Hanssens Frambozenlambik

Brewed by Hanssens Artisanaal
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Dworp, Belgium

Red tinted pour with little carbonation. Intense funk and vinegar aroma. Extremely sour and acidic. This is a serious lambic. I woke up with heartburn the following morning. Raspberry flavor does poke through the sourness.

In short: Vinegar, raspberries and funkiness. Unfortunately in that order. Just too much.
How: Bottle 375ml. Sold as “Hanssens Experimental Raspberry”. At Gingerman NYC
The look: Cherry red body with no head to speak of
In long: The intense nose blends funkiness, barnyard, red fruits (not just raspberries) and A LOT of acidity. Smells like a fruity funky vinegar. Taste has way too much acetic acid. The wildness of the beer is totally crushed by its over the top vinegary character. Might just be the most vinegary beer I’ve had, and yes I had the full lineup of DDC Lambecs. Extreme sourness. So sour that the raspberries taste like sour cherries. Very low carbonation, although not quite as flat as the Experimental Cassis I had. I’m a sour-head and very much a Hanssens-freak but I could only take little tiny sips and wait 1 minute between each sip. I finally gave up and ordered other stuff to alternate. I drank 4 pints before I could finish my little 375ml bottle. Could pass in a tasting session as a palette cleanser, this is the type of bottle that you want to share with 10 friends or serve to one enemy.

Experimental raspberry. There are 3 main aroma and flavor components here, so its a straightforward review, in order: acetic acid, raspberry, and oak. Not hardly any funk to speak of. The combo of acetic acid and oak gives a profile similar to balsamic vinegar. Hard to finish the little bottle, not that I wanted to dump it but it was a very slow sipper.

375ml corked and caged bottle labeled Experimental Raspberry. Opens with a pop and pours a mostly clear, blood red hue. There’s absolutely zero head or lacing. Let me preface by saying I like acetic beers, I really do. This one takes the cake though. The terms "vinegar" and "nail polish" that others have thrown out are not far off base. The aroma is freaking intense, nay, harsh even. Sour raspberries do little to save the solvent-like, acetone burn that comes through. The nose shows far too much chemical nature, and the flavors aren’t much of an improvement. Intensely vinegary and sour as can be, the berries are there, but just fall way short when trying to counter the acetic harshness. The palate is astringent and abrasive, burning on the way down and finishing dry as the Sahara. Poor effort here. I mean, this stuff should not conscionably be sold at it’s asking price. It’s better suited for cooking, for sure.

375mL Bottle "Hanssens Lambic Experimental Raspberry," purchased at The Ginger Man - NYC. Into the glass and out of my mind. That is a raucous aroma. Heavy on the acetic acid, acetone, and dry erase markers. There’s some faint red fruit. Pours a very clear, even bright cherry red, with little head and carbonation. Flavor is sweet and strong. Acetic, acetic, acetic, with a chaser of acetone. Lingering sweetness is tough to get through with no carbonation. Holy battery acid, Batman! This tough to sip on. Really bracing and unpalatable acidity in my opinion. I really don’t understand why this wasn’t bottled with an "Aigre de Framboise" label. Even if you like searing acidity, there’s not really much to dig into her, everything is pretty shallow, with little fruit or funk depth, once one gets past the blinding acids. This is going back in the fridge with the cork, to be used for cooking.

Bottle from Premier. Pours absolutely still with a light red/pink body. Nose is predominently raspberry, wood & dry balsamic vinegar. Fruit is super juicy & bright. Behind the most prominent aromas grape pop sweetness comes out along with some honey notes. Flavor is general berry & SUPER acidic. Its good but damn, its been a while since I’ve percieved something as this acidic. The only beers I can compare it to are the first, aged bottle of Cantillion Fou Fone I had & an aged bottle of Oudbeitje. Its REALLY acidic. Beyond that is some nice woodiness, a bit of cherry pie brett funk, dried strawberries. This is good stuff but extreme. I’m kind of glad that it is completely flat - I would imagine that carbonation would just make this burn my throat. Long lingering berry finish.

Bottle from thewineandcheeseplace.com WHOOOOOAAH! Now THAT is SOUR! The nose didn’t give it away- smelled like a rasperry lambic that was a bit more vinuous than normal but nothing too over the top. But even the beginning of the taste on the tip of the tongue had sourness. That’s not to say there wasn’t sweetness from the raspberries, it was definitely present but everything about this beer is dominated by sour. Even the palate is taken over by tart acidity. My mouth and throat feel like i’ve been drinking lemon juice. I do wish there had been more carbonation. There is more going on than just sour including some deep grape flavors and decent complexity. I’m really into sours and have had quite a few lately. This was one of the most unique beverage experiences i’ve had and was very enjoyable even if my throat was a bit sore afterward (that could have been because i split two other bottles of lambic with another guy during this session). I would highly recommend splitting a bottle with someone at least once if you can find some.