St. Louis Premium Cassis
Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck N.V.

St. Louis Premium CassisSt. Louis Premium Cassis
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From:
Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck N.V.
 
Belgium
Style:
Fruit Lambic
Ranked #127
ABV:
3.2%
Score:
83
Ranked #24,038
Avg:
3.51 | pDev: 18.8%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
14
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 12, 2022
Added:
Sep 14, 2008
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by davidwhatshisnam:
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Rated by davidwhatshisnam from New York

4/5  rDev +14%

May 03, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.8 by Catalinmunteanu from Romania

Jul 12, 2022
 
Rated: 3.11 by dabear85 from Illinois

Jun 28, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by matjack85 from Illinois

Feb 02, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by cliff1066 from Virginia

Dec 17, 2012
Photo of ccrida
Reviewed by ccrida from Oregon

4/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle, date stamped 08-2007, poured into my large Duvel tulilp. Appearance is a very dark, brownish inky purple with a tan-tinged light violet colored heard that leaves scattered, foamy lace.

Smell is heavy cassis and a little chalky. A touch of acetic acid, solevant, faint though.

Taste is quite tart, and very fruity. Not sure how much of the tartness is lacto from the wild ferment, or just the fruit, but I'm pleasantly surprised with the intensity of both, especially for a 5 year old beer! A little dry barnyard as well, just a touch, but it's really about the intense blackcurrant.

Mouthfeel is dry, light, a little slick.

Drinkability is pretty good. It's a delicious cassis lambic. Not massive cantillon like funk, but tart and fruity, balanced. Perhaps to fruity for some, but that is what this beer is supposed to be...
Aug 30, 2012
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

3.93/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
A: The beer is clear purple in color and has no visible carbonation. It poured with a thin light purple head that died down, leaving a thick ring of large bubbles around the edge of the glass and delicate lacing covering the surface.
S: There are moderately strong aromas of black currants in the nose.
T: Similar to the smell, the taste has tart flavors of black currants and slight hints of sourness and sweetness.
M: It feels light-bodied on the palate and has a low amount of carbonation.
O: I really enjoyed this beer because it was a lot easier to drink compared to other lambics and is neither overly sweet nor sour.
Feb 12, 2012
Photo of thekanna
Reviewed by thekanna from Maryland

4.07/5  rDev +16%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Had at Brasserie Beck in Washington, DC.

A: Dark purple bordering on black with a foamy fuchsia head which loves to lace.

S: Strong aroma of tart blackcurrants waft in and pervade the nose.

T: Sour and tart blackcurrants with just enough sweetness to prevent the palate from puckering. Essentially blackcurrant juice with carbonation and alcohol... excellent (what I always wanted in my blackcurrant juice!).

M: Medium bodied, light carbonation.

D: Incredible blackcurrant taste... everything I love about blackcurrant juice in a beer (I used to make cocktails of blackcurrant and perrier to add carbonation and enhance an otherwise delicious juice). Fantastic.
Oct 25, 2010
Photo of mdfb79
Reviewed by mdfb79 from New York

2.93/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Poured from a 12.7 oz. bottle into a tulip. Bottled in August 2007.

a - Pours a dark reddish purple color with one inch of red-purple head with little retention.

s - Smells of grapes, dark fruits, and yeast. Smells a lot like grape juice.

t - Taste is grapes and dark fruit. Again, tastes like carbonated grape juice with a little bit of wine mixed in.

m - Medium body with low carbonation.

d - Not a big fan of this one. Tastes like carbonated grape juice with some wine splashed in. Wouldn't try again.
May 06, 2010
Photo of Patrick999
Reviewed by Patrick999 from Florida

3.5/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I'm not too sure about this one - but I saw it and picked it up on impulse. I've not had a cassis lambic before.

A - Poured into my Ommegang 10th anniversary goblet. Decent pinkish-purple head, body of grape juice.

S - Aroma is mostly vinous, grapey. Also smells like Sweet-Tarts candy.

T - I was wondering where this was going to fall on the scale of lambic dryness - very dry and sour like a traditional Cantillon, or very sweet like the sweetened Lindemans Framboise? Well, my answer is that it's somewhere in between. It is *very sweet*, yet there's also a real mouth-puckering sourness, acidity. Sour black currant juice, and a little cheesy funk. Pretty interesting...if you happened to be looking for something in between traditional fruit lambics and Lindemans Framboise, this just might be it.

F - Very carbonated, as most lambics tend to be.

