Brewed by Brouwerij F. Boon
Style: Lambic - Faro
Lembeek, Belgium

Cobber of color with a beige head. An aroma of sour bread, horse, wet dog and sugar. A sweet sour flavor of grain, fizzy and sweet finish.

Sampled via single short bottle during Cheesehead YeHA in Brookfield, Wisconsin and shared by Ughsmash. Pours a semi-hazy dark copper amber brew with a thin off-white head that quickly dissipates to a fine film and white ring. Aroma of some cherry, multi-grain and wheat malt, some yeast funk and a touch of honey. Taste is spritzy and well carbonation with flavors of tart and sweet caramel malt, yeast, and some fruity character. Finish is slightly sweet, with a sugary yeast aftertaste.

Cheesehead YeHA, bottle brought by Jason (Ughsmash): Deep amber with minimal head or lace. The aroma has notes of honey and candi sugar, pear, juniper berry, cardamom, mineral water and a touch of cobweb funk. The taste is extremely sweet to the point of being cloy and the fruit and spices even seems sweet. A quick dash of acidity and funk to quickly beaten back by the sugar. A yeasty aftertaste is found on the lush and sticky palate. "It smells so much I can’t smell it" so I wrote, whatever that means. All in all it is just too much but hey, I finally rated a Faro and will not likely ever again.

Bottle, BB 2/18/08. Poured clear reddish-amber with a short cap of off-white head. The aroma was sweet as all hell with fruity and other odd sugary notes.. somehow the sweetness muted about 95% of the underlying funk and vinegary complexity.. but some Balsamic vinegar and woody sugars remained. The flavor was almost sickeningly sweet with drier artificial sugars sticking around at the finish.. there was a nice sour berry and wet wood presence across the middle.. again, thick on the sugars at the finish. Too sweet and a bit sticky on the palate, unfortunately keeping the nice tartness and sourness in check. Meh.

Clear dark amber with no head. Aroma is sweet and sour with hints of berries and wood. Pretty well balanced sweetness in the flavor with sour lambic notes in the background. Cheese and wood there as well.

Yes, there is that bum low calorie/ artificial sweetener note in there, but mingled with bread, caramel, brown sugar and some blue cheese lambic dankness. Balsamic aroma with hints of caramel, wood, iron and dusty old hops. Reddish and becoming headless. OK-tasting lambic shandy that would be much nicer without the sweetener.

Bottle: Poured reddish brown with beige head. Aroma is very sour and vinegar. Nice sweet sugary fruit taste. Finish is brown sugar and tangy.

Clear deep amber color with a foamy well lasting tanned head. Vinegar sourish aroma with a good woodyness, some cheesy hints and a nice balance between sweet- and sourness. Balsamic sourish flavor backed up by a sweet note of brown sugar. Not too sweet, but very good balanced amount of sugar. Not an easy faro - like most - bot more challenging. A great surprise and probably the best bottled faro I have had. And the faro to put me back on 100% for the style :-)