Rose Garden, a.k.a. Bloody Ho

Some beers are okay, even pretty good, on their own. But sometimes they get much better when you stick them together. Such is the case with the drink known to Yard House patrons as the Rose Garden, or to my friends as the Bloody Ho. My friends are crude people, you see.

This is my drink of choice besides cider, and so it is my taste buds that will do the talking here. To make a Rose Garden, take about equal parts Hoegaarden and Lindeman's Framboise and pour them into a glass. That's it, as far as I know, although there may be fancy bartender secrets to which I am not privy.

Hoegaarden (pronounced Who-garden) is a witbier, or white ale, light and relatively clean and crisp. Lindeman's Framboise is a lambic, so instead of hops, fruit is added to activate the yeast that makes the alcohols that makes you drunk. In this case, if you speak any French, you'll already know that the fruit is raspberries. If you don't, you just got told. This particular lambic is pretty sour and tangy, what I would call a sharp flavor, almost acidic, in addition to having the expected fruitiness. It tends to be too strong for me to drink it alone, although their apple lambic is delightful.

When their powers are combined, the beers are unstoppable. The Hoegaarden cuts into the sour tang of the Framboise and smooths it out, while the Framboise gives the Hoegaarden a delightful raspberry overtone. They were made for each other like peanut butter and jelly, like Abbott and Costello, like fish and chips. It's a refreshing drink with barely any hop or malt content. If you aren't a huge fan of beer, this drink may be what you are looking for. If you love beer in all its hoppy glory, you might not dig this, but give it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Just don't ask for a Bloody Ho because someone may look at you funny.