Chapeau Framboise Lambic - Brouwerij De Troch

Pegasus

Texas

4/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Slightly hazy ruby-brown color, with a small white head, thick glass-coating lace, and moderate carbonation.

Aroma: Profound aroma of raspberry hard candy, with a must and earth note, also, but definitely secondary to the raspberry aromas.

Taste: Opens with a sharp, sweet candy-like raspberry flavor, again, much like raspberry hard candy, later in the taste there is a tangy, sour note, along with some barnyard and horse blanket notes, as is entirely appropriate for the lambic style. Towards the finish, even a flavor of raspberry seed manifests itself.

Mouth feel: Smooth, soft, and quite full, with slight, soft carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: A very nice example of the style. Comparison's of Chapeau Framboise Lambic with Lindeman's Framboise are inevitable. To me, Chapeau seems a bit more over-the-top than Lindeman's, but is, nonetheless, superbly crafted, and well worth a try. The only notable shortcoming is that the raspberry flavor seems a touch artificial, which I am sure it is not.

Sampled as a part of the "Night of Chapeau", with my friend and fellow BA HardTarget.

For BeerAdvocates seeking to interest ladies in craft-brewed beer, it should be noted that my fiancée and the lovely wife of my fellow BA HardTarget both liked this beer very much.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2006 00:02:48 | More by Pegasus

HardTarget

Texas

4.22/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle: notes oak cask aging. When I pulled the cork, white carbonation bubbles seeped out of the bottom of the cork for a good long while, interesting.

Aroma: Rich fruit, mostly raspberry, raspberry seeds, some wet cork and a nice background Lambic funk gives a nice level of complexity.

Appearance: Very hazy red brown glass holds a tan/brown head.

Flavor: Tart! Great sweet-sour raspberry zing with a firm farmyard background to keep it from going cloy.

Mouthfeel: Almost creamy, good carbonation level, slight pucker

Overall Impression: Fruity dessert beer with a good lambic base. Even my wife liked it! Pick of the litter of the Chapeau beers.

Sampled as part of the “Night of Chapeau”, many thanks to Pegasus for assembling the 8 flavors.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2006 18:15:35 | More by HardTarget

Morris729

Texas

3.6/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark rusty brick red color with a bubbly cola-like head. Nose is tart raspberries along with a faint musty yeastiness. Taste is sweet raspberry jam along with a strong tart and acidic raspberry flavor. Some barnyard funk is also apparent. Would pair well with some dark chocolate.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2006 00:11:40 | More by Morris729

mjc410

Virginia

2.65/5  rDev -28%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Hazy, near opaque, purple red. No head formed, just a ring around the glass. In the nose, it's wholly sour-sweet raspberry. The fruit smell really comes through, though. The high point. Taste is very acidic, with notes of oak, slight horseblanket, with of course an extreme raspberry flavor. It is sweet, but not to the point of cloying. Leaves a sweetness on the lips, but an uncomfortable acid burn in the throat. It's smooth an relatively light. More carbonation would be a plus. Overall, the high acidity just kills me, and makes even 6 oz more of a fight than a pleasure.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2006 11:48:33 | More by mjc410

jameaterblues

New York

3.83/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- The bottle was capped with an over sized bottle cap, and under the cap was a cork. The beer poured a brownish red with pink hints....thin reddish white head, and light lacing.
S- Strong raspberry (as expected), other red fruit (maybe cherry or other berries), and a little oak.
T- Rich raspberry....very sweet, but the tartness of the raspberry is a nice contrast(and a very nice aftertaste). Light coco hints. This would be perfect with chocolate or as a desert all my itself.
M/D- Fairly thick body, almost syrupy. Moderate carbonation. Not something to drink everyday, but very nice on occasion.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2006 15:18:52 | More by jameaterblues

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A very attractive appearance. Deep, deep red with no room for hues. Large, copious head which would persist and leave delicate lacing. Aroma of raspberries and lambic yeast. Very nice. A gentle tartness in the aftertaste. Not as sweet as others in the raspberry game! Even using the word 'juice' implies too sweet or sugary, this was a very authentic fruit-lambic. Flavour is strong as well. A striking authentic feature to this one. Surprisingly heavy mouthfeel for a fruit beer (especially one of only 3%) Very impressed and rate this very high for a fruit beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2006 16:16:24 | More by biegaman

zymurgy4all

New York

4.35/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This lambic has a truly dark red/amber color. It has a small but long lasting head and great lacing. Its clarity is cloudy to very cloudy depending on how it is poured, since their is a great yeast cake sitting on the bottom.

