We'd just seen Pan's Labyrinth, and it put everybody in a bit of a funky mood. Great film, indeed, but not exactly what you might call uplifting. But it was early yet, on a freezing cold Saturday night, so none of us felt like going home. A drink or two might lift the spirits somewhat, but I wasn't looking to drink anything especially heavy. In fact, all I really wanted at that moment was a decent pint of hard cider. Strongbow, Magners -- I wasn't going to be choosy. In an attempt to not end up in the exact same place we always ended up (One & One, on the corner of East 1st Street and 1st Ave), but also not wanting to walk more than a block or so in the biting cold, we ended up at a crowded bar called d.b.a. It wasn't really a great place -- the bartenders there drip with a sort of condescension that is half hipster elitism and half frat guy smugness. I always prefer my bartenders...well, Irish, frankly.

But whatever. It was hardly intolerable. But they had no cider. I just wasn't in the mood for a beer, but the bartender sold me on something else. "We have an apple flavored beer," he said. "Also, raspberry, black cherry..."

Raspberry, I thought? Well, why the hell not. So I ordered one. Lindemans Framboise Lambic. They poured the fruity red concoction into a wine glass, and I realized that I, a man of pints and scotch and bourbon, was drinking something possibly only slightly less frou-frou than an appletini (which my friend had tried to order, bless her heart, only to be rebuked by the bartender with the line, "This is a bar, sweetie, not a dance club"). With some degree of mounting shame, I toasted my friends and the devil and had myself a dainty sip.

And damned if it wasn't just about the tastiest thing I'd had in years.

A motivated man can justify the sudden acquisition o a taste for these fruit beers if he tries hard enough. At first, I thought just being Belgian would be enough, but then I remembered Jean-Claude Van Damme was Belgian, and I didn't want to be drinking "the Jean-Claude Van Damme of beers." But it turns out, after a little knowledge seeking, I educated myself a bit about these delightful concoctions. It turns out that the use of various fruits to flavor and spice beer predates the widespread use hops, and...well, no. Honestly, that's actually all I learned. That, and they are delicious. After trying the raspberry and the black cherry, I decided I needed to try the raspberry again And maybe one more time after that. The sweetness of the fruit is balanced out by the acidity, and the whole thing end sup being very pleasant and dangerously easy to drink. And whatever reservations I may have had about it "not being manly enough" for a man of adventure and passion such as myself were quickly washed away with the second or third bottle. I mean, if I already made my peace with margaritas and Mikes' Hard Berry and key lime martinis, Framboise Lambic was just another feather in my growing collection.

And best of all -- they stock it at the supermarket where I shop, so I can really go overboard, which is usually my favorite place to go.

So has anyone had the peach?

Labels: Drink