Shenandoah Boysenberry Lambic

Brewed by Shenandoah Brewing Company
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Alexandria, Virginia USA

(12oz bottle) Small white head atop cloudy amber body. Aroma is moderately sweet, strawberry, some pomegranate, light apricot, flowery, lightly tart. Taste is mild sweet, berry, light cherry, grape. Fairly tart without the sweetness the nose led me to expect. Light-medium body, some crispness, effervescence, fairly easy to drink. Not what I’d call a lambic, but a decent fruit beer all the same.

12oz bottle acquired in trade with kmweaver (thanks!). Poured a medium and lightly hazy amber color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of lots of different berries with light yeast. Reminded me of some type of hard candies. Tastes of berries (but not as strong as the aroma). Very light tart finish. Thin body and dry finish.

12oz bottle shared by kmweaver. Moderatley murky semi-deep purple. Decent boysenberry and grape soda, there’s actually seddiness present, so it’s better than the strawberry, at least. Pasty, moderately tart, stale yogurt, very pallid and empty throughout, but the body is moderately frothy and chewy. Not terrible, smells much better than it tastes, but overall it’s not really that good.

Poured a lightly hazy amber color with a medium sized, off white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of berries, malt, light toastiness. Taste was sweeter, berry, grains, dry berry skin, and a watery finish.

Thanks to hopdog. Pours a lightly hazy orange amber with a medium bubbly/creamy off white head that left a little lacing. Aroma of boysenberry, Belgian yeast ester, earthy notes and some bready malt. Flavor of more of the berry sweetness, tripel spiciness, dry for being a fruit beer, bready malt and some tartness.

Bottle courtesy of kmweaver. Thanks Ken! Rusted amber pour with a small fizzy white head. Aroma is odd. Burnt barbecue sauce, berries and spices. Definitely odd. Taste is strong berry, more barbecue sauce, soft funk and yeast and light damp earth. Body is light and very fizzy. Lingering barbecue and berry tartness. The finish evokes more barbecue but it leans towards pulled pork along with more berry and berry tartness, light yeast and soil. Not really a true lambic.

12 oz bottle, shared by kmweaver. Pours a hazy reddish amber with a small fizzy white head. The nose shows a little fruit sneaking out past all the band aids present, but I’d never guess that it was boysenberries. Then again, I don’t think I’ve ever had a boysenberry. Note to self: get some boysenberries at first chance. The flavor is a weird mix of band aids and blueberry. Little to no resemblance to a lambic. A little drier and dustier on the finish than the strawberry. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a slightly doughy stickiness up front and moderate fizzy carbonation. Overall, I just don’t know what they were hoping for with this.

12oz bottle. Pours a hazy, darkened orange-ruby color; off-white head with excellent, fine-bubbled lacing. Similar aroma to the Happy Holidays / Cherry Lambic: dry, strong fruit juice character (in this case, mixed berry, boysenberry, assumedly, and strawberries) and nothing sticky or sweet; certainly not traditional lambic (no funk, nothing beyond a breath of tartness), but again a really pleasant fruitiness with no cloying characteristics. Medium mouthfeel: lots of mixed berry juice / cherry juice at the front; a dry yeasty / dustiness at the core; well-balanced, solid fruit juice note, and dry enough to remain pleasant. Like the cherry lambic, I could drink a lot of this; some pittiness / grapes mid-palate. Dough and dust and lingering berries in the finish. Another solid fruit beer from Shenandoah.