It has an almost overwhelming smell of rasberries almost like a rasberry candy.

The inital taste as it hits your tongue is full of distinct rasberries, however as it hits the back of your tongue you get the distinct sourness that only a lambic can offer.

Its carbonation is slighly low, but appropriate due to the high sourness flavor.

The only downfall I see in this lambic is the aftertaste is almost like you just ate a Vitamin C--very acid like. I found the best way to resolve this is to have another sip! :)

I highly recommend anyone to try this beer if they have never tasted a lambic.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2005 22:43:03 | More by zymurgy4all

buckiflyer

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Purchased bottle in Summerville, South Carolina at Bill's Liquor store on sale for 2.50 marked down from 4.95. Figure for the price this was a good oppportunity to try my first Lambic. Bottle came capped and corked. Poured a cloudy light brown color. Rasberry smell hit me immediately. Small carbonated head with long lasting lacing. Sweet first taste followed by malt adn then finishes with an oak after taste. Light mouthfeel. To me it is the perfect balance of wine and beer. Good to drink on a hot summer evening.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2005 01:26:37 | More by buckiflyer

MrSeth

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours an earthy purple-pinkish color with a pink head that rises about an inch and fizzles leaving an impressive 1/8" head that lasts a good while.

The aroma is wonderful! Winey rasberry, sharp, borderline pungent.

The taste is equally as nice a surprise. Huge fruit (!), so full in flavor that it qualifies as a complete dessert in a bottle. The mouthfeel has a heavy-ish body, sweet and very fruity with a slight malt edge and a hearty amount of carbonation keeping all the weight of this beer moving across the tongue.

Towards the end there is a slight musk.. it's not as forward as it can be in some examples of the style. It actually goes quite nicely with the sweet fruit flavors, backing them up more than competing with them.

I would love one of these after dinner. It is too far into the sweet and heavy side for a casual session. Very good for what it is though.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2005 21:36:06 | More by MrSeth

allengarvin

Texas

3.75/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark brown color, tinted slightly red, with a tan head. Aroma is strongly strawberry, with some nice musty lambic scent. Very sweet raspberry flavor, but no particular lambic flavors apart from acidic tartness. High carbonation and a spritzy mouthfeel.

I enjoy sweetened lambics, though I prefer a more traditional one. This one is not bad, but not much stands out compared to Belle-vue, Lindemans, or Liefmans, unfortunately the most common varieties in stores in the US.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2005 02:08:54 | More by allengarvin

oberon

North Carolina

3.83/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep burgundy with a brownish tint with a decent sticky head,aroma is mainly of reat tart fresh raspberries pretty appetizing.Taste is pretty acidic of tart fresh picked raspberries with a hint of woodiness in the finish,a good balance of sweetness and acidity.A nice easy drinking raspberry lambic not an everyday thing for me but this one I really liked.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2004 21:36:11 | More by oberon

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

3.38/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer poured hazy ruby brown color with little head, make that no head. The aroma when first poured had a slight skunk to it. After a few minutes of warming the aroma of raspberries and lambic are noticeable. Also present is a cork aroma. The flavor is raspberries and slight sourness. The finish is raspberry and dry. The body is very light and the beer very flat. The drinkability is good.

This beer does not have the attributes I normally associate with a lambic. It is fairly one dimensional.

Heavy 12.7 ounce green bottle. Had a large crown cap and a cork underneath. Lots of dark sediment in bottom of bottle.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2003 23:36:22 | More by GCBrewingCo

granger10

Wisconsin

3.65/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Is this a beer? I don't know if it is, but I do know that this tastes good. Has a very strong raspberry taste to it. Very crisp texture. Starts out tarty but eventually becomes sweeter and finishes very sweet. I liked it a lot for a change of pace. Good for a dessert. However it's too expensive to buy often.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2003 16:44:20 | More by granger10

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.43/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Color is a dark, hazy raspberryish red, with a small, if extant at all, head. Aroma speaks a different story: vast, sharp and tart, and all raspberry. Got to give it to De Troch, they can nail a flavor! It's all there and it's all reaspberry! Full-on flavor, too, very sweet, though many will discredit a sweet beer, or an un-sour lambic, for that matter. I think it's fine, though not near the best.
Encompasses as interesting region of brew, for which we take a vacation from the consideration of other beers. Hops, malt, body, texture, etcetera, don't play as important a part as they might elsewhere, and we suspend our judgement. It's a light, dessert beer, and tastes of fruit, doing that job quite well. And it's good for that, too!

