Lambiek Fabriek Single & Wild: Colon-Elle

Single & Wild: Colon-Elle

 

Lambiek Fabriek in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Flemish Brabant, Belgium 🇧🇪

Lambic Style - Gueuze Regular
Score
7.48
ABV: 11.0% IBU: - Ticks: 12
Single & Wild Colon-Elle is een lambiekblend met hergisting op de fles. Ongeveer 90% van de blend heeft gedurende 18 maanden gerijpt op bourbon whiskey vaten van de Mechelse brouwerij Het Anker.
 

Sign up to add a tick or review


 


     Show


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

Geuze blended from lambics that have aged on casks formerly containing Gouden Carolus' own whisky - like the 2021 edition, which oddly contained a full three percent more alcohol by volume; given this significant difference, it is indeed correct to give this follow-up its own entry, and one can wonder if remaking it at a lower ABV was intentional or not... Medium sized, irregularly but consistently lacing, egg-white, tightly moussy head, slowly showing gaps here and there; misty orangey peach blonde robe with amberish tinge and strings of enthusiastic sparkling rushing through. Aroma of sour oranges, lime peel, dusty attic, that oaky vanilla effect which is so strong in the used whisky still piercing through, granadilla, dandelion leaf, dried grapefruit peel, sumac, freshly cut reed sweetgrass, unripe mandarin, sour grapes, cucumber, wet leather, a barnyard in late summer. Crisp, tart onset, sour oranges, green gooseberries, raw rhubarb and yellow plums, with this touch of unripe peach sweetishness hidden within bringing balance and elegance; lemony edges, though not overly puckering. Crystalline carbonation as befits a good geuze, with supple yet full body; bread-crusty underbuilt supporting growing lactic acidity in a colourful, juicy way, carrying the green, yellow and orange fruitiness further into a near-exotic combo reminiscent of sour tropical (citrus and other fruits) but then bringing everything back to a satisfying closure, in which the vanilla-like touch of Gouden Carolus whisky can still be felt (though faintly so) and general oakiness dries the mouth - while the acids and fruity esters keep things juicy for balance. Some light alcohol warmth at the back, but obviously much less so than in the stronger first batch; sour peaches, sour grapes and sour oranges pop up again too at that point, with all their lovely fruitiness and juiciness. Just like in the first batch, the finish is utterly colourful and 'summery' with all that fruitiness - so despite this blend not containing any actual fruit, it manages to make the natural estery fruitiness of the lambic stand out in a pure, vibrant and radiant way, with that Gouden Carolus whisky probably contributing to this effect. On a par with the first batch for me, though the mellowing sweetness and soothing warmth of the whisky is clearly pushed back here - in this one, the lambic itself gets to shine even brighter. Beautiful.

Tried on 29 Dec 2023 at 02:36


7.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8

Small off-white head, kept up by unclear orangey-golden beer. Perfumey version of horseblanket, wet wood, floral, waterplants, lactic acid, hint at whisky. Fine acids, lactic and fruity. Again wet wood & horseblanket, lemon; whisky remains hidden in the flavour. Refreshing, acidburnt and faint heat, good carbonation. I wonder about the reasons for the ABV difference with the first edition. Have the same barrels been reused, maybe? The 11% edition had a lot more bite, and was more pleasing.

Tried from Bottle from Gastro-Beer on 03 Dec 2023 at 09:53


7.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Bottled@PBF XIII (from Alko web). Yellowish golden colour, small white head. Aroma is floral, some mild fruity some mild wooden tones with spiciness and some alcohol. Flavour is floral, some floral, wooden and mild herbal tones with a bit of earth.

Tried from Bottle on 01 Sep 2023 at 20:12


6.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

--Bottled at PBF XIII. -- Almost clear golden, small head. Tart vinous nose. Grape sweetness countered by lambic tartness. Medium to full body and rounded mouthfeel. Vinous grapes on tart fruity malt, not a lot of funk, but lots of of alcohol.

Tried from Bottle on 01 Sep 2023 at 19:58


8.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9

Pours hazed blonde. Small white head. Scent is mature, bit whisky, tart, funky and woody. Taste is full, intense, tart, funky, woody, whisky in amazing balance. Tad 'sweet' almost, by the barrel - but ends very dry. Exceptionally well made and without a doubt thé masterpiece of LF (so far?) Absolutely great value for money here !

