Framboise Oud Bruin
Church Brew Works

Served as part of their beer sampler. Me and my gal were excited to see that one of their seasonals was a Framboise. This one poured a very dark black cherry soda color that came close to being brown. The aroma is ultra tart and full of bitter/tannic unripe fruits. Smells almost too young and unconditioned. The flavor is so tart that it takes on a solvent like quality. Tannic and puckering. Not inviting or sweet in any way. The body is light and finishes harshly. I’m sure a few years of aging would help mellow this beer and improve the overall quality, but as for now, it’s practically undrinkable. Unsure of why they are even serving this.

Served in a pint glass at CBW. The color was a dark ruby/brown, with some white head on it. The smell was a slight tartness, with a bit of raspberry in there as well. The taste was somewhat tart, though not nearly as sour as some of the Belgian examples; the tartness did grow as the beer warmed, and the raspberry was only slightly present. Mouthfeel was average. As for drinkability, since it wasn't completely sour, could have more of these than the average Oud Bruin.

Well, if you enjoy the mouth-puckering of Petrus/Rodenbach/Duchesse, this isn't going to be as enjoyable. However, most people have never really had that sort of beer before, and it's not realistic to expect them to enjoy it quite as much. This serves as a nice little treat for those new to sourness, and this is certainly one that I would enjoy again.

This is a dark cloudy brown. The aroma is full of ripe raspberries with a little caramel malt beneath that. The flavor is light, but the malt steps out from under the fruit a bit. This is perhaps one of their better beers, but it really lacks any of the tartness of a Flemish brown.

Appearance: Pours a murky ruby tinted brown color forms a small light brown head leaves some miniscule lacing, but this can be forgiven after you smell this brew. Aroma: Strong fresh bouqet of raspberries notes of mild toasted grains giving a slightly nutty character, if you would guess from the smell you would think the flavor would be overly sweet. Taste: However, the sweetness is incredibly tame and the touch of raspberry glazes the palate with a nice base of a good brown ale. Church keeps raising the bar on their repotoire very drinkable mildly tart from the flavor of a raspberry, but the oud bruin label is a bit misleading brown ale yes, Flemish style brown ale no, but is it good, of course. Mouthfeel: Light to medium in body even easy going carbonation no surprises but very easy to consume. Drinkability: Nice shot at a raspberry infused brown ale, will definitely bring my lady up to imbibe on this beauty.