St. Dekkera Reserve: Framboise
DESTIHL Brewery

this inconsistency with these guys across their enormous portfolio is pretty insane. some of their beers are world class excellent, and some are barely drinkable, and with the high prices they fetch, its really hit or miss taking a chance on their stuff. this is amazing beer though, which surprised me, because the strawberry edition of this wasnt good at all, but here the raspberries and the extended red wine barrel ageing really work well together, and the result is a lambic type wild beer as mature and interesting as anything from belgium, seriously. three and a half years is a long time for ageing, and probably justifies the price. it also apparently has allowed the wild fermenting agents time to find their stride and work it all out. this has a slightly medicinal funk to the nose, tannic and woody, bretty, with some citrus to it, very lambic-esque. the flavor has good sourness, flavorful and also clean, none of the vinegar and sweat that some of these have, thats all long gone if it was ever here at all. the berries still somehow taste fresh, tart and bright, juicy and bold, while the red wine character in here is also strong. the beer looks delicate, soda bubbly pink, but the flavors are very robust, and overall this is sensational wild beer, seemingly rewarding the brewer for his (or her) patience. impressive offering, but still, trying to separate the good ones from the bad ones in their lineup is like hucking blind darts wasted at a spinning globe, its totally random. as frustrating as that is, this is one of their best beers to date in my experience!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Description: Belgian-style Framboise soured and aged for over 3.5 years in an unbranded red wine barrel with raspberries.

On-Tap @ FoBAB.

Let me preface this by saying that Destihl, while being a relatively under the radar brewpub, is doing some fantastic things with sour/wild beers. The continue to show up at beer festivals and continue to wow me. This beer is no different.

A: pours a slightly cloudy gold, white thin head

S: tons of oak and red wine character up front, lactic acid comes in waves, raspberry is present on the finish, the nose infers that this will be extremely tart on the palate

T: as promised by the aroma, things start out with a swift kick of tartness, fruity raspberry notes come through along with tannins and oak, the finish is incredibly puckering and sour.

MF: thing body, high carbonation, refreshing

O: this is a wonderful example of a classic Framboise. Very sour and authentic tasting.