What I’m drinking this week
Name: Framboise de Amorosa
Brewery: The Lost Abbey Brewing Co.
Style: Barrel-aged sour
ABV: 8.5 percent
Will your prayers be answered by an $11 beer? Mine were.
I don’t usually buy pricey beers — drinking craft beer over commercial brews is expensive enough — but I made an exception for this release from The Lost Abbey. And I’m sure glad I did.
Framboise de Amorosa, which is brewed and bottled at The Lost Abbey’s San Marcos location, is a delight. Barrel-aged in French oak barrels, this sour the closest thing I’ve come to a beer/wine combo.
Don’t get me wrong, it certainly tastes like beer. But the drinking experience gave me an overwhelming wine sensation, making my tongue heavy and tingly. (And the smell — if I were blindfolded, I might actually mistake the brown brew for a red wine.)
At times, the raspberry flavor tasted like cranberry to me ... presumably because of the barrel-aged element? While I usually prefer raspberry, I’m not complaining about the cranberry.
What I will complain about: the size. It’s packaged in a skinny, 12-ounce can, and I had to force myself to sip it slowly.
But considering the can recommends the beverage to be served at 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit, I suppose the portion serves as a built-in timer to make sure you enjoy every last sip.