Robin Shepard
Hinterland Brewery is a veteran among Wisconsin’s current craft beer makers. The Green Bay brewery is now in its 23rd year of business. To mark the milestone it just released a bourbon barrel-aged frambois.
What is it? Bourbon Barrel Frambois by Hinterland Brewery of Green Bay.
Style: This Frambois is a blend of a Flanders red ale and a bourbon barrel-aged saison. Hinterland brewer Joe Karls makes the Flanders red using a kettle souring technique that involves allowing the mash to cool in the brew kettle, where the lactobacillus is introduced. After a couple days it becomes sour and the brewing process is restarted. The beer’s red color comes from caramel and crystal malts. Saisons are golden to light amber beers with earthy spiciness and sometimes their own sour or acidic flavors, too. The saison is aged for about five months in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels before raspberry puree is added.
Background: Hinterland periodically offers both a saison and a Flanders red ale in its taproom. This frambois marks the first time Karls has blended the two along with raspberry puree. “We’ve found we really enjoy the complex flavors when blending different beers with high fruit components,” says Karls. His Bourbon Barrel Frambois is a mixture of about 60 percent saison to 40 percent Flanders red, a ratio that Karls figured out by sampling and suiting his own palate. His goal was to balance the sweetness of the raspberries with the tartness of the Flanders red. The bourbon barrel-aging of the saison lends some additional spicy boozy warmth. “I wanted the bourbon to be noticeable but not pound [drinkers] over the head,” he says.
Karls thinks it is one of the best beers he’s ever made. And he’s made more than a few; he’s worked for Hinterland 22 1/2 of its 23 years of existence. Hinterland opened its new production brewery, taproom and restaurant in the Packers’ new Titletown District next door to Lambeau Field about a year ago.
Hinterland’s Bourbon Barrel Frambois finishes at 6.5 percent ABV and can be found in Madison’s more extensive craft beer stores in four-packs for around $13-$15. It should be available through into early October. For those heading to Green Bay, it’s currently offered on draft at the brewery, as are its component beers. If you go, consider a side-by-side flight of the unblended Flanders red and saison next to the final Bourbon Barrel Frambois.
Tasting notes:
Aroma: Light, floral raspberry.
Appearance: Reddish amber color. A foam is marbled, light tan with a touch of pink.
Texture: Medium-bodied, bubbly with some softness.
Taste: There is acidic tartness up front followed by raspberry sweetness. Both are strong and assertive.
Finish/Aftertaste: A mild bourbon flavor and oakiness is followed by a return of acidic tartness that lingers.
Glassware: The stemmed tulip glass and its curved body will show off the reddish amber color, while the flared lip supports the frothy marbled head and allows the fruity raspberry notes to expand under the nose.
Pairs well with: grilled seafood, especially shrimp and scallops. It’s also a wonderful pre-meal beer because its fruity tartness will stimulate the appetite.
The Verdict: It’s easy to find the Flanders red in this beer. The acidic tartness of the lactobacillus stands out as it blends with the fruity raspberry. The bourbon barrel aging adds pleasant spicy warmth and notes of oak woodiness. I enjoyed this beer even more as it slightly warmed, allowing more of the floral raspberry sweetness and smooth bourbon to emerge, tempering the more harsh acidic tartness. This is a beer well worth picking up, especially if you appreciate complex layers of tartness, fruitiness and the warmth of bourbon.
