St-Ambroise Framboise - McAuslan Brewing

thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

341 mL bottle from the LCBO (via the brewery's summer sampler); best before Jan 31 2013. Raspberry fruit beers tend to sit well with me compared to most other fruit-infused offerings, so this is one I've been looking forward to since I picked up the pack.

Pours an opaque, muddy, reddish-brown colour, with bright crimson highlights under the light. The pour generates nearly two fingers of billowing, puffy off-white head at the surface, which retains itself impressively well for a fruit beer. It takes over five minutes to fully die down to a smooth, creamy cap, coating the glass with a layer of sticky lacing. Intense, tart aroma with plenty of floral, juicy raspberry character. Some leafy hop notes are buried beneath this, but picking anything else out of the avalanche of raspberry jam character is a challenge. As a fan of the fruit I am not inclined to complain, but objectively it just seems a bit... one-dimensional.

Fortunately that theme does not completely carry through into the character - there's a lot of raspberry obviously, but it'd be hard to mistake this for a cooler because it does have a few beer-like traits. Primarily the bready malts that keep the sweet/tartness of the berries in check. A slightly earthy hop presence creeps forward toward the finish, mingling with raspberry tartness. Fairly light-bodied, although the fruit juice thickens it up a bit and gives it a slick mouthfeel. The relatively mild carbonation contributes to the smoothness of this brew.

I like this stuff, but I must keep my personal biases in check here. As much as I love the raspberry flavour (which is not at all artificial or cloying), this just isn't an especially well-balanced fruit beer. The malt backbone is weak and the hop presence isn't much better, so if you aren't gung-ho about raspberry beer to begin with, this probably isn't something I'd be in a hurry to recommend. That being said, I'd certainly drink it again.

Final Grade: 3.83, a B+. St-Ambroise Framboise isn't mind-blowing, but if you're looking for a highly drinkable raspberry-flavoured beer for the summer months, I can't think of any other domestic examples I would prefer over this. I would rank it ahead of Amsterdam's KLB Raspberry for sure. From an objective standpoint, their Apricot Wheat Ale (also in this sampler) is a better beer - but as a raspberry guy, I'd probably choose this first anyway. Flawed, but still superior to a lot of Ontario-made fruit beers. Unless you have an irrational hatred of the fruit, I'd say give this one a whirl.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2012 03:22:33 | More by thehyperduck

DaPan

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

02-15-2013 02:19:36 | More by DaPan

wizo

Quebec (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

12-16-2012 23:51:35 | More by wizo

schnarr84

Alberta (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

12-16-2012 08:24:10 | More by schnarr84

KrisDLSmith

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

12-13-2012 03:57:55 | More by KrisDLSmith

KalanM

British Columbia (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

11-29-2012 01:24:44 | More by KalanM

Molson2000

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +9.6%

10-07-2012 01:20:22 | More by Molson2000

Converge

Alberta (Canada)

3.48/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

341ml bottle poured into a 16oz pint glass.

A - Pours a murky, hazy reddish color with a pinkish tinged head of bubbly foam. Surprisingly thick head retention with excellent lacing. A pretty nice lookin' beer.

S - Musty malt with some light raspberry notes lingering. Bready and slightly fruity, but a little off-putting in the end.

T - Juicy raspberry flavor, a little sweet and a little tart. Bready malt base for balance. Finishes with a subtle touch of floral hops. Overall a light, and relatively unoffensive

M - Thin, watery body. Smooth, but overdone carbonation, although nothing crazy for the style.

D - A simple and unremarkable summer patio brew. At the end of the day this is nothing too unenjoyable, but really nothing special. I'll pass next time.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2012 23:05:22 | More by Converge

Odri

Quebec (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -11%

09-13-2012 23:48:22 | More by Odri

greenrowan

4.5/5  rDev +23.3%

09-13-2012 04:18:07 | More by greenrowan

Vyronian

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

08-13-2012 00:51:21 | More by Vyronian

JohnnyBarman

Ontario (Canada)

3.63/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Single bottle from a St. Ambroise summer mixed pack. I'm a sucker for raspberry brews, so keep that in mind with my review.

Poured into a short nonic. Deep burgundy-pink in colour, with an off-white/pink head that has some stellar retention. Sheets of icicle lacing along the sides.

Nose is raspberry jam, citrus, candied fruit, a touch of ale malt. Again, I love me some raspberry, so this is working for me.

Flavourful brew. The raspberry is a little artificial, but it is still tasty and a strong presence in this brew. The sweetness of the raspberry is kept in check with fruit tartness and a touch of hop bitterness. Lighter bodied, thin but assertive carbonation. Tart on the tongue.

