This earthy, complex ale poured a muddled, tawny pink in my goblet, with a pretty, light pink head and carbonation bubbles rocketing from the bottom of my glass at a frenetic rate. In the aroma, there were mature, aged raspberry notes combined with the traditional “horse sweat” of a Brettanomyces fermentation. There were also some straight-up sour notes that were reminiscent of a watermelon Jolly Rancher. It exploded on my taste buds with a refined mixture of light fruit, intense oak and sourness. Typical to the style, there was no hop flavor and very little perceived hop bitterness. The beer featured a long, very dry finish, with the high level of carbonation and oak/earth character providing a pleasant, lasting impression. This is a very difficult style to commercially brew, and this beer represents an outstanding example of a Framboise, and one that's not to be missed.
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The Discreet Charm of the Framboisie
(The below was discovered in a very old, very dusty tome found deep in the Brooklyn Brewery cellars.)
Fram·boi·sie
fræmBWäˈzē/
noun: framboisie;
Boldly creative people who drink excellent sour beers, listen to vivacious music, embrace the funk, and steer clear of mediocre food, lazy thinking, fear-based living, and movies featuring more CGI than people.
Arose in response to the bourgeoisie, a ludicrous, vapid, and boring group famously ridiculed in Luis Buñuel's Oscar-winning 1972 surrealist film, "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie."
The Framboisie are famously celebrated in Brooklyn Brewery's 2016 production, "The Discreet Charm of the Framboisie," directed by Brewmaster Garrett Oliver.
Plot
A form of framboise (“fræmBWäˈ,” a traditional sour ale style aged on raspberries), the beer has a fine reddish-orange color with deep, fresh raspberry aromatics underpinned by the vanilla notes of American bourbon oak aging and the funkiness of the wild yeast strain Brettanomyces.
Production
"The Discreet Charm of the Framboisie" started as a base sour beer featuring barley malt, wheat, and spelt. This was then aged in Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels, each containing fifteen pounds of fresh raspberries. Finally, the beer was bottle conditioned with Brettanomyces lambicus and Champagne yeasts. The result is a sharp, dry, bombastic beer that is excellent with food. It is often enjoyed as a double feature with “Goat Cheeses,” “Salads,” “Chicken,” “Duck,” “Barbecue,” or “Game Meats”.No juices, purees or extracts were hurt during the course of this production.
Cast
Garrett Oliver as "The Brewmaster"
Eric Brown as "The Barrelman"
Drew Bombard as "Dr. Funkensurfer"
“The Discreet Charm of the Framboisie” is a Brooklyn Brewery Production.
