The beer world recognizes Lindemans Framboise. It competes yearly and wins beer awards from the World Beer Awards and the US Open Beer Championship.
If you want to get intimate with Lindemans Framboise, take the Lindemans brewery tour. But, if that is out of the question, let this article be your tour guide for this flavorful Framboise ride.
Where Is Lindemans Framboise Made?
Enter the Lindemans Brewery in Vlezenbeek, Belgium. Vlezenbeek is a small town located near Brussels. Nature blessed this place with unique microflora, making it perfect for making Framboise.
These previously dedicated farmers eventually shifted to full-time beer-making in the year 1822. They specialize in making Lambic. In the 1980s, they released their formulation of Framboise into the market.
What Type of Beer Is Lindemans Framboise?
The Lindemans brand of Framboise is a Fruit Lambic. The key to making their Framboise is the marriage of a base beer with fruit. They blend their superb Lambic with a 30% all-natural raspberry juice. The resulting beer has a pink head of foam and a clear deep-reddish color liquor.
Is Lindemans Framboise a Sour?
The base beer of Framboise is a Sour Wheat Beer called Lambic. This beer assures that you will find tartness in it. But thanks to the raspberry juice, you will get a balance of fruity sweetness.
Other Framboises are more on the dry side, even wine-like.
Beers Similar to Lindemans Framboise
There are two ways to look for similar beers. First, you can take a look at Framboise beers from Timmermans, Boon, and Drie Fonteinen. Out of the mentioned, Timmermans is the most like Lindemans because of the use of raspberry juice. This is unlike the other two mentioned who use the traditional method of soaking whole fruit.
The second way of looking for comparable beers is by taking a look at other Fruit Beer flavors. You would simply replace raspberry with another fruit. There are the classic options of peaches, grapes, and strawberries.
Lindemans Framboise Flavors
Unfortunately, Lindemans Framboise comes in one flavor, and that is raspberry. You are dealing here with a brewer who takes pride in their results.
They have been doing this work for 200 years to refine their masterpieces. Working with spontaneous fermentation and different aging durations is enough of a gamble.
Is Lindemans Framboise Sweet?
The fresh raspberry juice ferments with the Lambic for three days only. If that juice has a sweetness to it, it should carry over nicely.
Furthermore, some importers claim that Lindemans Framboise is a sweetened Framboise. It technically classifies as a non-traditional recipe with its use of juice.
Lindemans Framboise Sugar Content
Some US importers claim sugar and stevia are added. In fact, they even went and specified it in the nutritional information as “Sugars 22 grams.”
Lindemans Framboise Ingredients
There is nothing too spectacular in the ingredients list. It is more of the freshest and of the best quality available. The ingredients are as follows:
- Water
- Barley Malt, 70%
- Unmalted Wheat, 30%
- Aged Hops
- Wild microbes, most notably Brettanomyces Bruxellensis and Brettanomyces Lambicus
Does Lindemans Framboise Have Alcohol?
Lindemans Framboise has a relatively low alcohol level. The blending of young Lambics and raspberry juice waters down the alcohol. It is a fair tradeoff.
Lindemans’ formulation seems to target entry-level alcohol consumers by enticing their taste buds. Their beer focuses on providing a different feel than the more typical beer and wine.
What Is the Alcohol Content of Lindemans Raspberry Lambic Beer?
The Alcohol-By-Volume (ABV) of Lindemans Raspberry Lambic Beer is a low 2.5%. It seems the idea of the Lindemans was to make the raspberry experience shine through. This makes their beer more along the lines of a dessert beer. And by doing so, allows their beer to be more versatile than others.
Is Lindemans Framboise Lambic Gluten Free?
If you want Lindemans Framboise to be gluten-free, it is not going to happen. Lambic is a Sour Wheat Beer customarily. And asking a Belgian brewer to change basic elements sounds something they would not do.
Belgians are very protective of the Lambic tradition. They even have legal safeguards in Europe. So, if you are allergic to wheat and gluten, you were warned. But, since their Framboise is not 100% of traditional make, they might consider it if there is demand.
Is Lindemans Framboise Vegan?
The Lindemans Brewery does not use animal ingredients in its beer production, or so they say. Under the common practice, beer filtration is usually the non-vegan culprit. Lindemans claim not to use isinglass, egg whites, and gelatins. Furthermore, they only have one brewery in the world so that deals with outside influence. But when it comes to hardcore vegans, with no certification to show, there is only so much you can believe.
How Many Calories Are in a Lindemans Framboise?
There is conflicting data on this. Lindemans Brewery declares 52kcal per 3.5oz. Yet health and fitness sites agree with 200 calories per 12.0oz. It feels like 52kcal is misstated since 26 times a 2000-calorie diet sounds absurd.
How to Serve a Lindemans Framboise Beer
Serving Framboise is easy as long as you follow a few soft rules.
- Chill your beer.
- Remove your bottle’s corking.
- Pour your beer.
- No need to mind your pour speed, the angular tilted glass of 45° is still recommended.
- Even though Lindemans Framboise is filtered, it still produces some foam head.
- If ever there is any hardened yeast, leave some beer in the bottle to swish around. This will loosen the few pieces.
- Finish your pour.
