Chapeau Abricot Lambic
Brouwerij De Troch

 

330 ml bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours fairly crystal clear golden amber color with a 1 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of juicy and lightly tart/tangy apricots, peach, pear, pineapple, mango, melon, red apple, honey, candi sugar, wheat, and bread; with light notes of hay, straw, grass, oak, funk, and yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/light funky yeast, apricots, and pale malt/sugar sweetness; with solid strength. Taste of big juicy and lightly tart/tangy apricots, peach, pear, pineapple, mango, melon, red apple, honey, candi sugar, wheat, and bread; with light notes of hay, straw, grass, oak, funk, and yeast earthiness. Light fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of apricots, peach, pear, pineapple, mango, melon, red apple, honey, candi sugar, wheat, bread, hay, straw, grass, light funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/light funky yeast, apricots, and pale malt/sugar sweetness; with a good malt/tartness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Slightly increasing tart/tangy fruit dryness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, creamy, and lightly slick/syrupy/tangy balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 3.5%. Overall this is a very good sweetened fruit lambic style. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/light funky yeast, apricots, and pale malt/sugar sweetness; very smooth and refreshing to drink, with the mildly tart/tangy/drying finish. Big juicy fruit flavors and balanced sweetness; with a good mix of fruity yeast complexity, and a touch of funk. A very enjoyable offering. Met my expectations.

 

2016 Boise stone fruit bottle share on 8/27. Not everyone liked this, but I thought it was pretty darn tasty, Full apricot aromas and flavors, almost tasted like a can of apricot nectar. Very juicy, sweet.

 

 

Felt like I was pouring champagne. Okay, maybe not quite that much fizz. Smell is pretty funky - like rotting vegetables. Sweet without being syrupy. Sour, funky finish.

A less rich lambic than I am used to, however this is the first apricot lambic I've had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A - Copper orange with a small head. Significant lacing.

S - Sour notes of a fairly straightforward lambic. Some funk and fruit, with a solid sourness in the smell.

T - Too sweet, not enough sour. Hits with a wallop of sugary fruit notes. Apricot generally is not terribly distinctive. What is missing here is a full sour note that balances off the fruit; it is there, but just not robust. As such, the beer does not taste distinctively lambic, despite the nose.

M - There is not enough sour, so the carbonation is not up to the task of scrubbing the syrup feeling off the tongue. So the beer becomes cloying.

O - I like my lambics on the sweet side, but this is a bit too much.

 

Served from a bottle at Lexington Beerworks (KY)

Medium amber (like apple juice); excellent clarity; Decent head and lacing.

Moderately fruity aroma without a specific apricot tone; light oak/farmhouse character; a bit floral.

Flavor: Apricot? Certainly fruity. apple and pear juices. Hint of banana. Moderately tart and slightly sweeter. Mildly funky.

Medium body; medium carbonation.

 

 

A: The beer is clear yellow in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high off white head that died down, leaving some lacing on the surface and a collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light aromas of apricots are present in the nose.
T:The taste has light to moderate flavors of apricot syrup along with a dash of sweetness.
M: It feels light-bodied on the palate and has a low to moderate amount of carbonation.
O: Out of all of the Chapeau beers I've tried, this beer has flavors that taste the most artificial.