Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Woodman's in Kenosha, WI; 2013
Style/ABV: Fruit Beer, 4.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
Brewed By: Brouwerij Lindemans in St Pieters Leeuw-Vlezenbeek, Belgium
Purchased: Single bottle 355ml/12oz bought at Malloy's Finest Wine & Spirits in IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Lambic - Fruit, 2.5%
I recently reviewed New Glarus' Raspberry Tart and found myself comparing the beer to Lindemans' Framboise. As you can see, I did review the Framboise a long time ago. It's a shitty review, but that's par the course for this blog.
I thought it would be fun to do a quick comparison of the readily available Lindemans' Framboise vs. the New Glarus Raspberry Tart. So I headed out to the store, snagged a bottle of Framboise, and took some notes. The results are probably not surprising, but I was a little surprised at how far off I was in terms of how I remembered the Framboise.
Appearance:
Lindemans' Framboise: Fucking purple. You cannot miss this radioactive purple abomination. This looks like something straight out of a Marvel comic book that is going to give you super powers. This one pours into a purple body, and kicks up a couple of fingers of pink/purple head. The beer is super effervescent and has good lacing.
New Glarus Raspberry Tart: I stand by my earlier review. This beer pours into a dark, hazy, mahogany/red body. This one kicks up a finger or two of mahogany/orange head, and has good lacing. This beer is also super effervescent.
Aroma:
Lindemans' Framboise: Raspberry syrup. Like the sugary stuff you buy at the store to put in your tea. This beer has that sucrose aspect that is artificial as hell but welcoming if you like sugar. There's also a good amount of raspberry currant and tea on the aroma, with some mild Belgian funk and barnyard esters. The sweetness dominates the funk.
New Glarus Raspberry Tart: Subtle is the name of the game. There's not as much on the aroma here, but you get fresh raspberry. There's a mild tea note, with some hops. There's also big malts and sugars on the nose. There are some really nice complex sugars at work here, with some bready hints. Nice.
Taste:
Lindemans' Framboise: The taste mirrors the nose, with aggressively sweet raspberry syrup, currants, sugary sweet kisses, and some light barnyard funk that is overpowered by sucrose.
New Glarus Raspberry Tart: This beer is exploding with authentic raspberry off the vine, mild currants/tea, and tons of malty complexity that hint at bread, caramel, brown sugar, and caramel. The level of malt complexity in the Raspberry Tart compared to the Lindemans' Framboise is like night and day. There's also an apple note here that I can't quite place, and a hint of pie crust.
Mouthfeel/Drinkability:
Lindemans' Framboise: This is super carbonated, super sweet, and very drinkable. The mouthfeel is medium-light to light bodied, and complexity is low but the palate depth is good. You get raspberry syrup up front; that rolls into currants; there's a hint of malt and barnyard funk, and the finish is sweet with fake sugar sucrose goodness.
New Glarus Raspberry Tart: Carbonated, drinkable, medium-bodied...good palate depth, good complexity. This is less funky than the Framboise, but a little more tart. There's legit raspberries up front; bready malts and complex sugars in the middle; and great raspberries on the finish.
Rating:
Lindemans' Framboise: Strong Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)
New Glarus Raspberry Tart: Strong Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)
Final Thoguhts:
So, my memory totally sucks and failed me. The New Glarus Raspberry Tart is a complex beer when compared to the Framboise. The Raspberry Tart has a much more authentic, nuanced raspberry flavor, and it has way more depth of malt. The Framboise dials up the raspberry syrup, and it is much sweeter. The only thing going for the Framboise is that buried beneath the sugar is some Belgian "barnyard" funk and some nice bready notes. It's not a bad beer by any means, but the sugar is anything but subtle. Also, the radioactive purple looks totally fake.
Also, New Glarus sells 750ml bottles of the Raspberry Tart for 10 dollars! The 750ml bottles of the Framboise retail for around 15 dollars. That makes the Raspberry Tart a better bargain and a better beer.
