Liefmans Frambozenbier

Formerly brewed at Liefmans (Moortgat)
Style: Sour Ale
Oudenaarde, Belgium

pours a weird and wild very dark caramel color with a one finger bubbly tan head. aroma is some nice dark sweet raspberries with seeds. has a medium body with good lacing and carbonation. flavor is the same as aroma with a little tartness to it. the seed taste is a touch annoying at the end but all in all pretty good. i think i like the kriekbier better though. as it warms the aroma does get better. flavor is good from beging to middle but dies off after that and the seedy taste kicks in.

Brown hazy, small beige head. Aroma of framboise, but not strong. Taste a bit of sweetener, not too strong though. Average framboize, but not fantastic.

Best By Date November 2015; Sampled March 2008,br> Pours with a frothy, almost two-finger thick, light tan colored head that sits on top of a murky dark, concentrated plum colored beer that shows a lightly hazed, cranberry red color when held up to the light. The aroma is quite raspberry driven; pulpy, raspberry aromatics jump out at me as I pour this beer and are only concentrated and amplified upon further inspection. To be honest I can’t smell anything but raspberry; thankfully the raspberry character is quite fresh smelling and is not in any way artificial smelling.

Sweet tasting, though not syrupy; it is sweet like a lightly watered down fruit juice. A slight nuttiness / seed character is noticed just before a solid, fleshy raspberry flavor kicks in. Interesting, because I was not expecting it, just like the aroma, this has very little flavor to it that reminds me at all of beer; malt, hop even funk and fermentation derived sourness are all drowned out by the dominant, though perhaps not overwhelming raspberry character.

This really does taste a lot like a fruit juice; it is quite refreshing and really doesn’t seem like it has any alcohol to it. It practically disappears, it is so easy to drink. I have a hard time thinking of this as beer though.

375ml bottle (Belgianshop)
Dark reddy-brown, small head. Huge raspberry aroma - real fruits, not flavourings. Pleasant carbonation. Initially a strong raspberry taste, but as the fruit subsides, it’s a delicious light malty body. Not too sweet. The finish is mostly the light malt. Some sweet stickiness also remains.

1 pint on draft at Queen’s Arms in Kensington, London. Pours a brownish-red amber body with little head. The aroma is very feint...maybe some tart raspberry. The taste is raspberry and sour alcoholic taste. Assumed this was a fruit beer going into it, however the sour ale explains the sourness way better.

Clear, muddy red body with a small pinkish head, fading. Sweet and tart raspberry nose with light balsamic vinegar, some caramel and wood. The flavor is quite sweet and lightly sour with lots of fresh raspberries, some cherry, light caramel and a touch of dusty, musty funk hidden underneath it all. Medium body is sparkling, but a bit thin with moderate to high carbonation. Decent for what it is.

Bottle (37 cl) from Bier tempel, Brussels, Belgium. Murky red, medium light pink head. Clear aroma of fresh raspberries, along some notes of wood and leather. Medium bodied and smooth. Very well balanced, a light sweetness is backed up by a gentle acidity, and a discrete grapefruit bitterness.

Bottle Thanx to Ekstedt: Red hazy colour, with nice creamy head. Aroma of fruits, sournes,rasperryies. Flavor is the same, werry nice fruity/rasperry smouth mouth feeling. Thin body, thin to medium fruity finish. Werry nice!!!