D - This is actually pretty good. Easy drinking with the low alcohol - it doesn't even really feel like an alcoholic beverage. Refreshing in the hot weather.
Apr 19, 2009
Photo of emerge077
Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois

1.97/5  rDev -43.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1
Sweet deal, $0.99 discount bin find @ Timer's...the Purple Rain foil just sealed the deal :) 08-2007

Definitely a weird drink, half Lambic, half juicebox. Full purplish foam rises and compresses into an odd floating island on the purple-black liquid. It looks much like the Purple Cow of my youth. Flecks of lacing adhere to the glass. The head breaks up and resembles floating particles of chunky wet fiber. Wet stone aroma, red grape must, communion wine. After a swirl there was a very off medicinal smell, like castor oil. Light tartness, followed by an artificially sweet finish. Strange flavor, old leather and cheap grape juice and franzia box wine. Bleh. It fizzles out quickly, and seems more like some third-rate artificial fruit soda, like blue razzleberry.

An odd novelty impulse buy, I doubt even The Purple One himself would drink this.
Apr 05, 2009
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

2.44/5  rDev -30.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2
Appearance: Pours a cassis color and with a fizzy lavender head that quickly fades without leaving much lace behind

Smell: Artificial and chalky aroma, with an overt acetone quality

Taste: Sweet cassis, followed by a tart, but chalky, artificial fruit flavor, almost like a Necco wafer gone wrong; after the swallow, the artificial Necco wafer flavor fades and the sweet and tart flavors are much more well-balanced, but the damage has already been done

Mouthfeel: Medium body with prickly carbonation; very puckerish mouthfeel

Drinkability: Not very, unfortunately; too sweet for a tart lambic and the artificial chalky flavor ruins the tart elements
Dec 18, 2008
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.7/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Concord grape with bright cherry highlights. The beer is topped by a wonderful looking foamy crown that can only be described as mauve. For once I don't have to struggle to come up with (arguably) interesting ways to say yellow, orange, brown, black and off-white. A few concentric rings of blurry lace put the finishing touches on this unique looking lambic.

The aroma is akin to something that Brouwerij de Troch (Chapeau lambics) might offer, if they brewed a cassis beer, but with less vinegary oakiness and more fruit. It also smells less sweet and simple than the Lindemans lambics. Sounds like a winning combination.

Premium Cassis isn't as cassis-like as I had hoped. There's no mistaking it for any other flavor, it's just that my buds want more fruit and less fruit-vinegar-stored-in-oak-casks. Although it's coming together a little better in the middle portion of the bottle, it isn't enough of an improvement to earn the next highest score.

The flavor profile should be fairly obvious by now... less sweet grape juice, wood, and small splashes of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. What is a nice balancing act with respect to the nose probably hurts the beer on the palate. In other words, the lambic geeks will find it too sweet and simple, while the chicks and the sweet tooths won't like the tartness and will want more sugar.

There's nothing amiss with the mouthfeel. It continues the theme of compromise by being both light in the mouth (thanks to an ideal amount of tiny bubbles) and slightly slick and sticky on the back end. One of the highlights for sure.

St. Louis Premium Cassis is a decent take on the fruit lambic style, but it fits into a niche that might not find too many takers. By trying to please both camps, it could end up pleasing neither. Especially at $5.89 per bottle.
Oct 29, 2008
Photo of Gueuzedude
Reviewed by Gueuzedude from Arizona

3.38/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
June 2007 Bottle Date; Sampled September 2008
An average pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a two-finger thick, dirty, purple stained, cream colored head. The beer is quite dark and is a deep concentrated, purple color that shows a brilliantly clear, ruby hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of currant and concord grape jam as well as a green, almost woody sort of grape stem like thing. There is also an aromatic note that reminds me of children's aspirin, plus there is something towards the finish that makes me think of a musty, damp cave.

The first sip is surprisingly tart, before it becomes sweet. The sweetness becomes more dominant than the tartness, but at least there is some sour character here to help offset the sweetness. Fruit flavors of concord grapes, cassis liquor, bitter-sour lemons towards the finish, some grape stem sort of thing again and a slight medicinal note are all noticeable. This has a bit of heft to it from the light sweetness, but still remains fairly drinkable, there is also a tannic heft to it and a lingering tannic astringency that sticks to the teeth and palate towards the finish.

While not a traditional interpretation of the style, there is at least a funky, sour base beer here that helps add a lot of complexity underneath the lightly sweet fruitiness. I am certainly enjoying this a bit more than I might normally because of the lame "spontaneously fermented" beer I had just before this.

Purchased: Papago Brewing, Scottsdale AZ
Sep 14, 2008
St. Louis Premium Cassis from Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck N.V.
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 14 ratings