Lambic
Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House

LambicLambic
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House
 
Ohio, United States
Style:
Lambic
ABV:
6%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.03 | pDev: 8.68%
Reviews:
79
Ratings:
304
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Dec 03, 2023
Added:
Apr 26, 2011
Wants:
  61
Gots:
  57
Fermented by exposing the beer to untamed yeasts and bacteria native to Rivertown Brewery, known as House Funk. This blend fermented for over a year in wine barrels.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of drdiesel9483
Reviewed by drdiesel9483 from Ohio

3.32/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Over 1o years old
Look - golden copper with slight rimming
Smell and Taste - grainy apple and very slightly tart
Feel - slight syrup medium body no real carb
Overall - not bad for being so old
Dec 03, 2023
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.35/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Cellared bottle, 10 years actually. Shades of orangey amber make up the body with a clean white cap. Wonderful big barnyard and lesser but firm barrel funk with sharp lemon juice, solid hay, hint of orange zest, vinous notes, and a whisper of wet berry skins. Taste has the lemon and barnyard funk leading big time, vinous stained oak, white grape, pear, hay and a touch of grapefruit in the background. Very smooth and still for a lambic, age helped with this I'm sure, funk still very present and shapes the body but not as much as the sourness and even the vinous features. The smell takes me back to belgium, the taste and more so the feel remind me I am still in the usa. Still a wonderful traditional lambic!
Jul 31, 2021
Photo of hman43
Reviewed by hman43 from North Carolina

4.04/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Look: I pours golden with a little bit of clouding. It has a white head with low head retention.

Smell: It has a strong sour aroma with earthly, barnyard, and horsey notes.

Taste: It has medium high sourness with earthly and barnyard elements. There is a low apple fruitiness in the background with low grain elements.

Feel: It has a medium light body with a medium high sourness in the finish. The finish is also dry.

Overall, certainly fits within the lambic category with complex wild characteristics and sourness.
Apr 11, 2021
Photo of jkblr
Reviewed by jkblr from Indiana

4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22oz bottle vintage 2015 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp. The beer pours bright in a very light copper color. The head is restrained with nearly white soapy bubbles and quickly fades to a thin ring of bubbles around the glass. No lacing. The aroma is strong with a cheesy funk first and notes of white wine and fruit beneath. The taste is strong with acidity first, revealing bits of apple cider vinegar, cherry, white wine and very faint oak barrel the longer you hold each sip. No perceptible bitterness. Mouthfeel is thin bodied, adequately carbonated and dry in the finish. Overall, I won't offer a value as I'm drinking this to tick a style that I'm not comfortable with. If you like complex beers that smell like blue cheese and taste like vinegar, here's your beer.
Feb 17, 2019
 
Rated: 3.78 by Mateo2699 from Texas

Jan 23, 2018
 
Rated: 4.19 by BeerBeast from Florida

Jan 03, 2018
Photo of Sabtos
Reviewed by Sabtos from Ohio

4.12/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Sparkly yet milky orange-amber with a quickly dying white, lumpy fizz.

Smell is nicely sharp acidic funk with grapefruit and Smarties.

Taste is really tart grapefruit and lemon, with mixed berries and a little oaky aged vinegar and grape that develop shortly after the introduction.

This lambic starts light to medium bodied before giving it a good swish, which creates a full froth.

2014 vintage.
Jun 25, 2017
Photo of SaltofOH
Reviewed by SaltofOH from Ohio

4.02/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Vintage 2015. DFW Tulip.

A: pours a dark gold with a slight haze and no head - none - and a few bubbles of carbonation at the edges. No lacing or retention.

S: sour, citric, and funky. Oak and fingernail polish remover. Setting aside the sourness, it honestly smells a little like a fruitier bourbon. One descriptor I see is "goaty" and believe it or not, I think that fits.

T: it's a sour, alright. Arrives tart and acetic. Mid palate is largely the same; toward the end it shows signs of nail polish remover (in a good way) and body odor funk. As it warms this character shows through; distinct oakiness, with - where do I begin? These are not flavors I have ever experienced in food or drink before. Sour, chemical, complex, and pleasing. One descriptor I see is rhubarb; I definitely get that. Barnyard taste lingers on the finish. That is style-appropriate, but not so pleasing.

M: surprisingly lightweight. Faint carbonation, but there is some there. Very clean finishing in terms of slickness. Totally style-appropriate.

O: given that I have not ever had another unblinded Lambic, it is hard for me to rate this. I am drinking this for the sake of getting every category. It was a great learning experience, but I honestly can't see myself drinking this again, except for the uniqueness of these flavors. It is totally distinctive and frankly a little weird. My comments are more a reflection of the style than the beer. Worth experiencing once in a lifetime, at least.
Jun 10, 2017
 
Rated: 4.18 by PSU_Mike from Pennsylvania

Jan 15, 2017
Photo of jvgoor3786
Reviewed by jvgoor3786 from Arkansas

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 22 ounce bottle into a tulip. Pours orangish/ brown almost like apple cider. There is no head and no lacing. The smell is strong oak, peach, and funk. The smell combination is actually really unpleasant to me. The taste shows a lot of barrel and stone fruit, but the sour is first and foremost in the flavor. The slightly unpleasant funk taste is underneath the sour, fruit, and oak. The mouthfeel is highly carbonated with lingering sour and oak. Overall this is a really interesting beer. Lambics are new to me and I probably need more experience with the style. After all that, I actually really enjoyed the beer and would buy it again if I had the opportunity.
Oct 17, 2016
Photo of DucksFan16
Rated by DucksFan16 from Tennessee

4.08/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
08/12/2016
Aug 13, 2016
 
Rated: 3.73 by khargro2 from Tennessee

Jul 18, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by dag1991 from Ohio

Jul 17, 2016
 
Rated: 4.04 by IckyT2012 from Florida

Jul 16, 2016
 
Rated: 3.94 by Tertullian007 from Missouri

Jun 07, 2016
Photo of Phil-Fresh
Reviewed by Phil-Fresh from California

4.21/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2014 Edition, Bottle.

A: Moderate Funk, light wine, a bit earthy, with a moderate sour and slightly acidic aroma

A: Bright orange/yellow color, almost opaque, with a thin dense white head that quickly recedes into a film. Light lacing is left in the glass.

T: Moderate funk, a bit vinous, slight cider, slightly sharp moderate sourness that lingers

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. There is a light acidity on the palette.

O: Pretty sour and slightly acidic, but not harsh and doesn’t exhibit any acetone. The flavor has a slight cider note, but overall a pretty solid funkiness in the aroma and flavor, while still exhibiting some malt balance.
May 01, 2016
 
Rated: 4.35 by Zuidman from Illinois

Apr 05, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Pablobomb from Illinois

Apr 03, 2016
 
Rated: 3.71 by trxxpaxxs from New York

Mar 12, 2016
 
Rated: 4.5 by Lucoli from New York

Feb 12, 2016
Lambic from Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 304 ratings