Framboise
Marble Brewery

Reviewed from notes taken during GABF 2011.

 

 

 

Growler. Courtesy of Gabe, thanks for sending! Pours a clear reddish pink color with a slightly off white head. The aroma is tart raspberry with a mild lemon sourness. The taste is a not overly sweet or tart raspberry flavor with a medium level of sourness. I liked this beer until about 3/4 through until I got a light cream cornlike flavor that threw me off. Overall, pretty decent but not outstanding for me. Light mouthfeel.

appearance - ruby/pink, an odd play. looks nice. minor head off white/pink in color. lots of bubbles. mhm

smell - sweet raspberry, then tart raspberry. barnyard and oak. compliment each other nicely.

taste - tart raspberries, barnyard and oak again but a little less strong. sweet strawberries. quite dry and crisp.

mouthfeel - tart and dry. amazingly carbonated but at the same time quite sticky and sweet. so incredibly complex and well pulled off.

A: A beautiful clearish red color. Looks like a sour red should.
S: Smells slightly sour with a strong raspberry note, as advertised.
T: Tastes sour but with raspberries. Kind of like a lambic without the training wheels. Really excellent stuff.
M: Solid mouthfeel. Not too light, not too heavy - just right for the style.
O: So good I wound up buying a growler of it.

Another experimental barrel aged beer, with several years of aging under its belt. Poured into a Marble snifter.

Appearance: Well without any doubt, this is obviously a framboise. The color falls into a deep red hue, with some relatively nice translucency. A great frothy off-pink head hangs around shortly, and then dissipates. No lacing, though the carbonation activity in this beer is pretty intense.

Smell: Initially, the juiciness of the raspberry makes itself known. The lactic profile works very nicely alongside the natural tartness of the berry, while allowing some nice barrel notes to come through. The funk is a bit tame on the nose, though it was served rather cold so that may turn around somewhat.

Taste: Again, that juicy raspberry takes center-stage. There's some really great tartness alongside some funk that wasn't strong on the nose. The finish allows detectable barrel notes, and this coupled with the dryness of the finish really accentuates the juiciness of the raspberries used. There are some earthy aspects to the finish which are very welcomed, and keep this beer very interesting.

Mouthfeel: With a rather aggressive level of carbonation, this beer still has some smoother and sticky qualities about it. There is a definite dryness, which along with a balanced tartness and sourness, allows the beer to remain very drinkable and exciting.

Overall: Again, I'm left feeling extremely fortunate for having a local brewery which devotes great time and effort to crafting barrel aged wild ales. Marble continually pushes the limits of what they're capable of, and strongly leads the tradition of New Mexico's evolving beer culture. Cheers Marble, another beer executed with unparalleled craft, devotion, and passion...

From the tap into a Marble snifter.

A - what you'd expect of the style - a light reddish body with about an inch of white head on top. Good lacing and retention.

S - a ton of raspberries, wood, funk, some citrus and wheat grass. Really nice.

T - raspberries dominate the front of this baby and it rounds out with a nice bit of tartness. Definite oakiness and funk are present in the dryer-than-expected finish.

M - just the right balance of tart, sour, and dryness. Excellent.

O - I think this is definitely my favorite of the style released from Marble so far. Easily on the same level as the more well-known examples and I'll do my best to share it with fellow BA's around the country (as long as quantities last).