Framboise

What is Framboise?

Framboise or frambozen is a Belgian lambic beer made with raspberries. ‘Framboise’ means raspberry in French, and ‘frambozen’ is Flemish for raspberries. 

Traditional framboise has a strong raspberry character and can be mildly or highly acidic and quite dry. Most modern examples however are sweetened with sugar or syrup to balance the sour taste.

The base of framboise is spontaneously fermented lambic beer. After ageing the lambic for six months to a year, raspberries are added into the oak barrels, where a second fermentation begins. The raspberry is traditionally added with whole fruit, but today, many lambic breweries add a mixture of whole fruit and syrup or only syrup.

Framboise is usually served in a small-footed glass that resembles a champagne flute.

Origin Story

It is known that even before the appearance of fruit beers like kriek and framboise, fruits were added to lambic beers at cafés before serving to increase the variety of beers available.

An early mention of framboise lambic occurred around 1909-1910. Framboise was traditionally brewed in the small towns west of Brussels, Belgium, in an area known as Pajottenland.

It disappeared during World War I but reappeared briefly in the 1930s. In the 1970s, the production of raspberry lambic started again at Cantillon. Most modern framboise beers are quite sweet, though Cantillon Brewery still produces a tart version called Rosé de Gambrinus based on the traditional style.

Brewers outside of Belgium, and particularly craft brewers in the United States, have recently been inspired to attempt to replicate framboise and other lambic beer styles. So far, their success has been limited because of differences in the mix of microorganisms found in the air in breweries and barrels outside Pajottenland.