3 Fonteinen Schaarbeekse Kriek

Brewed by 3 Fonteinen
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Beersel, Belgium

Bottle courtesy of Mes_and_Sim. Blood red with a lasting thin pink head. Cherry sherbert nose with some yeast and a bit of hay. Sour puckering cherry but also some subtle sweetness, red wine vinegar and barnyard funk in the taste. Feels good in the mouth with a long dry finish. Gets better by the sip, can see several re-rates in the future.

(750ml bottle) Sampled at the Post-Great Canadian Beer Festival 2007 in Victoria on September 8th, 2007. Courtesy of Presario. Large pinkish head with a deep red body. Tart aroma and flavour yet a disappointing short palate.

2006 Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy deep red with a small but lasting pink head that leaves some lacing. Aroma of earthy brett spice, light sour cherries, oak, and light citrus. Taste is sour cherries, earthy brett goodness, light oak, and light citrus. Medium thin mouthfeel with a medium amount of bitterness and mildly spicy dry finish. A wonderfull Lambic.

Bottle 2005 vintage. An opaque, still ruby when poured, the Shaerbeekse Kriek is funky barnyard, but also redolent of sour cherries that are developing towards ripeness. The taste is unripe cherry with its dull sourness that sticks to the back of the tongue, almost a saltiness. I do not see this as overly complex; I mean, I am trying to look for other flavors, but I really can’t detect anything but the subtle cherry and unripe profile therein contained. Someone said coconut, and actually, I am starting to see that- a slight milkiness in the aftertaste that is very coconut-like. Other than that, not very complex, but solid. Oh yeah, I can’t forget the brett! Yummy.

this beer has an intense funk aroma. pours moderately still, ruby red color. flavor is your expected brett, tart and maybe some saltiness on the back end. i am starting appreciate this style.

2007 Summer Secret Santa. Bottle shared at CapFlu’s tasting after GCBF. Dark red. Thin head. Vinegar and raspberry aroma. Sour bitter cherry flavour. I love these beers, although my tasting skill may not have been at their sharpest. Still a real treat.

750ml Bottle (Pikkulintu, Helsinki, Lambic days 2007) Very dark, turbid pink. Coconut, and dry cider sourness on the nose. Then some bitterness and cherry, and finally more coconut. Hugely crisp sour cherry taste, plenty of dry coconut taste and a cherry finish. Excellent kriek.

The body is a hazy purple topped by a spritzy pink head. Underneath the typical lambic funk, there’s a spicy almost pepper aroma that actually complements the subdued cherries nicely. The sourness lingers in the finish with a slight astringency. Not very sweet, but interesting.