Girardin Faro

Brewed by Brouwerij Girardin
Style: Lambic - Faro
Sint Ulriks-Kapelle, Belgium

Bottle @ Pikkulintu, Helsinki. Half-hazy honey colour, extreme beige head. Aroma of cloudberry, apple and even some nuts. Taste extremely thick, with a bite of green apple that will eventually kill you :)

(Bottled) Slightly hazy darkish amber with a medium, tanned head. Slightly tart and sweet aroma with some dried fruitiness and hints of vomit. Tart, but sweet-malty flavor with vinous fruitiness and a sweet, lightly bitter and astringent finish. Slightly sweet and sticky, medium-bodied palate with a bit fizzy carbonation. A balanced, but not very complex or interesting faro. I still wish the sugar was supplied in a separate bag with the beer, so you could choose whether to pour it in or not :)

Bottle, 5%. Quite sweet, slightly vinous and mouldy aroma. Seemingly clear chestnut colour. Very small head, low carbonation. The flavour is slightly sour and quite vinous, like port the way I do not like it. Not very sweet. OK for a faro (which I have trouble enjoying).

Small quickly disappearing head. Brown-redish color. Good carbonation. Aroma is balance between sweet and sour. Brown sugar taste is rather dominant. Also some fruits. Again nice balance between sour- and sweetness.

On tap at ’t Warm Water, Brussels. Maybe it should be listed separately from the bottled version since it seems to be of quite a different calibre. Mahogny colour without the slightest sign of any foam. Sweet raisins aroma, reminding me of white port. Complex sweet flavours, predominantly raisins, vanilla, candy sugar and oak. More woodiness towards the drier finish. Light to medium body. One of the best faros around?

375 ml bottle@Plan B, Copenhagen. Small beige head quickly reduced to a thin layer. Misty reddish amber colored body. Nice acidulous dry fruitiness to the nose. Taste is acidic and tart with some brown sugar-sweetness to mellow the flavors. Notes of grapefruit, unripe red berries and vinegar. Light sweet and acidic finish. Refreshing.

Appearance: Low fill, and a rubber cork. Distinct red brown colour with a big fluffy Belgian style head which disappears quickly. Aroma: Honey, clover, cloves (spicy) Sweet and sour aroma, pineapple, hay and pears. Flavour: Fruity, light clean acetic sourness, Well balanced between sweet and sour flavours finishing dry and woody not averly acidic. Candy and low cardboard oxidation. Mouthfeel: Light bodied and fluffy. Overall: Sweet and acidic with interesting fruit esters - Pineappple, pear, apple and finishes dry and woody.

375 ml bottle

Rating #500Thanks to hopdog for sending this in a recent trade. I’ve been looking for something special and this seems to be appropriate. Since it is possibly the hardest style to find, I figured I would save it for a special occasion. Having sampled it I would love to try a fresh faro to see how they compare. Despite not having very many expectations it was still a bit of a letdown for a rare style.

Aroma / Appearance - The deep brown body had almost no carbonation or head instead swirling around the glass easily. A sweet fruity smell permeated the space above the glass with raspberry and blueberries. There was a trace amount of funkiness but nothing like what you get from other lambics.

Flavor / Palate - The taste of semisweet lemons is soon followed by tart raspberries. It reminds me alot of Lipton iced tea mixed with nutrasweet or powdered sugar. The finish is dry and sour but not harsh. This is definitely one of the most unique beers I have tried. While it is sippable and easy to drink I’m not sure I would want more than a single bottle at once.