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2003 03:12:10 | More by feloniousmonk

fattyre

Georgia

3.15/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This beer pours a clear reddish orange with a white clingy dissipating head and a moderate mouthfeel. The smell is tart and winey with overwhelming raspberry. The taste is very slightly sour with SWEET raspberry- very much like a jolly rancher candy. An okay framboise that would definitely benefit from having the sweetness toned back quite a bit.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2003 18:16:56 | More by fattyre

Bunnyhop

Georgia

3.48/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A clear, reddish orange Framboise Lambic, with a white, clingy, dissipating head. The smell is most definitely raspberry (fancy that!). The taste too is raspberry, with a thick sweetness, slight malt, and a very light sour finish. The body was thin to firm in my mouth. Overall, this was a bit too sweet for me, but still relatively good for a Framboise Lambic (there are others I prefer over this one).

(source: Frugal Scot; Fernandina Beach, FL)

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2003 16:02:25 | More by Bunnyhop

Gusler

Arizona

3/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I can't see through the "Purple Haze", little purplish head and some lace. Ripe raspberry nose, sweet, the front cloyingly sweet, the top skeletal, finish is sour chased by the sweetness, light acidity, but the best I've tasted from this brewery, I can at least drink this one. As not to appear totally negative in relation to this breweries beer, I think they would make decent “Desert” beers and many might like the fruity sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2002 16:32:14 | More by Gusler

ADR

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had a choice of fruits and raspberry is my favorite jam, so...

Cap and a cork on the bottle. Opaque and murky maple syrup color, some dark chunks. Initial carbonation was gone pretty soon, little to no head. Very raspberry aroma. Flavor is of fruit but was very fresh. I could almost taste the seeds and some stems. Medium body, a little cloying but there was minimal beer quality other than a slight malt muskiness in taste and up the nasal passages. Astringent at finish. Because there was no over-sweetness to it, I'll give this Lambic a head's up on a lot of American Fruit/Wheat brews. I tried to give it a medium high score as my skills at evaluating Lambics are minimal. Not a beer for me but its fun to taste unique styles in the world of beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2002 09:00:13 | More by ADR

budgood1

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

in my attempt to introduce my girlfriend to the wide world of beer, i suggested she try a lambic, as she likes a variety of fruit beers and i also had never tried a lambic. i found this beer very satisfying. a very cloudy, juicy looking concoction that had a wonderful raspberry aroma. it tasted sweet like juice, with a slight tartness that was appealing. i wouldn't want to drink more than one or two due to the sweetness, but it would be delicious for breakfast. i look forward to trying others within the style and will occasionally buy different ones to experiment with.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2002 08:47:53 | More by budgood1

Jason

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Presentation: 12.7 oz green mini magnum bottle that is corked and capped, “Authentic Lambic Beer” stated on the label also the ingredients are : water, malt, wheat, hop, yeast, sugar, flavour, raspberry (20%). “Best before end” freshness date marked on the back label.

Appearance: The colour lays somewhere between burgundy and brick red, cloudy to the point of being murky in a way. Thin bubbly lace has a pinch of pink colour to it, some champagne like bubbles force their way to the top.

Smell: Aromas of raspberry puree or syrup, tart and yeasty with undertones of horse blanket and mustiness.

Taste: Moderate body with a touch of syrupiness in the start, semi crisp and smooth mouth feel from the tiny bubbles. Subtle sweetness of raspberries upfront quickly gets a one-two punch of tartness to give the mouth a puckering sensation. Small hint of barn yard / horse blanket flavour in the middle, hops are not noticeable. Yeast plays around in the back and becomes more prominent in the finish. Light suggestion of grain towards the finish as the tartness fades.

Notes: Perfect balance of tartness and fruit sweetness, very true to style and seems to been on the lighter scale in comparison to some of the more boisterous and some times overly syrupy fruit lambics which makes it an even better pick to pair up with a Sunday brunch.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2001 00:49:07 | More by Jason