(Draught at Arendsnest, Amsterdam, 24 Aug 2022) Amber colour, slightly hazy, with frothy off-white head. Fruity, sourish nose with notes of citrus, barnyard, lemon and plums. Fruity, tart taste with citrus, lemon, plums, green grapes, barnyard, a touch of vinegar and a dry and tart finish. Medium body, dry. Really tasty and well made lambic, with a fresh acidity and mild plum character. Very nice.

The plum edition in Toon Vandenbroek’s series of fruit lambics, completely constructed in the same way as traditional Senne valley lambics – and seen the results of other Vandenbroek lambics I had so far, this endeavour pays off. I heard that Tilquin was not too happy with the use of the word ‘quetsche’ because of their own Oude Quetsche, but the word does exist at least in French for a plum variety commonly referred to in English as damsons, with ‘kwets’ being the – very rarely used – Dutch name for the same thing. In this lambic, however, two plum varieties were used, Altesse and Opal, which do not actually belong to the ‘quetsche’ group and are just common plums (with Opal being one of the most commonly seen on the Dutch market). Thanks to Craftmember for sharing. Eggshell-white, delicately mousy but open, dot-lacing head on a misty orangey peach blonde beer, a tad less ‘purple’ than I was expecting (with both Altesse and Opal being blue plums at least on the outside). Aroma of plum indeed but more green and unripe plums than sweet ripe blue ones, plum kernels, old lemon zest, a sulfuric touch of freshly struck matches, even a hint of dry cigarette shag, sherry vinegar, dried violets, fried tomato peel. Tart onset, lemony with lots of green stonefruit astringency, sour apples, green gooseberries, medium carbonated with supple body; bready malt core deeply buried in lactic and fruity sourness, a hint of stinging sherry vinegar even, accentuated by extra wryness from plum kernels and plum peel, as well as a woody note. Oxidized dry sherry returns retronasally – and some juiciness from the plums does soften an otherwise astringent finish after all. Very well done, in all, considering how this is not a traditional (Senne) lambic – quite different from Tilquin’s Oude Quetsche too, if the comparison must indeed be made…

BO 08/2018, 375ml bottle; Complex & layered aroma that can easily cope with Belgian lambic & geuze producers;moderate to medium light bread sweetness backed up with ripe plums mixed with yogurt, plum skin, notes of cheese, whey, sweet apples, green notes