Boon Framboise

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

First rating
(Bottle at Delirium Cafe in Gothenburg)
Big bottle, from 2000. 6.2% ABV.
Shady brown color, white head. Sweet berry scent. Sweet berry, a little bit sour, taste. No bitterness. Fresh.
5/2/5/2/9=2.3

Second rating
(37.5 cl bottle at Haket, Göteborg)
2006 bottle, 5% ABV.
Clear dark red color, pink head. Sweet fresh raspberry scent, also from pips. Acidic and sweet raspberry taste. Smooth mouthfeel, low bitterness. Quite fresh and a bit acidic, very drinkable.
8/4/7/3/15=3.7

2005 corked bottle. Initial rush of raspberries was promiising but the robustness quickly dissipated Nice lactic notes in nose that lingered till the end. Poured a thin pink head that was quickly gone. Pretty deep rose red color. UMM, love that lactic dryness in the mouth, compliments the tartness of the fruit. Raspberry flavour is evident but needs to be bigger to balance the tartness (not sweeter, just bigger). Missing that horse-blanket earthy flavour that defines a truely excellent lambic - maybe needs to be older (their was yeast in the bottle). A great drinking Lambic after a long bike ride on a hot day. If they combined the rich fruit character of their Kriek with the lactic of this Framboise, threw in the horse-blanket wild yeasts and let it sit for a few more years before they released it they would have a truely awesome product. Far better than the sweet, fruit juice fair that has been passing for Lambic in this part of the world for the last few years

(06.15.06) 355 mL green bottle from DiCarlo’s, Mundelein, IL. 5% ABV. Labeled best before 9/20/08. Poured clear pink rose with with tiny white head. Good carbonation. Sour raspberry aroma. Light-to-medium bodied ale that starts semi-dry with light malt sweetness, and raspberry and spicy flavors. Some earthy tangy sourness. Not as dry and tart as the Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus but not as overly sweet as Lindeman’s framboise. Well-balanced. A very enjoyable and drinkable Belgium lambic, one of the best that I’ve tried so far.

This pours a deep pink with a brighter, cotton-candy-pink fizzy head. Aromas of raspberry juice and musty basement. Vinous palate, fresh raspberry juice sweetness somewhat balanced by a tartness in the finish. Too sweet for me to come back to, but more balanced than some of the other fruit lambics I’ve tried.

375ml green bottle, corked. 2005 crop. Poured red with very faint trace of head. Raspberry aroma with a bit of green apple. Fruity, tart and crisp. Light wood note in finish. Body was rather light, carbonation faint.

Dated best by 2008. Pours out a pinkish red color with a white head. Smell is mostly raspberries, with some hints of oak. Taste is similar mostly raspberries, some oakey flavors. Dry and easy to drink. Probably like Gueuze lambics better, but this one was pleasing to drink. A nice pre dinner beer.

2005 375ml bottle. Pink head cannot be maintained. Red beer. Salted raspberry aroma, thinner than the cherry in the kriek. Not as sweet as the kriek. Bitter strong raspberry flavour just needs the bread and sugar for a snack. Very dry, is is simplistic or just well made. Flavour is very much like the not quite ripe raspberries.

Bottle at Delirium, Brussels. Deep raspberry red, head quickly dissipates to a thin albeit lasting film. Aroma is the most beautiful combination of raspberries and lambic. The inital taste of raspberries (real ones) is quickly matched by an assertive lambic character and the sweet-sour balance is knife-sharp. The dry, crisp finish has me reaching for my wallet so as to assure that I always have one of these lying around at home.