Random Thought: Haters gonna hate. I still think the Lindemans' Framboise is a respectable beer. It's good for what it is, and pairs well with ice cream, and aggressive savory dishes. If you are taking note, you'll notice that I lowered my review/score of the Framboise. The Raspberry Tart holds steady, and will pair well with a myriad of savory dishes and sweet sauces. Om nom nom.
I thought it would be fun to do a quick comparison of the readily available Lindemans' Framboise vs. the New Glarus Raspberry Tart. So I headed out to the store, snagged a bottle of Framboise, and took some notes. The results are probably not surprising, but I was a little surprised at how far off I was in terms of how I remembered the Framboise.
Appearance:
 |
| Raspberry Tart (left) / Framboise - radioactive purple (right) |
New Glarus Raspberry Tart: I stand by my earlier review. This beer pours into a dark, hazy, mahogany/red body. This one kicks up a finger or two of mahogany/orange head, and has good lacing. This beer is also super effervescent.
Aroma:
Lindemans' Framboise: Raspberry syrup. Like the sugary stuff you buy at the store to put in your tea. This beer has that sucrose aspect that is artificial as hell but welcoming if you like sugar. There's also a good amount of raspberry currant and tea on the aroma, with some mild Belgian funk and barnyard esters. The sweetness dominates the funk.
New Glarus Raspberry Tart: Subtle is the name of the game. There's not as much on the aroma here, but you get fresh raspberry. There's a mild tea note, with some hops. There's also big malts and sugars on the nose. There are some really nice complex sugars at work here, with some bready hints. Nice.
Taste:
Lindemans' Framboise: The taste mirrors the nose, with aggressively sweet raspberry syrup, currants, sugary sweet kisses, and some light barnyard funk that is overpowered by sucrose.
New Glarus Raspberry Tart: This beer is exploding with authentic raspberry off the vine, mild currants/tea, and tons of malty complexity that hint at bread, caramel, brown sugar, and caramel. The level of malt complexity in the Raspberry Tart compared to the Lindemans' Framboise is like night and day. There's also an apple note here that I can't quite place, and a hint of pie crust.
Mouthfeel/Drinkability:
Lindemans' Framboise: This is super carbonated, super sweet, and very drinkable. The mouthfeel is medium-light to light bodied, and complexity is low but the palate depth is good. You get raspberry syrup up front; that rolls into currants; there's a hint of malt and barnyard funk, and the finish is sweet with fake sugar sucrose goodness.
 |
| Raspberry Tart is the clear winner here. |
New Glarus Raspberry Tart: Carbonated, drinkable, medium-bodied...good palate depth, good complexity. This is less funky than the Framboise, but a little more tart. There's legit raspberries up front; bready malts and complex sugars in the middle; and great raspberries on the finish.
Rating:
Lindemans' Framboise: Strong Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)
New Glarus Raspberry Tart: Strong Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)
Final Thoguhts:
So, my memory totally sucks and failed me. The New Glarus Raspberry Tart is a complex beer when compared to the Framboise. The Raspberry Tart has a much more authentic, nuanced raspberry flavor, and it has way more depth of malt. The Framboise dials up the raspberry syrup, and it is much sweeter. The only thing going for the Framboise is that buried beneath the sugar is some Belgian "barnyard" funk and some nice bready notes. It's not a bad beer by any means, but the sugar is anything but subtle. Also, the radioactive purple looks totally fake.
Also, New Glarus sells 750ml bottles of the Raspberry Tart for 10 dollars! The 750ml bottles of the Framboise retail for around 15 dollars. That makes the Raspberry Tart a better bargain and a better beer.
Random Thought: Haters gonna hate. I still think the Lindemans' Framboise is a respectable beer. It's good for what it is, and pairs well with ice cream, and aggressive savory dishes. If you are taking note, you'll notice that I lowered my review/score of the Framboise. The Raspberry Tart holds steady, and will pair well with a myriad of savory dishes and sweet sauces. Om nom nom.
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