Belle-Vue Kriek

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

Best of the Belle-Vue products. Way too sweet with a strongly medicinal false cherry flavor...but the lively carbonation pulled it out of the fire for me.

Got this can across the way from the train station in Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium yesterday. Kinda had high hopes for this especially after I poured and took a whif. Looks great with a big pink foamy, frothy, textured head and loads of lace. Aroma was apparent immediately upon opening the can of pie cherries. Closer sniff gave up some floral qualities too. Flavor was not so good; body either. Taste was very shallow; only of the aroma and barely any beer. Body was super thin. Tawdry. Somebody’s trying to get by on the cheap. I call you out sir! Think I’m being a little over kind in the ratings actually.

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.

Draft. All One Bar, London. Red in appearance and red in aroma and flavor, that is, cherries and strawberries. This reminded me of what Frankenberry cereal would taste like if it were liquid — and cherry. Sweet and fruity in aroma and taste. Bubbly mouthfeel and thin body. I would have preferred more sourness, but if you’re in the mood for a sweet cherry beer with alcohol, this would not be unpleasant.

Draught, served in its glass but way too cold, drank at Chambar, savoured on February 8 2007; eye: burgundy, a thin layer of beige head, nice lacing, no effervescence; nose: cherry concentrate, outdated malt, vinous, acidic, I should not have gone with the retro-nasal approach as the result was outdated malt and way, way, way too much sweet; mouth: surprisingly creamy, nice hint of acidity, a bit of caramel all over the place, finale in cherry with a bit of a sweet side to it, after the finale, sweetness, astringency, acidity and a bit of bitterness and even of acridity, medium body, too sweet, creamy and a bit grainy texture, quite acidic; overall: quite special but not too often FRANÇAIS En fût, servit dans son verre, servit bien trop froide, bue chez Chambar, savourée le 8 février 2007; oeil : bourgogne, petite couche de mousse beige, belle dentelle, claire, pas d’effervescence; nez : concentré de cerise, malt passé date, vineux, acidité, j’aurais pas dû y aller dans la rétro-olfaction car le résultat est un malt passé date et un écoeurement dans le sucré; bouche : curieusement crémeuse, belle pointe d’acidité, un peu de caramel au travers de tout ça, finale en cerise avec un petit côté sucré, après la finale on parle d’un mélange de sucré, astringence, acidité et un peu d’amertume et même d’âcreté, corps moyen, toquant, texture crémeuse et très légèrement granuleuse, assez acide; en résumé : vraiment spécial mais pas trop souvent

Bottle, 375ml, 5.1% ABV. An average mostly diminishing off-white head. Aromas of red wine and cherry. Clear dark red appearance. Flavour of sour cherries, somewhat acidic. Quite fizzy. My first Lambic - didn’t impress me much. Tasted most like a sour cherryade.

Re rate: still sweet like i remember, i’d like to taste more sourness, nice fruit flavour (Cherry), but to sweet like i said . Original ratings: way too sweet and not enough sour, definitely not up there with the best lambic beers.

Kriek is not really beer, but this doesn’t taste all that bad, but lindemans is better.