Foil stickers

Something about the recent raft of releases from Oud Beersel have the feel of products made deliberately to be collectable, rather than designed for the optimum sensory experience. They all seem based on the same 6.8% ABV lambic, with a plethora of unorthodox ingredients added, including rose petals, green walnut, olive leaf and assorted teas. I put all griping aside when I tried the rose one last year: it's superb, so I had no qualms about ordering Oud Beersel Hibiscus when that showed up in UnderDog back in February.

This poured a vibrant red colour, all the way to the brim with no head. What makes me so forgiving of the novelty factor is that they are unable to mask the exquisite quality of the Boon lambic it's made from. This absolutely sings with oaken spices, spiky spicy saltpetre and a pleasingly acrid wax bitterness. The assertive sourness is tempered by the raspberry effect of the hibiscus: a flower that always just tastes like raspberry or cherry to me when used in beers, so I guess it's perfectly appropriate for flavouring a lambic. The end result tastes like a very good and classically-constructed framboise.

Yes, I am going to keep chasing these. My faith in the blenders at Beersel is second only to my faith in the brewers at Boon.