Framboise For A Cure - Russian River Brewing Company

AwYeh

California

4.38/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2011 vintage poured into tulip. A huge thanks goes out to madvermin for sharing this with me.

A: Pours a vibrant, foggy red color. Considerable bubbles flow through the beer; not much head is produced.

S: Vinegar, oak, Brett, and raspberries are all quite pronounced- very tangy smell. Light grassy and earthy smells provide a bit of depth.

T: Great sour raspberry taste, with its initial tangy punch accented by sweet berry flavors. Amazing balance of sweet and sour.

M: Medium-bodied with lively carbonation; a long, dry finish closes things out. Very smooth across the board, and the aftertaste/feel makes me feel like I have just been eating real berries.

O: A fantastic sour, and one which I would love the chance to try again. A must-try for sour fans, if you're lucky enough to find it and have the cash.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 19:12:30 | More by AwYeh

Photekut

Azerbaijan

4/5  rDev -9.3%

05-18-2013 21:03:24 | More by Photekut

ALifeWellWasted

Minnesota

5/5  rDev +13.4%

05-18-2013 03:10:22 | More by ALifeWellWasted

JulianB

South Carolina

5/5  rDev +13.4%

05-16-2013 18:37:31 | More by JulianB

Auror

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev -3.6%

05-16-2013 13:34:59 | More by Auror

deekyn

California

4/5  rDev -9.3%

05-16-2013 04:11:25 | More by deekyn

Zbeetleman

California

4.5/5  rDev +2%

05-15-2013 03:32:00 | More by Zbeetleman

thezoobrew

New York

5/5  rDev +13.4%

05-13-2013 18:11:11 | More by thezoobrew

funkyaudio

Illinois

4/5  rDev -9.3%

05-13-2013 17:39:59 | More by funkyaudio

rboinski

California

4.25/5  rDev -3.6%

05-13-2013 17:23:32 | More by rboinski

BAstoutsNsours

Florida

4/5  rDev -9.3%

05-13-2013 01:55:31 | More by BAstoutsNsours

tectactoe

Michigan

4.43/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Huge thanks to yeahnatenelson for this one. As a raspberry whore, it's been on my wants list for a while. This is the 2012 batch, which also uses Temptation as the base. It pours the color of a ruby-red grapefruit with a gradient of deep ruby in the center and borderline pink at the edges. The soapy foam cap is a mix of lavender and pink and it gone within a minute or two, leaving behind only a little ring around the edge.

Raspberries lead the aroma profile, but Framboise for a Cure is far from one dimensional. I'm also picking up a noticeable amount of apples and grapes and cherries, all providing a jolt of sweetness and tartness. Plenty of funk roaming around; Brett-like, musty cork, and some wet hay notes. The more and more I smell this one, the more seemingly tart it gets. Plenty of overtly sour notes that pinch the saliva glands and start making my mouth water.

Once again, there'll be no surprise when I say that the flavor profile opens up with a large mound of raspberries. Other "berry" flavors seem relevant, too, along with lighter bouts of grapes and cherries. Very juicy, gushing with fruity flavors all around. Plenty of mildly vinous notes, including a nice amount of oak and tannin. Certainly tart and puckering from the middle to the end. It has a very crisp mouth feel from heavy carbonation and feels so light and effervescent. The funk is a bit more subdued on the palate, but still includes lots of cork, must, and cellar-like funk. Mouth watering a delicious.

Framboise for a Cure is damn good. As I stated earlier, I'm a huge fan of raspberries and I tend to be somewhat biased towards beers with well-integrated raspberries - exactly what this beer is. That being said, and somewhat shockingly so, I think I prefer the regular Temptation to this batch of Framboise for a Cure (which is essentially Temptation with raspberries). Nevertheless, still a fine brew and sure to make any raspberry and/or sour lover go nuts. Get some!

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 01:22:40 | More by tectactoe

mrebeka

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +2%

05-12-2013 18:55:09 | More by mrebeka

jvillefan

California

4.33/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5

A: Very appropriatly pink body with a white laced head.

S: Pleasent very crisp sour aroma with raspberry. There is a dryness to it that rounds out aroma.

T: Very fruity in the beginning. There is a sweetness that comes from the raspberries. The tart adds some pleasant funk to this beer.

M: Has a great bite from the carbonation but the body is a little light.

O: A great beer for a great cause.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 05:26:19 | More by jvillefan

jkane101

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +2%

05-10-2013 00:41:46 | More by jkane101

Greenplastic615

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +2%

05-09-2013 16:52:21 | More by Greenplastic615

caguiar

New Hampshire

4.5/5  rDev +2%

05-09-2013 15:30:19 | More by caguiar

cadaugherty

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +2%

05-07-2013 23:51:55 | More by cadaugherty

StPaulSuds

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +2%

05-06-2013 18:31:50 | More by StPaulSuds

thegerm87

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev -15%

05-04-2013 14:32:53 | More by thegerm87

Twal

Colorado

4.25/5  rDev -3.6%

05-04-2013 01:42:22 | More by Twal

Pete27lax

New York

5/5  rDev +13.4%

05-02-2013 17:32:32 | More by Pete27lax

mcc1654

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +2%

04-30-2013 19:39:29 | More by mcc1654

chase2634

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev -3.6%

04-26-2013 15:20:22 | More by chase2634

mindspin315

New Jersey

4.09/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into a Rodenbach Grand Cru tulip.

Appearance: Amazing fluffy pink head. Settles to a nice finger worth of froth. Nice lacing, lots of bubbles streaming up the middle of the glass, and an awesome red raspberry colored body to boot. Give a swirl and a fingers worth of head will re-appear.

Smell: Big dose of tart and sweet raspberries. Fresh berry fruit aromas. As if a mix of raspberry, strawberry, and tart sour cherries were picked at the same time. A light touch of funk...not overly musty or barnyard-y. Much like a Cantillon 100% Kriek but with Raspberry and not Cherry. Reminds me much of SHBRL, but a touch less complex.

Taste/Feel: Raspberry through and through. Lots of fresh tasting berries with a berry seed flavor...like biting into some fresh raspberries. Sweet raspberry/strawberry candy but not cloying in anyway. Much like those fruit candies you get that have a picture of a berry printed on the label. The beer dries out right before the finish and you're left with a light funky berry coated mouthfeel. The flavor and feel never gets to funky or sour...it's simply a nice mild drinking and tart raspberry wild ale that dries out nicely in the overall feel.

The beer borders on a fruit beer, but has enough tartness/funk to separate it from that and keep it from being too sweet. I was very much reminded of a Cantillon 100% Kriek or SHBRL in a few different aspects of this beer...even if this is only a wild ale and the others are lambics...it's def between a fruit and a sour beer and in a good way. Guess the perfect description is wild ale, because you don't really know what you're getting. Not that the beer is all over the place. It is simply a great balance of both tart and fruit. The raspberry aspect of the beer is mastered in this one...but it's a bit one note without the yeast adding a lot to the overall beer. I could easily drink a bunch of these over the summer months. But that's not feasible with this being so limited. Glad I got to try this and would easily drink it all the time were it a regular offering.

[93/100]

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 07:08:26 | More by mindspin315