Nice raspberry brew, certainly doesn't hold back in the raspberry front, but has some balance. Not an everyday thing, but certainly worth a go.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 19:10:07 | More by JohnnyBarman

korguy123

Ontario (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Not normally distributed in Ontario this came as part of the St. Ambroise Summer pack (2x Pale Ale, 2x Apricot Wheat and 2x Framboise)

Best Before Jan 31st 2013

A- Muddy brown with red hues in there. Foamy two finger head that is tinted pink. Lacing is very good.

S- Raspberry juice, some sweet malts and some floral hops. Slightly one dimensional but smells nice and juicy.

T- Raspberry juice, sweet malts, a touch of fresh cut grass and some earthy hops.

M- Light bodied, low carbonation makes this seem a little on the creamy side.

O- This is something to refresh. It's not full of depth or character it's something for someone who wants a change. I like it, I can see a lot of people liking it too. The fruit isn't syrupy, or too sweet, or too tart, it's just right. I wish this was available normally in Ontario.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2012 19:53:06 | More by korguy123

Cpt_Caveman

3.25/5  rDev -11%

07-29-2012 23:22:45 | More by Cpt_Caveman

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Deep hazy blood red, pinkish-white head and a bit of lace on the glass. Smell is all out raspberry, bit of jammy fruit with a bit of biscuity malt in the background. Taste is like the nose huge raspberry flavours, a light bitterness, raspberry is well balanced not quite tart but not sweet either, some malts there as well. Medium carbonation, medium body, jammy feel as well. Very one sided stuff, if you really like raspberry this might be for you but it doesn't offer much more than that.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2012 14:33:53 | More by peensteen

mick303

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On the pour this looks like a strawberry float, with a rather large head of slightly pink foam, and the beer is a deep ruby pinkish amber.

Nose is immediately of raspberries, slightly candied. Smells a bit like artificial 'cherry' syrup that can be found at your local snow cone merchant. Hard to get much beyond this aroma.

On the palate this jumps around a bit. Immediately sweet and big on raspberry, a flavour which is constant, then more malt comes through with some carbonation and bitterness. Toward the end it gets dry, and a bit more bitterness comes in.

Mouthfeel is quite carbonated, harsh at the start, medium bodied, with raspberry highlights, this beer has a resemblance to cherry cola which is very hard to shake.

The main problem with this is it seems like a tug-of-war, between the ale and the raspberry 'cola'. The raspberry aspect definitely has the upper hand it seems, but it remain a pretty drinkable ale. I initially suspected it would be far too sweet, but there is a good bit of hops and bitterness to make the mouthfeel more balanced. If you're looking for something different and 'out there' might be worth a try, but not sure if I'll rush to get more.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 23:15:08 | More by mick303

gunsforhire

British Columbia (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +23.3%

07-04-2012 20:15:13 | More by gunsforhire

Antikythera

New York

4.35/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I had this stuff in London, ON last summer, and was told it was a seasonal. I've never seen it in the LCBO or Beer Store until today. It comes in a summer six-pack with two Framboise, two Apricot, and two Blonde.

A: dark amber, very cloudy. Persistent, pale-pink frothy head doesn't want to go away.

S: straight-up raspberry without being candyish. Real fruit.

T: tart, with even a tiny bit of bitterness. Both set off the raspberry very well. More beery-tasting than a lambic.

M: a little bit astringent, but ultimately refreshing. The head sticks to my lips and sits there bubbling away.

O: This is going to be one of my summer favourites. As a fruit beer, it's less heavy and winey than lambics or Amsterdam's raspberry, but is more fruity and colourful than KLB's raspberry wheat. I've been looking for something like this for a long time.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2012 23:06:14 | More by Antikythera

Hugues77

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

06-30-2012 02:22:55 | More by Hugues77

NightINgale

Quebec (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +16.4%

06-10-2012 14:22:36 | More by NightINgale

TJMcScmeebs

4.25/5  rDev +16.4%

05-21-2012 14:09:08 | More by TJMcScmeebs

oldp0rt

Quebec (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -11%

03-15-2012 13:10:21 | More by oldp0rt

jrempel

Quebec (Canada)

5/5  rDev +37%

02-19-2012 23:08:04 | More by jrempel

Macca

Australia

2.93/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

This pours a cloudy dark red with a pink tinge that extends to the generous fluffy head.

All I get on the nose is raspberry jam, which isn't a bad thing. Actually maybe there is a little malt in behind it.

Darker fruit flavours than I was expecting and a really unpleasant metallic taste. Very disappointing.

High carbonation

Not sure what that metallic taste is from but it really spoiled what I thought might be a nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2012 08:38:26 | More by Macca

maxraymond

Quebec (Canada)

3/5  rDev -17.8%

12-30-2011 20:42:25 | More by maxraymond