I love lambics, don’t get me wrong, but this Lindemans lambic is too sweet for me. What could be refreshingly sour or a pleasant balance of fruity sweetness and tartness is lost behind the sugar and a single flavor: Raspberry.
This one-year-old Lindemans Framboise pours bright magenta, with a thin, pinkish head. It smells like raspberries. There’s no alcohol, hops or malt to speak of. The flavor follows suit: overpoweringly sweet raspberry flavor, with the slightest twinge of tartness, but not nearly enough to balance the sweetness or make it interesting. This framboise is light-bodied and highly carbonated, so the body and mouthfeel is not syrupy or sticky. It could be worse. But it could be so much better.
So, I understand the appeal of Lindemans Framboise. It’s easy to drink. It’s sweet and fruity. It stretches the common definition of beer. It is quite nice mixed with a chocolatey stout. But it is also not my glass of lambic.