Brau Brothers Forgotten Flem. Such an odd name. Despite the spelling, it makes you think of bodily fluids. Once you taste it, though, you know what they mean. It's also called a Farmhouse Ale on the label, and no farmhouse ale that I know of tastes like this.
Other than restating the population of Lucan, MN, there is no other information on this label, it is 100% gobbledygook-free. I can always search online, or even call up the Brau Bros myself, but until that happens, these notes, will, as always, take shape as I sip and slurp.
Before I do that, though, I will return my Brau Brothers pint glass to the cabinet, and pull out an appropriate Belgian-style glass, the least I can do. And does it ever look nice, now that I have!
Clear, and apricot toned, until prodigious head, leaving delicate lace, lasting long.
Aroma: sour, funky, fruity and weird, right from the get-go. Definitely some wild Belgian yeast strains at work. Particularly pickled and pungent. Sour cherries plus vinegar meets Jolly Ranchers candy. And then jumps in a box of old unwashed gym socks. (I only half mean that. Casting a wide net in order to nail down this peculiar permutation.)
I may have forgotten to mention that I like it, and that it does, eventually, veer closer to a true Flemish Red aroma.
Taste: Oooo! Ow! Yeow! Huh! Jump back! Make it funky now! Popcorn! Hah! The big pay-back! Maceo! Maceoooo!
(Sorry, sometimes my guttural exhortations transform me briefly into the ghost of James Brown.)
Where was I? Oh, man, this is sour stuff to start off with! What did they do, what yeast, what barrels, how aged, etcetera? All will be know eventually, I can only speculate and sip. So, again…odd, funky, wild, then sweet, then sour again. Definitely Belgian yeast action. Then malt and fruit shine brightest. (There is no expression of hops felt here.) Body gets lean and mellow, starts feeling smooth and lovely, and acts utterly consumable. Let's try it again, shall we?
Fresh and zesty, despite it's age. (This is not a new product, and I feel fortunate to still find it at Chicago Lake liquors, not a store known as a secret haven for the connoisseur.) The spark and the spank on the palate continues, although it definitely cools from the initial slap. Lays rather light, inevitably, on the palate, though all the flavors remain in place.
What we have, it seems, is a south western Minnesota version of a saison, hit with funky Belgian yeast. Tasty, refreshing stuff. Slight bitterness emerges, unfelt earlier. I'm liking this more and more, and feel like I'll end up liberating the remaining 6-ers from that shop.
I keep finding new ways to like Brau Brothers. Whatever bumps they've had in the past may just be that, the past. Onward and upward, boys!
2 comments:
I'm happy to still have 2 left of my stash, still very much remembered!
I've noticed people are scared off from this beer because of (A) the name (any heterograph of "phlegm" seems to have the power to ward off the easy-to-make-squeamish) and/or (B) their previous experience with Frame Straightener, Brau's first commercial foray into belgian-style beers.
Those in Category B are easy to sway, as Forgotten Flem speaks for itself - the funk wins them over! Those in Category A best just drink the beer and not think about how the label speaks for itself. Nancies.
Thank you for your always insightful commentary.
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