November 15, 2008
A Beer I Don't Hate: Framboise Lambic Beer
For those who haven't noticed my lack of alcohol consumption, I lack alcohol consumption. I don't like beer, nor wine, nor other spirits, not most dark chocolates, nor coffee; the bitter flavor is nearly unbearable and usually results in me making a disgusted face normally restricted to five-year olds. That doesn't mean I won't try them—I've had all of the above in tasting portions for the sake of figuring out whether or not I like them, and so far, I haven't. Attempting to cancel out the bitterness with sugar doesn't usually work; they just clash and result in a new, even more nauseating flavor, kind of like when you try to mask the smell of poop with perfume and end up with the most noxious, gag-inducing, flowery poopy smell. (You know what I mean? It's terrible.)
But today Tristan helped me choose a framboise lambic beer when we were at the Whole Foods beer store in Bowery. It is officially the first beer I don't hate. Or almost like, if not for the $6 price tag. It tastes like raspberry soda that isn't overly sweet with just the slightest hint of beer-ness, so little that I can overlook it.
I'm not going to go out and buy a case of it—I usually only drink water—but I would recommend it if you're like me and don't like drinking but have a beer-loving friend who is determined to find you a beer you will glug down on your own free will.
Posted by roboppy at 4:21 PM
Comments (29)
Too bad you can't (legally) get your hands on some miracle fruit. It masks the bitter and sour tastes in food. When I tried it in Japan, it made Guinness taste like chocolate and ale taste like Coke!
I'm with you, Robyn. I don't drink, and I can't stand beer. Everyone makes such a fuss about the body or back-flavor or bite of a beer--I just think it tastes BEERY. Which in my book equals yuck.
That being said, I don't mind adding a bit of beer to chili or something I'm grilling, like part of a marinade for chicken. I guess the icky beer taste cooks away!
I'll stick to water and Diet Snapple, thankyouverymuch!
They also have Peach, Apple, Cherry, and Blackcurrant. My favorite is a tossup between the Cherry and Raspberry. The cherry has a bit more of a tart bite. The apple can be very tart and sometimes a strange combination of sweet and sour. The peach isn't bad, it's a bit more of a subdued flavor.
...And I definitely have not driven all over the states of Virginia and North Carolina to find each of these flavors....
Posted by: Michelle at November 15, 2008 9:11 PM [#]
Sounds tasty, must try--NOW!
Have you had ice wine? It's so freakishly sweet, you can't taste the alcohol.
I had apricot beer once, didn't taste like apricot.
Posted by: Angeline at November 15, 2008 9:47 PM [#]
Jenneke: Yup, it's Belgian! Quite nice, but only because it doesn't even taste like beer. :P
Raphael: The one I drank had almost no alcohol flavor to it...I do nooooot like champagne. BOPPY LIKES UR MOST HATED BEER!!
Anjali: Ooh I tried some miracle fruit once, actually! We got some at work. I ate a lemon and it wasn't bad..heh.
Kim: Ah yes, cooking with beer is ok. :) I hate stale beer smell besides the..taste.
Michelle: You're quite the dedicated/obsessed lambic beer flavor...searcher...lover...something! I heard there's also pear (although peach sounds good); I WANT!!
Angeline: I think I've had some kind of ice wine before, but not the one that was so super sweet that I couldn't taste the alcohol. Doh. Today Tristan and I also bought a beer that was super sweet and SUPER ALCOHOLY. SO MUCH ALCOHOL. I could barely drink it. The sweetness did nothing.
Ah, I just tried this for the FIRST TIME on Friday night. It's so funny that you mention this drink.
I actually go to a bar in Silver Spring, MD called the Quarry House Tavern; it's this really fun, divey type place. They have this drink on tap! Can you imagine?
The next time you're in the DC area, you should stop by!
This looks interesting, I will have to check it out! I'm also interested in the miracle fruit Anjali (I like the photos in your blog!) mentioned. I had to google it a bit, and found out about flavor tripping. Hehh! I wanna do that!
I LOVE Lindemans Framboise! I used to drink it all the time when I tended bar at the Hotel Chandler. They also carried Lindemans Apricot, but I prefer the Framboise.
My favorite way to drink it is mixing it with a lil' Stella Artois (another excellent, and certainly more popular, Belgian beer). Great way to have the best of both worlds, with the sweetest of the Lindemans cutting through the alcohol of the Stella.
