Fragus
Birra Del Borgo

330 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 9/17/2015. Pours moderately hazy/cloudy deep golden/yellow color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big tart/sour lemon, lime, tangy strawberry, pineapple, apricot, green apple, mango, melon, orange peel, white wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, leather, musty funk, wheat, and cracker; with light notes of acetone, vinegar, band aid, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, strawberries, and moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big tart/sour lemon, lime, tangy strawberry, pineapple, apricot, green apple, mango, melon, orange peel, white wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, leather, musty funk, wheat, and cracker; with light notes of acetone, vinegar, band aid, and yeast earthiness. Moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, peppery yeast spiciness, and fruit tang on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/sour lemon, lime, tangy strawberry, pineapple, apricot, green apple, mango, melon, orange peel, white wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, leather, musty funk, wheat, cracker, light acetone/vinegar, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, strawberries, and moderate pale malt flavors; with a great malt/tart/sour/spiciness balance, and zero puckering flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from sourness/spiciness and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, moderate crisp, grainy/acidic, and tangy/tannic/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5.8%. Overall this is an excellent fruited sour/wild saison style. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, strawberries, and moderate pale malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, and refreshing to drink with the modestly lactic/sour/tangy/spicy finish. Really outstanding funky Brett complexity and solid lacto presence; with plenty of strawberry fruit character. Strawberries are well known to throw out some off flavors into fermentation; but but thankfully the Band aid/acetone was well restrained, and not offensive to the overall character of the beer. A very enjoyable offering.

 

 

11.2 oz. bottle poured into tulip

L: about 70% clear gold with just a hint of amber in it, peach, misty but you can still see through it; soapy-bubbled head just tall enough to cover the top, a skin, and it dissipates quickly, no stick or lace though it keeps some of those big soap bubbles for a loose collar

S: fingernail polish remover, strawberries ... real sweet, candy strawberries, though they're mixed in with the big sour punch of fingernail polish remover; has a lemon-strawberry candy aroma, a sour-sweet candy aroma with the strawberry sweetness being enough to suggest sugar or some kind of syrup

T: intensely sour, lemon juice, a full mouth-puckering first sip; the aftertaste begins to settle the palette and offers a little fruity sweetness; some finger-nail polish/remover and strawberry, like the nose a kind of candy strawberry, though not as sweet as the aroma; just a hint of funky barn must and hay, though the strawberry flavor begins showing up more and more and gives it a very clean sour flavor

F: light, watery, not as flat as it looks but definitely soft

O: as the palette adjusts to the big punch of sourness, the strawberry aftertaste and eventual flavor up front is very tasty; it's as sour as anything I've tried, but even the earliest whiff shows off the strawberries; exactly what a fruit "sour" should be -- lots of fruit balanced by a clean, tart base beer; a hardcore sour fan would love this brew; I'll grab another bottle when I get a chance

Pours a bubbly hazy peach color. Has a strong sour nose with a hint of strawberry. Wow it is a refreshing drink with strawberry on the end. Yup second drink confirms it. That's a tasty sour beer. I do mean sour not tart. Well worth the 8 bucks for a bottle.

03/16/2016

Poured from a 330 mL bottle into a snifter glass. Thank you Zinzi for this generous extra!

Pours a golden orange slightly hazy body with a white one finger head that reduces quickly to leave little lacing or retention.

Strawberries are heavy on the aroma, very berry forward, definitely tart and lactic, a little smokey / plastic.

Very tart fruits on the tongue, lactic sourness,strawberries and tart unripe fruit, followed by lightly funk and maybe a little earthy. A little off note as it warms up of rubber/ band aid. Medium carbonation and easy to drink, medium light body.

Overall very enjoyable, I'm glad I got to try this!

 

A light gold colored liquid hits the glass in a light hazy swirl. A small and bubbly head forms and is gone very quickly. The scent of the beer is slightly tart with just a hint of strawberry fruit flavor hitting the nose. The back end of the scent really reminds me of the oak dryness of many lambics. Overall impression of the smell is of a "light lambic" with strawberries.

As the beer hits the tongue there is a very light and fruity tartness right up front that tastes almost exactly like a sweettart candy. The strawberry flavor ramps up in the middle of the drink before the tartness really kicks in on the back end. Right as you swallow, the tartness becomes downright sour. Lingering flavor is of semisweet strawberries. On the palate, this beer is light, relatively high in carbonation, and very easy to drink.

Overall, this is a pleasant surprise of a beer. The strawberries are sweet and tart without being too forward in either direction. The beer is well balanced and displays great fruit flavor, as well as a sour quality. Definitely worth a try if you happen upon it.

 

 

Pours amber with a small head.
Nose shows massive strawberry and some funk as well as a bit of mint.
Flavours include vinous/red wine characters, a bit of an acetic notes, big strawberry, some sweetness.