Balbec
The Referend Bier Blendery

- From:
- The Referend Bier Blendery
- Pennsylvania, United States
- Style:
- Belgian Fruit Lambic
- ABV:
- 6%
- Score:
- +6 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.59 | pDev: 2.18%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Nov 30, 2025
- Added:
- Apr 13, 2019
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
Balbec is a new bottle that is only available on-site at the blendery.
After racking The Blue Book off of 500 lbs of NJ blueberries in a single red wine puncheon, we hand-destemmed 225 lbs of Malbec grapes and added the whole, uncrushed grapes to the puncheon to spontaneously referment and macerate on one-year-old spontaneously fermented golden ale for an additional eight months. Balbec technically contains trace amounts of local trifoliate citrus and chamomile from Wittgenstein’s prior transformative residency, but the Malbec and blueberries are dominant. The grapes are from California, so if we are ever to make this again we need to source (or plant) some local Malbec.
After racking The Blue Book off of 500 lbs of NJ blueberries in a single red wine puncheon, we hand-destemmed 225 lbs of Malbec grapes and added the whole, uncrushed grapes to the puncheon to spontaneously referment and macerate on one-year-old spontaneously fermented golden ale for an additional eight months. Balbec technically contains trace amounts of local trifoliate citrus and chamomile from Wittgenstein’s prior transformative residency, but the Malbec and blueberries are dominant. The grapes are from California, so if we are ever to make this again we need to source (or plant) some local Malbec.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by SadMachine:
Rated by SadMachine from New Jersey
4.6/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Apr 13, 2019
4.6/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Apr 13, 2019
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by edthehead from Maryland
4.75/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.75/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Dark red with a loose light pink head that recedes quickly with very little lacing. Dominant berry, red wine, grape skin, mildly tart. Medium body, mild carbonation.
Feb 25, 2024
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!