Apricot lambic in this Bofkont project, a lambic blender gone - very limitedly - commercial since April; making use of Girardin and De Troch lambic, this fruit version adds 300 grams of apricots per liter. Bottles in this Bofkont range are still very are and hard to get by, so huge and eternal thanks to Craftmember and Hinke for scoring and sharing this bottle. Bottled in September last year, tasted at almost exactly one year and one month old. Irregularly edged, medium thick, egg-white, opening but otherwise stable head on an equally misty, pale orangey peach blonde beer with straw-ochre tinge. Complex, funky aroma of indeed apricots, elegantly hovering over a broad lambic background of lemon, haystack and indeed heaps of dry hay, peach kernels, wooden cupboards, butter, bitter garden weeds, green apple, unripe plum, dry farmland in August. Crisp onset, estery with clear presence of apricot from the start yet less overpowering and less sweet than Cantillon's Fou'Foune (a comparison with the 'standard' in apricot lambic was inevitable, I guess); lemony and even sherry vinegar edge at first, mingled with green apple and unripe green plum notes, yet this sour 'sting' seems to come mostly from the apricots' natural acids and mellows down further on, unveiling a beautifully 'malse', elegant, refined lambic character, with a smooth bread-crusty backbone buried under hayish, green-fruity and well-contained funky aspects. A soft lactic tartness runs through the whole, tying everything together, including a dryish woody effect in the end (also comprising apricot kernel tannins, I suspect) - while the apricot never gets lost, it remains noticeable in every detail, yet without overpowering the details. This is elegance and balanced complexity at its best: the apricot does not push itself forward all the time, but remains delicately interwoven to every aspect of the lambic itself, which shows more of Girardin's utmost grace and finesse than De Troch's earthiness and nuttiness, even if De Troch's personality does show up in minor aspects here and there. If this is the standard this Bofkont project can maintain throughout its range, then every bottle is worth searching for - however difficult it may be. Worth the hype, I could all too easily conclude, but much more importantly: this is a work of great passion, artistry and experience. Sincerely impressive.

Very intense apricot character. High but manageable acidity. Damn good on its own and absolute fire with the pictured pairing (Apricot, Gorgonzola, pistachio and black pepper corns on a puff pastry).

Zajebisty aromat owocowy, w uscie nieco pusto

15/IX/20 - 75cl bottle @ ElManana’s Lobster BBQ Tasting, BB: n/a, 2019 vintage (2020-918) Thanks to Erwin for sharing the bottle!

Clear orange beer, small creamy white head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: very fruity, lots of oranges, wood notes, candy, bit soapy, funky brett, lots of apricots, some peaches. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: fruity, very acidic, wort, slightly bitter, lemony, peppery, wood notes. Aftertaste: very fruity, acidic, lemony, lots of apricots, funky, bit dry, acidic, good stuff!