Belle-Vue Kriek

Artificial and extremely sweet. A classic low quality fruit beer. Too much is sickening.
Earlier Rating: 9/8/2002 Total Score: 3.1
A litlle too ordinary. The palate has’nt got the nice marzipan-alike-taste, which I enjoy very much.

The aroma is sweet and powerful of cherries. The color is red and it has an OK but disappearing head. The flavor is sweet with notes of cherries, and a dry woody finish. It is way too sweet for me.

Comments about the colour and presentation of beers like these probably don't add a great deal to the evaluation of a beer of this style. There is no need to comment on the natural hue of a beer because of the obvious adjuncts. Ditto the nose and taste as a cherry beer is going to probably smell and taste of .......Having said all that it is still a good and refreshing beer. There is a gegree of syrupy presence as noted by some but if you look past that it is still quite an acceptable drink, as opposed to a beer.

Aroma is rather syrupy sweet cherry. Smells artificial. Deep red colour with a nice thick pink head that recedes with nice lacing. Beautiful bubbly body. Flavour is also overly sweet with a minor tartness emerging towards the finish which is overwhelmed by the pervasive sweetness. There is a nice biscuity flavour left on the palate in the aftertaste. Actually has nice body and effervescent mouthfeel. Bottle (green).

Bottled in La Fleur en Papier Dore bar, Brussels. This is an unashamedly commercial rendition of the style. I'm not sure how much real lambic there is in this, but is certainly does taste of cherry in a rather medicinal cough-mixture type way. The problem from my perspective is that it is really rather unacceptably sweetened up. This is somewhat redeemed by a more authentic sharp tang at the finish. An acceptable, but uninspiring Kriek. September 2003.

Cherry red colour with a medium size lasting off white head and good lacing. Mainly cherry flavours with an oily texture that lasted well into the finish, some wood characters which would come from the oak maturation. Nice beer but a bit too sweet for my liking, it would be good with chocolate at the end of a meal.

Something different. I like it when I think of it as a cherry drink as opposed to thinking it is a beer. There is something a little jarring about the mix of flavours which I am guessing a better quality kriek may overcome? It does look very nice in a flute with a solid white head, persistent lacing and thick red colour. It has an unusual astringency (from the cherries?) which is a nice change.

Beer 6 Belgium trip. Ordered the unidentified kriek off the hotel room service menu for kicks just to see what would be sent up. No surprise, this stuff is everywhere in Belgium. Deep rose color, light pink head, nose of sour cherries. Flavor matches, but a little too sweet for me. No real funk here. Fun, but not serious.