Boscoulis - Brouwerij Het Anker

Absumaster

Netherlands

3.53/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The bottle I have has a different and more modern looking label. The beer pours a slightly hazy, reddish color with a creamy had that settles.

Smell of strawberries and blackberries. Fruit aroma in beer is always difficult and hard to compare to real fruit and this is probably the best fruit aroma I ever smelled. There is a slightly grainy smell in the background.

Taste is dominated by the red fruits, strawberries, blackberries and any kind of soft red fruit. There is a hint of acidity, but this is overwhelmed by the sweetness and thick body of the beer. Certainly not like a fruit lambic. When I am halfway the glass, the sweetness is starting to get a bit too much. Although I am not the biggest fan of these kind of beers, it has been nicely balanced.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 15:29:23 | More by Absumaster

karait95

Mexico

3.5/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: An intense red - pink color really cloudy with a nice head also pink with compact bubbles, that dissipates not to fast leaving behind a continuous layer.

S: Intense berries and citric aromas, being the principal maybe blue berry, black berry and raspberry.

T: Almost all the way you can sense all the berries inside again blueberry, blackberry, raspberry and cranberry.

M: Very refreshing sensation a little sour, some sweetness but in general really nice.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2010 03:09:07 | More by karait95

ggaughan

Pennsylvania

2.85/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Beer poured a bright red/amber color with a 1/2 white head. Clear body. Aroma gives off notes of citrus, berry. A bit boozy and with a mixed fruit nose as well. The taste is mainly blueberry, strawberry and some other mixed fruit. Although the beer is overall refreshing, the fruit tones taste a bit syrupy.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2009 10:47:07 | More by ggaughan

mrmanning

Ontario (Canada)

3.38/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle at Chaucer's Pub in London, ON- Hazy rusty red pour unleashes a frothy pink cap. Good retention, leaves good lace. On the nose, fresh strawberry, blackberry, some currant, and funky yeast. Tastes of sweet berries, sour,funky yeast, a bit of straw. Strange, but enjoyable in moderation. Medium body. Finishes sweet, a bit tart, with no trace of the ABV. Good.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2009 11:42:36 | More by mrmanning

gerardoluna

Mexico

3.7/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

[Eyes] This fruit beer is cloudy brown red colour, big firm and creamy pink foamy head,
[Nouse] strong aroma of red and dark fruits (raspberry, peach, apple ...), smells me like a "frootiloopis"
[mouth] Is fresh, creamy, very sweet with a little touch of citric, and caramel, the finish is plain fruit and sugar.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2008 16:58:11 | More by gerardoluna

fido

Mexico

4.25/5  rDev +21.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Boscoli pours a red-ambar color, No head and thin lacing; Smell is very interesting, fruty and of course smell of cherries and blackberries; Taste is better than smell, sweet and fruty; Mouthfeel is very smooth, almost no carbonation and Very drinkable.

¡Salud!

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2006 03:00:01 | More by fido

Pepeton

Mexico

4.15/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Nice label that identifies it as Boscoli, not Boscoulis. So I checked with the brewery and Paul Verbruggen wrote back and, among other things, said that it's the same beer with a lightly different name --easier to pronounce for the Spanish speaking Mexicans.

The label is also different from the one depicted here. On top of the anchor that represents the brewery is a fruit basket with an assorted array of berries in it.

Best before date of October 24, 2007 (in European format).

Also states that it was brewed for the Mexican market, and again Verbruggen partially confrmed this.

"Boscoulis is indeed our fruitbeer that we mainly brewed for the
Mexican-market", he said in an e-mail.

This is a tough one to review for me since I have had so few fruit beers, or fruit lambics. Actually, Verbruggen said fruitbeer, not fruit - lambic.

Bright dark brown reddish brew, with a massive and long living reddish to pink head and a hell of fluffy and foamy lacing.

Smell is absolutely fruity, mostly raspberry. Some malts and the typical Belgian yeast is also present.

Taste is of a Belgian pale ale with strong fruit flavors, not overwhelming, though.

Mouthefeel is good, raspberry and cranberry is noticeable, with a light hoppy finish.

Great Summer ale, dessert and relaxing beer also.

NOTE:
I see that this beer is a great alternative to malternatives. Sweet and fruity, but nothing to overpower some real beer flavor. Guess it will be a good introductory beer to non iniciates to craft beers, especially women (and before my BA sisters climb up my troat I'm talking of mainstream women that prefer coolers and malternatives).

So I'll give it a try this next Spring and Summer and see if I can attract some female friends and relatives to the craft beer world.

¡Salud!

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2006 14:44:14 | More by Pepeton

paterlodie

Belgium

2.5/5  rDev -28.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

29-04-07. Nice head and a redbrown beercolor. Litle haze that's opalizing the brew.
Nose is lots of framboise amd sour chrries with malts in the back. No freshness in this one though and doesn't come natural to me.
Taste is very sweet, sour chrry, tard and malts are completely overpowered by the fruit. Sourness and sweetness are totaly off balance with eachother and the rest of the brew. No this is not my type of beer but so are almost all fruitbeers.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2005 18:48:54 | More by paterlodie

mmmbeer

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +21.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330 mL bottle, best before 7/19/05 - the only English words on the bottle are "Belgian beer." Served slightly chilled in a flute. The body is an orangy/copper red that kinda looks like an IPA when light shines through it. It has a 2 finger head that is almost pink and leaves lots of rings and patches on the glass. There is a sweet raspberry aroma that is a little sour and very inviting. The flavor is sugary sweet and sour from the raspberries but I can also taste a bit of blackberry and an outdoorsy character. There is a slight alcohol presence and a hint of bitterness toward the end. I'm liking this more and more as I go. It is very drinkable (I can't stop sipping) with a medium body and a tingly carbonation that is overall quite refreshing. I'm not sure if this is a lambic or a fruit beer, but either way I'd recommend it.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2005 21:47:25 | More by mmmbeer

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

3.95/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

The beer poured into the chalice a lightly hazy redish pink amber. The head was tight and contained a reddish hue.

The aroma was raspberries with a light crispness.

The flavor was sweet with raspberries leading the charge and finishing it. The bittering was present and led to a more complex flavor that would generally be found in a sweetened fruit beer. The flavor did not contain a lambic sourness however it did have a slight hop bite to it.

The finish was dry with lasting raspberry flavor long into the aftertaste and light hop bittering that lasted as well. The body was medium and larger than expected. A slight bit too sweet on the palate at first sip to be a favorite, but a well done beer nonetheless.

33 cl bottle. Date on side of 19 07 05. Writing is in perhaps Dutch or Flemish (water is spelled water). I am unsure this is truly a lambic, it may be a sweetened fruit beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2005 23:21:12 | More by GCBrewingCo