Troubadour Tasting

It’s time to finally do an official Raspberry Berliner tasting!

In the aftermath of the disastrous hurricane Sandy that stormed through the eastern seaboard it’s nice to have something as simple and comforting as a glass of good brew. During the storm I lost power for some time, cell network, hot water and heat, but now everything is fine and I’m back to brewing and drinking. It should probably be mentioned that this bottle is the only 750mL bottle of Troubadour that escaped the storm unscathed thanks to being in the fridge. All others, along with plain Berliner, Witch Poison Gruit, Mead and others were in a basement that got flooded and I didn’t think anything survived in there after seeing the complete destruction that the flood caused. This morning I went down there with a flashlight and waded my way through water, mud, silt, broken furniture, destroyed boxes and so on in search for my beer and some lab equipment I was keeping there. After seeing annihilated shelves and chairs hanging from the ceiling (water rose higher than the basement sealing) I didn’t have much hope, but luckily all my beers and mead escaped unharmed and were only covered in silt! I was able to recover everything I hoped to find there in good condition.

Anyway, let’s get down to it!

I’ve only tasted this beer once before this summer when I brought it to a homebrew meetup and it was well received and I liked it more than the plain version. Not a single bottle had been opened since then so it was a bit of a special experience opening this one. Since my family is celebrating my birthday tonight (it’s actually tomorrow, but everyone is busy) it was a nice addition to the evening.

Appearance: Brilliant, crystal clear. Orange-pink color. Lots of bubbles. Head rises and quickly falls into a ring around the glass that persists throughout the tasting.

Smell: Bright, acidic, very similar to the plain version but with a pronounced raspberry instead of champagne aroma. Funky. Sour. Delicious!

Taste: Lactic sourness up front, but very gentle, just how I like it. Funk from the nose carries into the flavor and takes over. Raspberry pokes out here and there but is not the main player. It’s there, but in the back seat playing along with everything else that’s going on. Possibly very light, almost unnoticeable acetic note. Slightly musty. No malt noticeable. Mouthwatering tart finish. Vinous.

Mouthfeel: Very light but with so much flavor!

Overall: I impressed myself with this beer. Amazing how something so simple turned out so tasty. I am determined to get back into that basement and rescue my 15 Gal fermentors to get the next batch of Berliner going as soon as I can do it!