Girardin Faro 1882
Brouwerij Girardin

 

 

 

Bottle shared at Oud Arsenaal, Antwerp.

 

 

Pours a murky brownish orange with plenty of sediment. Very little foam.

Smell is a bit sweet and sour, with cherries, port and raisins masking a bit of funk.

Taste is semi sweet, with notes of port, brown sugar and grapefruit.

Mouthfeel is medium, well carbonated.

First Faro for me, so I don't have much to reference, but comes across as a blend between a sweetened gueuze and a quad. Pretty tasty...

 

 

 

375ml bottle into a matching Girardin tumbler appears a perfectly clear dark copper color with a khaki head that retains very well.

Aroma is not very telling as all that is detected is a bit of caramel maltiness and lemony lactic qualities.

Taste is a perplexing mix of lambic tartness and earthy funk with plenty of mineral character and herbal bitterness. But where this really gets twisted is in the sweetness that tastes like a mixture of raisons meets cider and brown sugar. As it warms up, toffee and caramel come through.

Medium in body with modest carbonation. At times this feels familiar and then all of a sudden I have no idea what is going on with the sweetness. So strange but hey, thats faro for ya.

 

37cl bottle. Clear copper with an almost non-existent white head. Caramel, honey, some very subtle funk notes, sour grapes and vinegar, and a medicinal/metallic bitterness.

A 375ml bottle with the numbers 2016 and 09 on different locations on the cork. Haven’t been able to find a consensus on what this means exactly. Poured into a Lindemans flute glass.

Appearance: It poured a clear copper brown colour with a thin tanned head that kind of sticks around and leaves some nice lacing.

Aroma: Had a hard time trying to describe this, but I would say fruity plum, prunes and apple, light tartness, butterscotch and brown sugar.

Taste: Candi sugar, plum and apples. Sweet and lightly tart.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with light carbonation.

Overall: This was an ok Faro. I’m actually in two minds as to whether I really I enjoyed this though. After going through the whole bottle, I’m on the fence.

Clear, dark amber color with a bit of tan head. Aroma is mainly malty with a touch of caramel, ginger, pepper and some other spices. Taste starts with just a hair of tartness and continues malty with moderate sweetness. Finish has bread crust flavor, a bit of caramel and also a bit of bitterness. Body is light with medium carbonation. Overall it's quite nice table beer, tasty and easy to drink but a bit simple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cork comes out without a lot of fuss and pours in a civilized fashion. Amber brown color with a decent white foam in the Mort Subite globe. Malty mouthfeel. Barley and lemonade scent.

Complexity of flavors makes me think of fruit cake. While it's on the sweet side, the body is medium and is just slightly sticky. More of a light dessert drink. Some sweet and sour-- lemon with spice cake. An interesting bitter twang at the end that is more yeast than hops. Quite drinkable.

From the 375 ml bottle purchased at Best Damn Beer Shop in San Diego. Price was an eye-watering 15 bucks, but that's the price you pay for "fermentation spontanée."