Frambozenbier
ShawneeCraft Brewing Company

 

 

Poured from a 750ml bottle into a teku glass. This was one of the insanely expensive bottles sold at Capone's. Most of their bottles were destroyed in a flood, and these were some of the few remaining.

The body is a cloudy, hazy orange yellow topped off by a compact white head that snaps and pops away, settling down to a finger worth of head and hanging out for a while. The murky body has a peach-like quality to it...almost red in places. This beer has been settled for a long time, so nothing here has dropped out.

A whiff of this wild ale reveals a raw sour ale, spiked with fresh raspberries. It's amazing how well the raspberries have held up over the years, through aging. The aroma here displays notes of dank ripe raspberry, balsamic vinegar, sour grapefruit, vanilla, tart barnyard, and peach.

The body is light and dry. It finishes very quickly, but leaves a very pleasant aftertaste of raspberry and citrus in the mouth. The carbonation is perfect, with just enough to lift the beer across the palate quickly, and enhance the drinkability of this beer. The taste upfront is sharp, tart, wild raspberry, with some sourness in the back of the tongue. The fruity quality really helps the drinker perceive "sweetness" here where there is none, and it ultimately helps balance the beer.

I'm pleasantly surprised by this bottle. I've been sitting on it for a while now, excited by the fact that this was a rarity from a local brewery. Apparently they have been remaking this beer recently, and I have yet to try a newer batch, but this original, saved from the flood, is a fantastic Wild Ale, which I think could stand against some of the fruited lambics of Belgium and not only hold its own, but stand out.

 

 

 

500 ml bottle sealed with silver unbranded pressure cap.

poured into HF wine stem.

Appearance: pink opaque bodied beer that looks identical to pink lemonade. Off white colored head with a light pink hue. Head pours out to be 3 finger tall head that slowly drops down to a thick cap. Spotty lacing on the glass. Eventually the cap falls to a ring around the glass.

Smell: very fruit forward beer with a lot of juicy raspberry's present. Smells like this has a combo of lactic and acetic sourness. I smell pink lemonade too. Light oak here in the aroma.

Taste: Just like the nose, this has a ton of raspberry flavor and very noticeable sourness. I would say this beer is moderately sour at a 5.5 out of 10. Hint of white wine, wet oak barrel, and a minuscule rubbery funk profile. Everything is nicely balanced with the exception of the big raspberry flavor of this beer.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer with moderate carbonation. The mouthfeel is impressive. The carbonation feels quite creamy. Towards the end of each sip the beer drys out to a more than semi-dry finish. Making the sourness more pleasant and the beer is very drinkable (when considering the moderate level of sourness found in this beer) because of the creamy feel contributed by the carbonation.

Overall: Wow, Shawneecraft made a fantastic fruited Wild Ale. I have never even heard of this brewery and this was a very nice surprise. My friend bought a bottle at The Fridge in Philly and shared it with everyone. The 12 dollar price tag scared me away initially, but once I tried this beer I decided to buy a bottle to drink on a fresh palate to confirm if this beer was as good as I initially thought it might be. Well, tonight it is confirmed that this is a seriously good under the radar fruited sour beer coming from a brewery that I have never heard of. It is nice to find a beer is that is a true hidden gem; meaning that the beer has no hype surrounding it and it can be easily obtained without much difficulty or fuss.

 

 

 

 

Hazy pale pinkish rosy blond look. Thin light translucent white lacing and head. Smells sour and fruity. Tart off the front and sides of the tongue. Floral tartness. Almost an elderberry or rose hips flavor. Little to no hop or malt profile. Oaky wood earth tones come through on the aftertaste. Thin feel. Washes out clean leaving a slight pleasant sweet-ish floral aftertaste. Overall delicious. One of the better sours Ive had. Would love to search this out again.

Amazing, nothing like it. I could drink this all day, may just replace my morning juice with this. L - peachy color, hazy, but full of bubbles and no head. S - raspberry spot on, sort of a vinegary scent. T - perfect raspberry sour, almost sweetly citrus with a hint of oak and rose (? Of elderberry). F - like seltzer, bubbly and easy going down.

500 mL purchased at the brewery on 7/26/14. Consumed 2/14/15

Appearance: Cloudy pale rose. Could be brighter and more red, but it's a pretty color nonetheless.

Smell: Sharp funkiness with acetic highlights. Some dark raspberry fruitiness. Great "Wild" aroma.

Taste: Hint of red raspberry followed by tart, funky sourness with Brett bitterness and an acetic finish. Some phenolic funkiness in the middle. Reminiscent of Petrus Aged Pale, but softer and less aggressively sour. Hints of oakiness sometimes come through and provide some red wine character that helps round out the flavors.

Feel: Light but smooth; the acidity and carbonation clear the palate. Nicely textured.

Overall: This is a good-to-great American Wild. Certainly on the light end of the spectrum, but that's not a negative; not every sour should be heavy or overbearing. This one has plenty of complex flavors and is definitely worth seeking out. More fruit character would be great, but it stands on its own merit. Not enough of a war-horse to go up against, say, a steak, but it would hold its own against rich desserts or fatty pork chops.