Belle-Vue Kriek

Brewed by Belle-Vue (InBev)
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium

Bottle. High creamy and pink lasting head. Beautiful clear dark red body. Very sweet cherry aroma. Acidic fresh and nice cherry aroma with a good deal of carbonation and a long aftertaste.

Aug, 2003: Bottle - Belle-Vue. I sampled this alongside Mort Subite Kriek and Echte Kriek. Opening the very tight cork was stressful and difficult, but produced nothing more spectacular than a small sighing pop. The delightful foam settled into penicillin clumps above congealed blood - the whole thing appearing to be the sort of drink the devil would offer you when signing a Faustian pact.
The aroma was initially sharp and tingly - making the hairs at the back of my throat stand up - then it got gradually musty before the cherries came out, quite attractively wrapped in cobwebs and old newspapers. The aroma was more complex than the Mort, but less pleasant.
The mouthfeel was the most pleasant of the three - there was a gentle life to the beer that made it taste fresh from the surgery, but never intruded rudely with gas, farting or an alka-seltzer of any sort.
It had the most restrained flavour of the three in terms of sweetness and sourness, with an edge toward the sourness but mostly well balanced. The flavour was pleasantly cherry - not strong, but a definite cherry - finishing with a mild, barky, earthy bitterness; subtle - just present enough to notice.
A pleasant experience - more interesting and a better quality than I expected - but not really memorable or especially great. [3.5]
Feb, 2004:Bottle (La Becasse Kriek). Sweet, sweaty leather spanked cherries being chased across the schoolyard. A swirling cherry sweetness comes to a blank stop. Not great. [2.4]
Fec, 2005:Bottle - Belle-Vue. Appearance is lovely. Taste is enjoyable - good mix of sweet and sour. Nice cherries and assorted mouldy bits. Good mouthfeel. Fresh, cleansing and attractive. [3.1]

Bottle, BB 1/30/07. Poured a clear translucent cherry red with a tall, light-pinkish head. Tart cherries and perhaps some artificial sweetener reside in the slight airy and pleasant nose. This beer then takes a turn for the worse... Tart and remarkably stale cherries pair with something unpleasant in the flavor (couldn’t put a finger on what it was)... very sweet for no good reason. The tartness was nice, but the nastiness above is what lingered in the finish. Started nice, but turned out to be less-than-ideal when it hit the lips.

Pinkish red, with retaining thin lace. Dry drink, drier than dry wines.Definate true cherry flavour. Strong carbonation tingles mouth and tongue. Satisfying and semi-sweet

Bottle (330ml). In a Maredsous stem glass. Pours a fairly cloudy, deep red, almost cola coloured. The head is thin, white, tinge of red, quick dispersing, bit of lacing and a gruel remnant on top. Aroma surprisingly sour, like a cheap white wine too long open in the bottle, sour cherry note - for the life of me, I can’t smell beer. Tart taste, but not as sour as nose warned - mild sour cherry flavour with an artificial cherry over top, hint of sweet wine, touch of malt (maybe wishful thinking) - a touch brackish. A little astringent and oily in the mouth, but elusive on the palate. Would only drink in summer.

Its taste reminds me the old days when I was drinking cheap Polish Wino brand Wino. The cherry content was not overly aggressive yet mouth feel was strongly earthy, slightly acidic.

Corked bottle. Deep glowing red color. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is sour cherries and sweet cherries. A medium bodied kriek. Tart and sour cherries flavors predominate. Light carbonation. Touch of candi sugar and peppermint at the finish. Sour cherries flavors is consistent throughout the beer. Very enjoyable drinking kriek. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and dry. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Re-rate TFOB 2003 Strong cherry aroma, reminds me of lifesavers. Not super sweet. Still not to my tastes but ok.