Do You Chill Lindemans Framboise?
Lindemans suggests that you serve their Framboise at a temperature of 35 to 38°F (2 to 3°C). If you feel the flavor is still lacking at this point, leave it on the counter. A temperature range of 45 to 55°F (7 to 13°C) would stress any flavors numbed by the cold.
How to Open Lindemans Framboise
A bottle of Lindemans Framboise is the same as a corked champagne bottle. Opening this bottle type follows all the same nuances. Here are a few tips:
- Take off the foil wrapping around the mouth of your bottle. Cut or tear it off.
- Use your bottle opener to pry off any protective cap.
- Pop the cork off with your basic corkscrew.
- Do not be afraid of the spilling foam after opening. Let it run its course.
How to Open Lindemans Framboise Without a Corkscrew
If you do not have a corkscrew nearby, there are other ways to go about opening a Framboise.
- Use a wood screw together with a claw hammer.
- Screw your screw a safe distance before reaching the end of the cork.
- Place the claw of your hammer under the head of the screw then pry out the cork.
- Push the cork all the way in with a blunt object the size of the bottle’s mouth.
- Make sure you filter and/or decant your beer from any possible cork particles.
- Use your shoe and slap the bottom of the bottle.
- Alternatively, you can let the bottle “wear” the shoe then you can slap the shoe on the wall.
- This takes some time to complete.
- Once the cork is about to pop. Use your fingers to pull the cork out.
- Use a thick towel to wrap the base of the bottle then bang it on the wall.
- This is similar to the shoe method.
These methods will not give you guaranteed results and can be dangerous. They are just good to know in desperate times.
Lindemans Framboise Glasses
If you buy a Lindemans Gift Box, it comes with one elegant stemmed glass with the Lindemans branding. But if you have your own set of glasses, you can use a tulip, snifter, or flute glass. These glasses give you the best experience since their shape directs the aromas to your nose.
Lindemans Framboise Food Pairings
Lindemans Framboise is a perfect aperitif. You can also have it with chocolatey desserts. Try it with vanilla ice cream, fruit sorbets, and actual fruit. Salty food like oysters and caviar seem to pair well. Green salads with light dressings will work nicely.
If you love cooking, use it as part of a fruit sauce or glaze.
Does Lindemans Framboise Expire?
Fruit Lambics like Framboise do not really expire. You can age it for extended durations thanks to the hops and slow-acting yeast.
The real problem you would encounter is the intensity of the raspberry flavor. Flavors that are not part of the byproducts of the yeast diminish over time. Conversely, the sour and funky flavors from the microflora only grow more prominent.
How Long Does Lindemans Framboise Beer Last?
One to two years is the Lindemans projection to get the best out of their Framboise. This seems to point to the eventual loss of the raspberry character.
When it comes to beers that have a sweet nature, do not age them any further than they need to be. You want your fruits fresh after all. Otherwise, you will have to settle for a dry and mostly sour fruit beer.
How Is Lindemans Framboise Made?
Have you ever wondered how one of the top Belgian brewers actually makes their Framboise? Learn their secret in the general outline below:
- Grind malt and wheat: This opens up the grains to further action.
- They use a top-secret ratio of 70% malted barley and 30% raw wheat.
- Mashing:
- Dump the grist in a “mash tun” to extract the sugars from the starch.
- Mash the grist in brewing water until a paste is formed.
- Add water to reach certain temperature levels in steps.
- Target a final temperature of 172.4°F (78.0°C) and a cloudy resultant solution.
- Stopping the Sugar Conversion: Pump the mash to the “Maisch” vat to stop the sugar conversion process at a temperature of 194°F (90°C).
- Filtering the Wort: Separate things like the grain hulls and insoluble matter from the wort.
- Filtration plates and some reusable filtrates are used as layers of filtration.
- Cooking:
- Put in aged hops for its preservative quality.
- Boil the wort for three to four hours.
- Fermenting: This is where the magic starts.
- Pour the wort into a massive cooling tray.
- Leave the tray overnight to cool.
- Let the night breeze bring forth nature’s blessing upon the wort.
- Pump the wort to the fermentation vats the following day. They use a combination of oak barrels and stainless steel vats.
- Add in some wood chips.
- Ferment for six to seven months.
- Maturing:
- Leave for an additional six months up to several years. This is in preparation for blending different aged brews.
- Fruit Infusing:
- Blend at least a one-year-old Lambic with some pure fruit juice, in this case, raspberry juice for Framboise.
- Ferment for three days.
- Bottling: Transfer all blended and mixed beers to the bottling plant for finishing touches.
Where Can I Buy Lindemans Framboise?
If there are no specialty beer storefronts in your area, the first place to look is with “Merchant du Vin.” They carry Lindemans products from Belgium to shops and bars in all 50 US states. They are an importer of specialty beer since the year 1978.
You can get Framboise from them in:
- 6/4/8.45 oz. (250 mL 4-packs)
- 12/12 oz. (355 mL) bottles
- 12/25.4 oz. (750 mL) bottles
- 6 gallons (25 L) kegs
Of course, you can always fly to Belgium for the Lindemans tour conducted every weekday. Not only do you get to see the process and learn history, but you will also get to taste beer and receive a gift. Sweet!
