Tag Archives: lambic

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Jester King Brewery, Lambic - Fruit, USA

Jester King SPON Blueberry & Pitaya

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Brewery: Jester King Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 5.7%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: 2017 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) 2017 SPON – Blueberry & Pitaya is a blend of two year old 100% spontaneously fermented beer, refermented with blueberries & pitayas. Jester King SPON is inspired by the Belgian tradition of authentic Lambic and Gueuze. Wort from a turbid mash of well water, Texas malted barley, and Texas raw wheat was boiled with aged hops from our barn, cooled overnight in our coolship, spontaneously fermented in oak barrels for two years, and refermented for months in bottles resting on their side.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.22
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 12.7 fl. oz. bottle, 2017 vintage, blended on 2nd February 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A ruby red colour with a purple hue, and a two finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Strong oak, moderate funk, light vanilla, tart, sour, blueberry.
Taste: Sour, tart, oak, funk, blueberry and grape with some interesting spice at the end.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and a dry finish.
Overall: Nice aroma and flavours. I learnt today that pitaya is actually dragon fruit. But the aroma and flavours of dragon fruit are not really coming through, which really isn’t too much of a surprise as it is quite a subtle fruit. Fruitier aroma than taste, but still very enjoyable on the whole.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Lambic - Gueuze, Lindheim Ølkompani x Oud Beersel, Norway

Lindheim x Oud Beersel FiftyFifty Spontaneous Blend (Friendship Series)

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Brewery: Lindheim Ølkompani x Oud Beersel
Country: Norway
ABV: 7.6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: Spontaneous ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) FiftyFifty spontaneous blend. This beer is half Belgian, half Norwegian. 2015 lambic from Oud Beersel was shipped from Belgium to Gvarv and blended with our 2014 coolship beer. The fifty-fifty blend makes a 100% spontaneously fermented beer.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.88
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, production date of 2014/2015 and bottled on 11th November 2016. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated quite quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Funk, farmhouse, light tartness, apricot, peach and citrusy notes.
Taste: Funk, barnyard, oak, sour, tart, lemon with hints of stone fruit and citrus.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Aroma was quite nice, but it seemed to have lost much of the nice fruitiness from the aroma in the taste as the funk and wood were quite powerful. As I drank more and more, it did grow on me though.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, Lambic - Gueuze, USA

Black Project Oxcart

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Brewery: Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 6.2%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: Methode Traditionnelle. Blended coolship spontaneous ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oxcart is a blend of 3 years of traditional Lambic-inspired, coolship spontaneous ale that follows the Methode Traditionnelle guidelines. Oxcart is the purest expression of our goals with Black Project as spontaneous fermentation yields what we believe to be true terroir, great complexity, and depth of flavour. If you choose to cellar this beer, it will age and develop for years to come.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.06
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 375ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in February 2018, Blend B. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy straw golden yellow colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Tart, sour, lemon zest, lemon, light funk and oak with hints of stone fruit.
Taste: Sour, tart, lemon zest, light funk, brett and oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It was nice, but it doesn’t have the complexity of the top Belgian Gueuze’s. Everything like the funkiness, brett and oak character just seemed a bit light and lacking in comparison. Having said that, if it was cheaper, I would still drink it, but at the moment for me, it is still a lot more expensive than 3F A&G for example. It would be an interesting experiment to age some bottles of this though.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Cantillon, Lambic - Unblended

Cantillon Iris

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Brewery: Brasserie Cantillon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Unblended)
Other Notes: Fresh hops, no wheat

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The Iris beer, a spontaneous fermentation beer made with pure malt, is really unique. It matures for two years in oak-wood casks and undergoes a natural second fermentation in the bottle afterwards. The fresh hops gives the beer a bitter flavour. This characteristic, combined with the absence of wheat, constitute the main difference between the Iris and the other Cantillon beers, that are made with Lambic. Keep and serve at a temperature of 12°-15°. To be drunk preferably within the 10 years after the bottling date.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled on 9th January 2018. Poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a one and a half finger off white head that dissipates fairly quickly to a thin layer, while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funky barnyard, oak, apricot, grapefruit, citrus zest and rind.
Taste: Sour, lightly bitter, a hint of sweetness, funk, oak, apricot, peach, grapefruit zest, lemon and leather with a hint of floral and herbal.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: Very enjoyable and great to drink. Even better when aged properly for a few years.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Lambic - Fruit, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller Spontanredgrape

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Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7.7%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: Brewed by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij, Belgium

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour ale brewed with red grapes & aged on oak barrels.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 4th July 2024. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy copper amber colour with a one finger light tanned head that dissipated quickly but left behind some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Funk, tart, vinous, grape, green apple, vinegar and a touch of oak.
Taste: Sour, tart, funk, oak, vinegar and lemon with light apple skin, light grape, and light red sour berries.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The Spontan base comes through strongly but the fruit element, in this case red grape, was rather muted in comparison.