Lindemans Framboise Lambic

Today's beer: Framboise Lambic by Lindemans

It was another hot day, toping out above 30°; a perfect day for a beer. I am slowly going through my older beer stock and anticipating a hot week have put several summer style beers in my fridge. I decided that this one would be a nice one to try on such a hot day. I admit I was completely dumbfounded when I popped the cap off and discovered a cork under the cap. I think one should only need one tool to open a bottle of beer: a bottle opener. I have had beers that had corks in them, but they were more champagne style corks that pull out rather than needing an actual corkscrew.

On with the review!

Framboise pours into the glass almost a cherry red and develops a small red-white head that dissipates quickly. While pouring I got the distinct smell of raspberries (Framboise is French for raspberry).  My first sniff gave me the smell of raspberries. Further sniffing revealed the very light smell of hops. My first sip was wonderful, bursting first with the sweetness of fresh raspberries and finishing with their slight tartness. There was a slight secondary flavour, but I couldn't identify it. This is an excellent warm/hot weather beer, especially if you really like raspberries (like me).

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May your glass always be full of good beer!

Brouwerij de Molen Bloed, Zweet & Tranen

Today's beer: Bloed, Zweet & Tranen by Brouwerij de Molen

Today was another hot day, somewhere in excess of 30° and the weekend is expected to be just as hot. A great time for a beer! I've had this beer for several years, and even though it says to "enjoy within 5 years", I think this may be one that keeping it around for a while is not such a good idea. This one was bottled on 07/07/2011 so I am enjoying it just inside the best enjoyed by date. I may have to try it when it is fresher. Bloed, Zweet & Tranen is a Dutch beer, that translates to Blood, Sweat & Tears. I wasn't expecting it to be a stout-porter and it wouldn't have been my first choice on a hot day, but c'est la vie. On with the review!

Bloed, Zweet & Tranen (BZT) pours into the glass a dark brown. A mountainous light brown head built after the beer started to foam up after I opened the bottle. This could be due to age. The head took a very long time to dissipate, but it did start breaking down fast. I noticed that there was a large amount of carbonation in the beer, again this could be due to age. With my first sniff I got foam and the smell of malt. I couldn't smell much else in the beer even when I had drunk some and was able to sniff with out getting foam in my nose. My first sip gave me the taste of heavily roasted malt, almost to the point of burned. There is some hops in there lending a slightly bitter note, but it is very faint. BZT has a slightly acrid taste with the strong taste of alcohol. Hardly a surprise, given it's a 8.2%, but then I've had beers with a higher alcohol content that didn't have a strong taste of alcohol. As I said earlier, I may have to repeat this review at a later date with a fresher bottle.

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May your glass always be full of good beer!