Raspberry Beers

Today we have another battle of the beers. This time, they are not exactly the same style, but both have lots of raspberries included in the brew. One beer is Boon's Framboise, a lambic from Belgium, and the other is Founder's Rubaeus from America.

The framboise is a very wine colored beer with a thin, dissipating, pinkish head. There is lots of raspberry on the aroma, but also a bit of cherry. Additionally, there is a bit of oak on the nose, combined with a hint of fresh meringue. The flavor is pretty tart and has a decently strong woody bitterness. It has a fairly light body, nowhere near as thick as the Lindemans version, and the raspberry in the flavor primarily comes through in the tartness. Overall, this beer essentially tastes like red wine, especially with the fruity, woody character in the flavor. If you gave this beer to someone in a wine glass, chances are they would not even consider that it was beer.

Founder's Rubaeus on the other hand, is quite different. It pours a bright, pinkish red with a thin dissipating pink head. It smells like raspberry bonbons, or some other raspberry flavored candy. Additionally, it has a bit of a medicinal cough syrup quality to the raspberry character. While the aroma is interesting, it is in the flavor that things definitely turn towards the worse. It has a very strong cough syrup like taste that sticks in your mouth. There is also a bitter raspberry taste in there, making this beer extremely unpleasant. I even considered dumping it down the drain after a few sips. It is overly sweet, medicinal, and frankly a bad example of what raspberry can do to a brew.

As you might assume, the Belgian wins by a landslide because it was a semi-enjoyable beer with depth of flavor and not too over the top in any one area. The Founders on the other hand was horrible, and if anyone sees it in stores, I highly recommend against purchasing it.