Bellwoods Brewery Motley Cru 2023 - Raspberries & Cab Franc

Motley Cru 2023 - Raspberries & Cab Franc

 

Bellwoods Brewery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦

  Sour / Wild Beer - Flavoured Regular Out of Production
Score
7.44
ABV: 7.1% IBU: - Ticks: 6
Motley Cru is not one particular style but rather a catch-all designation for our anniversary release -- the beer that commemorates yet another complete lap around the sun.

Our 2023 edition is a celebration of our 11th birthday, featuring spontaneous beer, raspberries and cab franc grapes.

To create it, we started with spontaneously inoculated wort (ie, beer fermented with wild yeast), aged it for 18 months in neutral oak (some in barrels, some in foeders), blended it with a small portion of young beer to enhance brightness, and conditioned it on fruit to impart tart, complementary flavours.

The final beer is many things at once: a reflection of the past couple of years at the brewery, a labour of love, an excuse to mark the passing of time, and an opportunity to savour something delicious. (And a once-in-a-year moment to get sappy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).
 

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8.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle: Poured a clear reddish color aler with a medium size foamy head with light retention and some lacing. Aroma of tart notes with some funky ester with some nice raspberry notes and grapes. Taste is also a mix of grapes and raspberry notes with some vinous notes and tart funky ester. Body is about average with good carbonation. Well done wild ale with a nice mix of balanced flavours and no strong acidic notes.

Tried from Bottle on 26 Jan 2026 at 15:12


8.3
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8

A red copper ale with no head. In aroma, sweet fruity raspberry jam with light acidity, light mineral notes, light Epsom salts, very nice and smooth. In mouth, a nice sweet fruity raspberry jam with light acidity, light Brett, Epsom salts, very nice and smooth.

Tried from Bottle on 26 Jul 2025 at 18:22


7.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle pour at Farmhouse Fest 2024. Pours cloudy red with minimal head. Aroma has red wine grapes, some leafy fibres. Flavour has some red wine grapes, leafy stems, sour throughout. Very solid.

Tried from Bottle on 13 Aug 2024 at 23:26


7.1
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

FHF 2024. Appearance: nice clear reddish. Aroma: tart, fruity. Taste: along the same lines, on the acidic aide, raspberries, grapes. Overall: meh.

Tried on 10 Aug 2024 at 20:22


7.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

500mL bottle, pours a hazy dark red with a rapidly-dissipating head. Aroma is funky and fragrant, with a bright tart raspberry character, lots of red wine grape must, and some nice bugs. Flavour is sharp, with bright raspberries, moderate acidity, some red grape must, and wild yeast. Nice marriage of raspberries and red grapes that go well with the wild yeast. Very good as usual with this series.

Tried from Bottle on 18 Aug 2023 at 03:09


7.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Dark red, no head. On the nose, the cab comes out first, and then this is quickly followed by the raspberries. It's got a deep acidity, quite lactic, and then there's a lot of cab and raspberries. The fruit character is especially good here. A bit tannic in the finish.

Tried on 18 Aug 2023 at 03:03