Cantillon Lou Pepe - Framboise
A - Popped the cork and poured into a St. Bernie's chalice. Pours a rather pleasant, cheery red raspberry as opposed to the brooding clotted-blood appearance of the Lou Pepe Kriek. Short, fizzy head that quickly diminishes. S - As soon as I popped the cork, the scent of natural raspberry filled the kitchen. This Lou Pepe does not seem to show a lot of wet wood and leather in the nose, it's just straight up fresh raspberry with a touch of perceived balsamic sour. Like the appearance, it is an exceedingly pleasant aroma that does not necessarily give away the onslaught of sour complexity that I KNOW is coming... T - As is typical with a Lou Pepe, the first sip or two is shockingly tart. As the palate adjusts, the beer reveals layers of sour unripe raspberry, balsamic vinegar, and red-wine-like tannins. Surprisingly, not all that "funky" - the pedio/lacto certainly bring the sour, but I'm not getting any flavors typically associated with Brett....no leather, horse-blanket, sweaty armpit. It's actually kinda clean, with not much to distract from the prevailing super-sour raspberries and tannic barrel quality. F - This seems to have a little more carbonation than the Lou Pepe Krieks I've tried. While not overcarbonated by any stretch of the imagination, I think I'd prefer this a little closer to flat, as to me it seems to intensify the already-intense sour. D - It can be difficult to drink one of these alone, even though it's pretty weak ABV-wise, due to the intensity of the sour flavor. Aside from the low ABV, it kinda feels like I'm drinking a whole bottle of Merlot. While this is certainly a top-shelf lambic - and I rate accordingly - I think I prefer the Kriek.