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Belgian Lambics
Tasting Comments
Owen Ogletree (director of Brewtopia Events) gathered together some of his fellow beer lovers (Mark King, Joanne Maki, Lari Cowgill, and Don Beistle) at Athens' Burntstone Brewhouse to sample and comment on several commercial beers.  This beer sampling was done as a blind tasting where no one was aware of the brand that was being served each time.  Beers were informally judged and ranked according to American Homebrewers Association (AHA) style guidelines.  This sampling was conducted in October, 2000.  Drop Owen an email to share your comments and opinions.

Click here for more information on Athens' own Burntstone Brewhouse!

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Commercial Beers -- Blind Tasting Comments...

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(L to R) Lari Cowgill, Don Beistle, and Mark King bask in the warmth of the flavorful Lambics.  We'd like to thank Burntstone Brewhouse for hosting us!

Each beer was ranked with an informal score of 1-10.
(10 - a fresh, perfect beer for its style / 1 - a beer that is completely not to style)

Style Descriptions

Gueuze Lambic -- Old lambic is blended with newly fermenting young lambic to create this special style of lambic.  These unflavored blended and secondary fermented lambic beers are characterized by intense fruity-estery, earthy, sherry-like, complex, sour, and acidic aromas and flavors.  These pale beers are spontaneously fermented and brewed with unmalted wheat, malted barley, and stale, aged hops.  Sweet malt characters are not perceived.  They are low in hop bitterness.  Diacetyl (butterscotch) should be absent.  Cloudiness is acceptable. These beers are quite dry and light bodied.  Versions of this beer made outside of the Brussels area of Belgium cannot be true Lambics.

Fruit Lambic -- These spontaneously fermented beers, also known by the names framboise (raspberry), kriek (cherry), peche (peach), cassis (black currant), etc., are characterized by fruit flavors and aromas.  The color reflects the choice of fruit.  Fruit, sourness, and complex esters predominate the flavor profile.  These flavored lambic beers may be very dry or mildly sweet (if pasteurized and sweetened with sugars) and range from a dry to a full-bodied mouthfeel.  Versions of this beer made outside of the Brussels area of Belgium cannot be true Lambics.

Belle-Vue Framboise
Score: 3.  Aroma:  apricots, strawberry, almond, not complex, a bit earthy, soapy/detergent, floral.
Color:  amber/bright brown, pale ale color, nice, slightly hazy.
Flavor:  fruit is not identifiable, tastes artificial, bubble gum, slightly tart, not complex, needs more fruit and complexity, not oaky, not rich.

Boon Framboise
Score: 6.  Aroma:  fresh, almond, butter-like
Color:  beautiful garnet, amber, glowing, clear.
Flavor:  salty, slightly sour, sherry-like, slightly sugary, pleasant, not too complex, syrup-like, could be more sour, tastes sweetened.

Cherish Peach
Score: 2. Aroma:  PEACH, PEACH, and more PEACH.
Color:  clear, pilsener-like.
Flavor:  dry, artificial peach flavor, peach syrup, sour/dry aftertaste, tastes like peach candy, no complexity, empty flavor, not three dimensional, not a pleasant aftertaste, nutra-sweet aftertaste.

Cuvee Rene 1994
Score: 7.  Aroma:  not much aroma, slight vinegar aroma.
Color:  amber/cider color, slightly still, nice, promising.
Flavor:  acidic, hardly any carbonation, vanilla, oak, sherry, not too intense, complexity is OK, authentic, perhaps a tiny bit too vinegar-like.

Mort Subite Cassis
Score: 4.  Aroma:  piney, astringent, solvent, no complexity, no earthy-horse blanket aromas.
Color:  red, hazy, nice.
Flavor:  too sweet, raspberry, soda-pop, syrupy, not complex, artificial tasting, tastes like a wine cooler, some acid - but not enough.

Mort Subite Kriek
Score: 6.  Aroma:  good grape aroma, cherry, plums, fruity, acidic, nice.
Color:  ruby, Zinfandel-like, medium carbonation, nice brownish tinge.
Flavor:  blackberry cobbler, cinnamon, too sweet, not three dimensional, very pleasant however, pie-like, tastes like a country fruit wine, very drinkable, medium body, we enjoyed this beer - but it is not really true to style.

Hanssens Oude Gueuze
Score: 8.  Aroma:  earthy, horsey, metallic, wonderfully true to style.
Color:  clear, golden, straw.
Flavor:  great, dry, tart, good body, figs, sherry-like, slightly sweet, not overwhelmingly tart, slightly cloying on back of tongue, not cardboard-like but well-aged.

Hanssens Oude Kriek
Score: 9.  Aroma:  earth, sour, acetic, not sharp, almond, horsey, good!
Color:  ruby color, nice head, clarity is nice, looks like a bright sunset, beautiful.
Flavor:  NICE, vanilla, fruit, wood, oak, nutty, complex, sour, acetic, nice lactic, wonderful, true to style, medium body, authentic and a joy to drink, a great beer.

Lindemans Framboise
Score: 2.  Aroma: overwhelmingly sweet aroma, raspberry candy, cheesecake syrup, too much.
Color:  red/pink foam, deep red beer.
Flavor:  much too sweet, not to style at all, no balance, no acid, fruit and sugar flavors dominate, a fish-like aftertaste?, full bodied, tastes like a sugary dessert wine, way too thick and cloying with no complexity.

Click here for more information on Athens' own Burntstone Brewhouse!

 
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