HaandBryggeriet Krøkkebic (Lambic)

This is my first foray into Norwegian beers, as far as I know.  While I assumed this would be a sour, it turned out to be quite a bit different than a traditional Flemish Red.  The first thing I noticed while pouring it was the discernable lack of head and lacing.  The initial smell was sour, but at first drink, I learned what crowberry (the berry the beer is fermented with) tastes like, and I learned that beers can taste like cherry pipe tobacco.  When I was a smoker, I’d roll it into my cigarettes, and this was a very vivid flashback of flavor.  And though the fruit was apparent, I’d not describe this as a tradional Lambic at all, lacking the strong tartness of most I’ve sampled.

The one aspect of Krokkebic that stands apart from other sours was the lack of carbonation…very, very little existed, which naturally affected the buzz and sizzle that I experience with others.  The mouthfeel is pretty dry and again, the overall taste is crowberry and cherry, but nothing jumps out as “wow!” to me.  There’s very little alcohol flavor at 7% ABV.

This was another pricey ale at $11 for a 16oz bottle, and though I liked it, I wouldn’t search this out again, though I would be anxious to try other styles from this brewery.