13 November 2010

Timmermans Lambic Beers [By Spectre] (Selfridges)

Cinabar bought me these beers to torture me with the crazy flavours. Tradition, Peach, Cherry, Raspberry and Forest Fruits… I mean seriously; Forest Fruits? She thought I’d drink one every now and then and write something cute about them. Alternatively I decided to get rid of them one after another in one evening in an experiment to see if I could still say “Timmermans” without slurring by the end of the evening. Timmermans brew Lambic beer, which is specially brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium. I say “specially” as it is brewed through spontaneous fermentation, which means it’s exposed to wild yeasts and bacteria from the Senne valley. Only slightly worried that this was a spelling error on Wikipedia and the beer is actually exposed to “wild beasts”, I popped open the first beer… “Timmermans”, so far so good…



Faro or Traditional Lambic beer
There is a definite cider edge to this beer, but it’s not like the pub’s rugged Snakebite, it has a sweet apple and brown sugar taste. This argues against Wikipedia’s description of dry with a slightly sour aftertaste. All in all it was a good strong sweet cidery beer that made me regret the small size of the bottle, as I would have been happy enough to have drunk this type of beer for the rest of the evening. “Timmermans”



Peach Lambic beer
On opening this beer there was a strong whiff of peaches, which seems obvious given the name, but I wasn’t prepared at how strong the smell and taste of peaches would be. Strong as it was, the peaches didn’t overshadow the cidery taste. Although the sweetness of the last beer was dulled by the peach flavour, this beer tasted more like a Peach Snakebite – try asking for that in a Rocker Bar! “Timmermans”


Cherry Lambic Beer
Regular readers will know my distaste for cherries and after being subjected to several cherry beers in the past, I expected this beer to taste like a cherry wine. I was wrong. It didn’t taste like a cherry wine, or in fact a cherry beer. This reddened liquid tasted only of cherries, but not just cherries, but CHERRIES!!! Cinabar loved the taste of this beer, which loosely means there definitely was no beer flavour. This could be mistaken for a child’s cherry pop drink, but without the pop and with a whole lot of Cherries. “Timmermans”



Raspberry Lambic beer
Red in colour, this beer had a strong, powerful taste of raspberries. Again, no wine or beer taste here, just a whole lot of raspberries. It has a sweet start on the palette and a sour aftertaste. Alcoholic children can rejoice everywhere, as there’s no real way to tell there’s any alcohol in this beverage, just raspberries. Not sure that’s a good idea though? Probably not… “Timmmermans”



Forest Fruit Lambic beer
This beer is purple in colour, which fits well with the mainly blackcurrant flavour. There is a hint of strawberries and raspberries in there also, and I’m sure some other fruits mixed in, but primarily blackcurrant. It tastes like a strong sweet Ribena. The last two beers were not subtle in flavour and this fruit flavoured beverage stayed with that theme. Again, not a wine or beer taste, just overflowing with fruit flavour.
By the end of the last beer I noticed that I was fairly light headed. If I repurchase I think I’ll stick with the lighter flavoured Lambic beers, such as Tradition or Peach. Okay, maybe not the Peach, it just doesn’t help the image…
“What’re you drinking, Spectre?”
“Ooh, I think I’ll have a Peach Snakebite!”
Nah…
“Timmmmmermanz” Te, he… hic!
By Spectre

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