SpontanBasil
Brouwerij Lindemans

 

february 2015 bottling. super infusion in the geuze of the basil. very drinkable. bslsamic aroma.

Paid $32 for this at Ledger's (2016 batch) a few years ago. Opened it last summer during Uncle Cork's afterparty.

Pours yellow, 1/2" white head, looks the part. The aroma was pretty much exactly as advertised, you get a mild gueuze like blend of 2 years of lambic and minerals, plus a hefty dose of basil. Its pretty cool. I like it.

Taste, look this is good shit, very similar to their gueuze. Has that great water profile, light oak, ample basil, moderate sourness and acidity makes for both an enjoyable drink. Carbonation just right. Has more of that complexity than a typical wild ale or kettle sour.

So its been all good so far right? Here's the rub. The awesome gueuze that this tastes just like, is about $10. This was $32, and all that really separates it is basil. So an extra $22 for basil? Oh I see, it has the Mikkeller name on it. Well yeah, you basically just double the cost of something with that name added. Great beer, it really is, but I can't justify buying a bottle of this again when I can get 3 cuvee renes for the same price.

Bottle: Poured a bright yellow/golden color lambic with a large foamy head. Aroma of basil notes with light funky notes is enjoyable. Taste is also a mix of light funky notes with some basil notes, light oak with faint tart notes. Body is full for style with good carbonation. I wasn’t sure with the mix of flavours at first but it is well balanced overall and pairs well with food.

 

 

 

 

750ml bottle that I got for $18. Bright orange, clear, nice rim of bubbles, some lace. Aroma is weird, basil, mint, and unmistakable Lindeman's lambic. If I was blind folded I would have said Cuvee Rene with strange shit in it. Flavor is also basil, mint, green, lambic, odd.

A very large, persistently present off-white foam builds strongly upon gently pouring, and the lumps leftover from pouring keep their form for a good five minutes as it slowly settles. The body is barely hazy vibrant amber.

The aroma really showcases the licorice and peppery notes of basil to an almost exclusive degree, it's very enticing and a great aperitif to a homemade pizza margherita. Some bright oak and a spritz of lemon accents the background.

On the palate, basil contributes intense peppery spiciness, not the sort contributed by oak or other typical contributors to sour beers, and also there's that touch of licorice that can often be found with fresh basil. There is a bit of charred oak and/or toasted sesame, and the sourness is pretty potent but at a tolerable threshold, bringing orangey-grapefruit and lemon zests.

This is just beautifully herbal while still a sour beer, with a medium body, very crisp carbonation and a tangy tingly swallow, finishing semi-dry.

 

Bought a 750ml capped and corked bottle in September 2017, production date was January 2016. This queer, spontaneously fermented lambic is a result of collaboration between the traditional Belgian lambic brewery Lindemans and Danish craft Mikkeller. Aged in an oak barrel with fresh basil for 1-2 years, and then fermented in a beautiful green bottle, the beer easily one of the most interesting ones I've had a chance to lay my hands on. Poured into a glass it is straw yellow; fluffy foam recedes quickly and without a lacing. Aroma is light and fruity with floral notes, somewhat stuffy, like in an old cellar. Taste is metallic and very sour, with lightest hints of basil, lemongrass, and mint. Light carbonation. Overall: quite unique and fun experience, yet it does not leave you craving for more.

A - Dark golden amber pour, substantial head.
S - Not much basil to speak of, a mild amount of funk/dankness with some hints of grain.
T - Tart. And then straight to funk town and sourness. The basil was buried under a mountain of everything else. Maybe aging this bottle didn't do it any favors.
M - Solid medium body with a good amount of pucker, medium amount of carbonation.
O - I'm not going to pass any overall judgement this time since it seems like I may have waited too long. Sounds like it was best right after it was brewed and then went downhill.

 

First tried this one when it came out and instantly fell in love. It was so bright with the best basil flavor I could imagine. I scooped up as many as I could get my hands on in the hopes that I will have the will power to sit on a few for a couple years to see how they age. 4 left after this one that I'm about to crack. Bottled in Sep. '15 making this brew just shy of 2 years old. Pours a crystal clear, deep amber with a thick head that dissipates fairly quickly with big bubbles and decent lacing. Nose is tart with a heavy dose of basil, slightly muted compared to the fresh but still remarkably savory. The taste is super dry, in the realm of a very dry white wine. There is a lemon level sourness that seems to have increased slightly over the years with a light malty back and still hints of basil. More than basil specifically it seems to have mellowed into a sort of general savory herb flavor, like it would lend great flavor to grandmas spaghetti sauce. Mouthfeel wise it is very very dry, remarkably so for my experience with beers. Sour enough to make you salivate it has a sharp presence. Overall I have to say that this beer was probably best as fresh as could be, it has lost the brightness of the basil flavor and has gained a tarter character that is not unpleasant. Still a delicious beer, especially for those of us with a tolerance or appreciation of the tart character of some wild Belgian brews. I hope they bring this back again someday because I would love another taste of the fresh stuff.

A 750ml bottle, bottled in February 2015. Poured into a Mikkeller tasting glass.

Appearance: A mostly clear golden orange colour with a just under two finger white head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a thin layer with lots of nice lacing.

Aroma: Extremely herbal with lots of basil and perhaps a hint of lemon and mint. This was surprisingly well combined with some nice funk, oak and hay.

Taste: Sour, basil, lemon, peach, apricot, oak, lemongrass, hay with a light funk.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate to high carbonation and a dry finish.

Overall: This was much better than expected. I’m usually a little weary about herbally flavoured beers, so the name SpontanBasil does nothing to settle my doubt. But upon getting a whiff of that aroma and tasting it, I found the funk and herbs combined well together and was very enjoyable. Very nice to drink.

Pours a cloudy, golden colored beer with a medium sized, white head.

Smell is utmost herbal, enhanced by some wet cellar funk and mushrooms. A floral note brightens up the nose, allowing old straw to cut through. The basil is easily detectable on the nose, creating an intriguing extra layer of herbs.

Has a high, mineralic carbonation which keeps the funk from unfolding too early, with a light, very refreshing body.

Minerals are utmost present in this, its almost like chewing on a stone, with a very high, not yet harsh carbonation level. From that first impression slowly evolves a mellow, bright and crisp funk sourness. This gets well accompanied by the noteable basil, which blends perfectly into the foundation of the beer. Finishes soft and aqueous, effervescent with a lingering basil infusion.

If it wasnt for its overly present carbonation, this could be great. The blend itself works very well, adding a nice, herbal depth to the beer, distracted by the high effervescence though.

Pours golden yellow with small white head.
Aroma has huge amount of fresh basil, sour lemons, hay, little funk.
Taste is lots of basil but not as much as the aroma, sour lemons, grapefruit, grass, barnyard, more funky than the aroma, dry bitter finish.

 

The bottle release a yellow, slightly hazy orange liquid, foam that disappears pretty quickly. Aromas of funk, herbal, basilic, notes of cheese. Very refreshing with that high carbonization! Taste is very herbal forward, basilic less notable than in aromas, funky, citric acid, almost no acetic acid, traces of lactic acid, sublime complexity of tartness! So fresh and crisp!