Chapeau Framboise
Winter isn’t really the ideal time to enjoy a fruity lambic, what with the cold and short hours and all. That being said, the weather a couple of weeks ago was warm enough for me to chill out on the deck with this tasty Chapeau Framboise — I beer I know nothing about other than a pile of it showed up on the shelves of my favorite beer stop.
In the end it turned out to fit the weather nicely with a decent level of raspberry fruitiness and a sharp tartness that only made me yearn for an extended period of warmer temperatures and sunshine. And at just 3.5% ABV, the beer won’t really do too much damage if you get greedy with the sweetness and down it too quickly.
Appearance
The beer pours a ruby red (the photo clearly does not show that) with a short-lived, light purple head.
Aroma
There’s a pile of raspberries and fruit juice sweetness on the nose. I didn’t pick up any oak in the aroma.
Taste
Wow. This thing starts off super fruity with a sharp tartness that is delayed at first, but does hit with a solid pucker before fading to a lingering sweetness. There’s just the slightest oak presence late in the finish after the beer has had a chance to warm in the glass.
Overall
Initially, the sweet fruit juice character was a bit much for me, but after the tartness had an opportunity to fully balance it out about halfway, the beer settled down nicely. I’m not sure how this one would age, but I might pick up a bottle to experiment with.
Rating:3.75/5