Happy Drinking!
Posted by: Mr.Rios at November 16, 2008 2:27 PM [#]
Ah, it's my favorite beer too! My favorite flavor is peach 'cause it's not as sweet as the berries and has just enough beer and fruit flavors~
I had a lot when I was in Belgium a few years back. Sooo yummy. I do believe they've got the best beer for me~ :D
I remember that Charlie and I had mentioned you might like it. Buwahahaha! AVOID THE PEACH!
Posted by: Jason at November 16, 2008 10:06 PM [#]
Laryssa: We're both LAMBIC BEER NOOBS!! Cool. Or no longer noobs.
Kåre: I don't think I ate my fruit correctly...I DIDN'T TRIP ENOUGH.
Mr. Rios: I'd like to just focus on the sweetness if that's ok. :)
Jane: And to think all I ate when I was in Belgium was...a waffle and a gyro. And chocolate, of course.
Jason: Ohh god! And thus I have revealed that I don't listen to people when they recommend beers to me because I just assume I won't like em. Ahh! Well. We can knock back some lambics in the future.
I love lambics! I spent a month in Brussels in the summer and tried lots of them. Most of the ones available today are industrially produced,but I also tried a true lambic made in the traditional (read: slow) way, and it was actually too sour to be palatable. But the mass-produced fruit-flavored ones are delicious.
I'm a fan of the framboise too! Have you ever tried Young's Chocolate Stout? It's not as chocolate-y as you might want, but it's pretty darn good. And I'm not a huge fan of beer either!
Posted by: Lisa S. at November 17, 2008 11:28 AM [#]
Marika: Damn, the real stuff sounds frighteningly sour! I'd still be interested in trying it though.
Julie: Never had cherry beer before! That can go on my list.
Lisa: I haven't had chocolate beer yet, but I've heard it's not bad. But I'd rather drink CHOCOLATE MILK!
Ulla: Man I could throw a lambic beer party and SO MANY PEOPLE WOULD COME.
foodzings: I want peeach!
Ick...beer tastes disgusting. I don't even like beer battered things...it still tastes like beer to me:(
I would be willing to try it though...but that slight hint of beer-ness might put me off...
Posted by: Kate at November 18, 2008 10:54 AM [#]
Are you a Supertaster a la Lisa from the Amateur Gourmet? http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2007/12/is_lisa_a_super.html
Posted by: JoAnne at November 18, 2008 2:13 PM [#]
Kaare and roboppy, I ate the miracle fruit at a TOTAL flavor tripping party. We gathered all these foods, ate the miracle fruit and went for it. As we started to eat, we were like, "Is it working? I don't taste anything. Has it started?" It's absolutely like drugs for the food-obsessed.
Erm so slow to this. Yeah the non-fruity base is called gueuze. The stuff is spontaneously fermented - basically exposed to air. It works really well when you have Belgian food with it, particularly moules frites! And I've been give rock sugar swizzle sticks to add to it. I think it's Delerium that has an apple beer that is more like real apples than like Jolly Ranchers (which the Lindemans tastes like). Brasserie Beck in DC has a bunch of this stuff. Sunset Grill and Tap around Boston has pineapple and strawberry lambics. You might also like Kasteel Rouge.
That's my favorite beer! I like the peach and blackcurrent the best! Try drinking that w/ Fornino pizza in Williamsburg at the McCarren Park. My favorite activity in the summer!
Posted by: Ines at November 19, 2008 1:19 PM [#]
Lindemans Framboise is WONDERFUL. In southern California, there's a chain of restaurants called Yard House and they have a huge selection of beers on tap [100ish? 200ish?), including LF. And they serve the Framboise with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, so it's like a grown up float. If you are ever in the area, try it. You will LOVE it.
Posted by: Bran at November 24, 2008 7:13 PM [#]
The beer flavour is pretty nauseating. I find that fruit ciders are a nice light, refreshing alternative that I can drink without that fermented [hops/barley/other] taste. Even so, I don't drink much or often, and pubs insist on serving pints of it over here @__@
Posted by: SuperChomp at December 7, 2008 10:32 AM [#]
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It sounds like a beer from Belgium, or maybe from our southern provinces (Holland). I'm also not a fan of beer, but I do like wine. Maybe I'll try this beer one day :)
Posted by: Jenneke at November 15, 2008 5:48 PM [#]