Tried on 25 May 2023 at 00:13


7.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

11/XII/22 - 75cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker), shared @ home, BB: n/a, bottled: III/2021 (2022-1733)

Clear to little cloudy blond yellow beer (weird enough I was expecting this to be more orange, like a flat lambic, don’t know why though), big creamy to aery white head, pretty stable, non adhesive. Aroma: nice, fruity, some oranges, oxidized, a little funky, spicy. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: fruity start, pretty bitter, sharp, some acidity, sweet touch, apricots and peaches. Aftertaste: alcohol, pretty sharp, sweet touch, some honey, a bit funky, fruity touch, bitter, tannins, ok but not really great.

Tried from Bottle from Dranken Geers on 11 Dec 2022 at 18:30


7.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle. Bit hazy golden. Lots of funk, red apple, alcohol, vanilla, caramel, soft sugar syrup. Solid sweet and medium sour. Over medium bodied. Quite heavy, but doesn’t seem like 11% abv.

Tried from Bottle on 27 May 2022 at 22:43


7

Üllatavalt mahe, ütleks isegi magus, puuviljane, nisune, linnaseline, alkone, natuke happeline, tsitrus-apelsin. Lõpus on ikka soojendav alks. Ok, ootasin selgelt midagi teistsugust...

Tried on 28 Nov 2021 at 20:01


8.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

75cl bottle (bottled 03/21) from Prik & Tik Dranken Marlou. F: no real. C: deep gold, light hazy. A: funky, banana, bit vanilla, grapes, woody, white wine, pear. T: full body, woody, white wine, banana, vanilla touch, gooseberries, bit bready, warming alcohol yet not disturbing, bit slicky mouthfeel, there is almost no carbonation probably due to BA yet very nice balanced for the style, great beer, fully enjoyed.

Tried from Bottle on 28 Nov 2021 at 19:52


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

Lambiek Fabriek's latest to date, an impressively strong lambic aged on Gouden Carolus whisky barrels - the famed Gouden Carolus brand in Mechelen has indeed been producing whisky for years, and word went out on the grapevine that they offered their whisky barrels to a select number of fine brewers to age their beer in (Verzet is another one of those). Gunsmoke coming out of the bottle after opening, followed by 'belated' gushing - but nothing too violent. Audibly crackling, beaten egg-white, thickly moussy, large-bubbled but relatively stable head, pale ochre-golden blonde robe, misty with lively sparkling. Aroma of indeed clear Gouden Carolus whisky (I had it some years ago when it first came out), incorporating this banana, candied pineapple and vanilla effect into a lambic context, mingling with peaches soaked in alcohol, wild apple, damp straw, stale lime juice, wood sorrel, dust, unripe nectarine, wet vanilla-like oak wood, peanuts soaked in white wine vinegar, green pear, dry sherry. Lively onset, very estery and mildly tart, yoghurty lactic acidity in a gentle way, lots of sparkling effervescence; impressions of gooseberry, cooked green apple and unripe nectarine, with even hints of ripe white grape and banana coming from the Gouden Carolus whisky. Soft and full, almost 'fluffy' body, lovely brioche-breadiness under drying and notably vinous tartness with a deep oaky woodiness to it - but then the sweetness of this particular whisky gains momentum, with this very memorable yellow fruit effect coming in (banana even), mellowing the overall tartness of the lambic. The Gouden Carolus whisky flavour is all around here, including its soothing alcohol warmth, vanilla scent and sweet yellow fruitiness, but so is Lambiek Fabriek's home lambic quality - and both unexpectedly merge into one whole. Ends warming and almost sweet-sour, but most importantly: ends successfully. I never would have imagined even after having tasted all their previous lambics, but the Lambiek Fabriek crew managed to achieve something I have long considered impossible, despite notorious attempts by Cantillon and 3 Fonteinen: they made me enjoy a lambic with an ABV over 10%. With this achievement in mind, in cannot but grant this Colon-Elle a formidably high score - and the bottle was still young, imagine what this becomes with a few years of cellaring on it...

Tried on 24 Nov 2021 at 15:03