Boon Framboise

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

Bottle 2007. Nice aroma of raspberries, funk, some other tart and sour fruit. Flavor a bit light, sometimes allowing the raspberries to shine through, sometimes offering other light fruit notes of mango and banana, but not terribly strong in the way of funk and not terribly interesting in terms of any sweet, tart, or sour way. Instead sort of a weird, watery funk prevailed. Largely light in palate too with this watery aspect. Pretty disappointed, but not a bad beer.

Australian cricket suffered a terrible blow when David Boon announced his retirement from the game to open a small brewery specialising in lambic ales. Not only did the sport lose a formidable opening batsman, it also lost arguably its greatest drinker. Boon, nicknamed the "Keg On Legs", is best remembered for drinking 52 bottles of gueuze on a flight from Sydney to London in 1989 - a feat that connoisseurs of "extreme" long-distance lambic drinking consider unlikely to be bettered (especially considering the shocking absence of lambic ales from many international airline drinks menus). Modest to a T, Boon has never discussed the achievement, which he complains has unfairly overshadowed his stellar career as the "face" of VB in a popular TV advertising campaign. Frustration with the Australian media’s obsession with the "52-bottle flight" is believed to be partly behind Boon’s decision to turn his back on his native land and open the Belgian brewery that bears his name. This tasty framboise is one of the brewer’s flagship lambics. Poured into a chalice, it is revealed as the familiar puce colour that Boon turns when asked about the "52-bottle flight", yet shows some of the effervescence of the younger Boon’s cricketing days. The aroma is tart, yet more approachable than the reclusive Tasmanian. There are oodles of wild raspberries, some barnyard and a heavy wash of sugars. It is as dry as the nuggety Tasmanian, initially quite severe before developing a late warmth. There are lots of sherbety sugars. Cricket buffs may detect a whiff of willow and linseed, perhaps even the faint odour of cricketer’s box about four days into a particularly tense five-day Test match. There is no truth to the rumour that Boon will front the ad campaign for the next spin-off of VB - a lambic ale called Victoria Bitter Unblended. (37.5cl caged bottle from IBS, Perth. 2005 vintage. BB 4/6/11)

Courtesy of Miver. Poured a medium amber color with a small white head. Aroma is mildly tart rasberries with some barnyard qualities. Flavor is somewhat funky rasberries with some leather and horseblanket qualities and a mildly oaky finish.

Bottle. Hazy reddish and amber colour with a little head. Sour aroma with notes of oak, fruitness and berries. Flavour of acidity, raspberries and sourness. Very tasty and very refreshing.

Bottle. Poured clear amber in color with a small head. Aroma of raspberries and a sweet cereal breadiness. Tastes of raspberries with a light tartness and a metallic like finish. Not satisfying.

Sampled at 2007 Brewnosers’ Christmas Gathering. Light reddish gold colour with a mostly diminishing fizzy white head. A bit of sour, farmhouse, and barnyard character in the aroma, with a fruity and earthy flavour profile, but really seems like a dumbed down version of the genuine lambic article. Light bodied and almost a bit watery.

Once again, one I tried when I first experimented with lambics yet never rated. Bottle @ The Dove. Reddish amber with a thin white head. Nose of sweet raspberry and sherbert. Taste is similar, sweet and tangy yet not as artificial and funky as the kriek. It reminded me of raspberry sorbet, I quite enjoted it.

Pours hazy red with off white head. Sweet raspberry aroma. Light sour aroma with loads of raspberries. Not that complex but refreshing.