Cantillon Kriek

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

750ml. Pours a beautiful cherry red/pink with a bubbly pink head that soon disappears almost entirely. Aroma is brett, cherries (thankfully still around), mild sourness. Horse/barnyard is not as pronounced as some other krieks. Nice, complex, balanced aroma. Strong but not off-putting. Sharp, tangy, acidic body. Very acidic. Tart taste with a quick sour finish. I liked this a lot. Certainly one of the best krieks I’ve had.

Draught and bottles. Bright garnet ruby-red. Desert dry. Surprisingly woodsy, almost earthy. Unearthly fruity, sour, and acidic qualities: everything that lambic should be. A relatively unassertive cherry presence that is overshadowed by the signature Cantillon lambic.

Magenta color, smell of funk and acid cherry. Extremely dry on the tongue, spreads all over the mouth, not overly cherry. My first lambic.

750 ml bottle @ Kristiansand Lambic festival. Copper red body with a small, light pink head. Aroma is very acidic with just a hint of cherry, also a little musty. Flavor is extremely dry and acid. Subdued cherry flavor and quite pleasant in it’s own way. Authentic but a bit rough for my taste. Re-rated. A bit higher score on the overall impression this time. I might get a bit more use to this, or maybe just had a better day?

Bottle. 2005 vintage. Lots of sweet funk on the nose. Sour smelling. Acidic cherry notes. A very potent aroma. Pours a rich ruby pink with a tiny white/pink head. Quite dry and acidic on the palate. Lots of vinegar. Not too much cherry. A tart sourness develops after a while. quite firm on the palate. Very acidic but quite good.

Bottle dated 14 Sep 06. Poured a lightly hazy reddish pink with a thin pink film. Lots of carbonation bubbles. The aroma can be detected well away from the glass with sharp sour cherry notes. As I bring my nose closer to the glass, the sourness becomes more dominating and the cherry character is a bit overwhelmed. Sharp, sour flavor which again seems to conceal the cherry flavor. Very dry and tart at the finish.

Bottle, picked up from Noel Cuviers, Abel, West Flanders, Belgium Late June 07 This poured a lucious hazy raspberry red colour with very little head to speak of. The aroma was superb with sour cherries dominating, taste was more of the same along with some oakiness and stunning dryness, rips through the roof off your mouth and then proceeds to awaken every single tastebud, with that sour, sharp cherry buzz. Lovely, just sit back and savour.

750 ml. bottle, ’96 vintage thanks to egajdzis. Eric opened a bottle of this last year and I must not have taken notes, so it was great to be able to try another ’96 from him at BCTC. Cloudy red/copper color with a small pink head. Nice funky, tart cherry aroma with some citrus and a bit of wood(cork?). Bracingly dry and tart, with lots of cherries, barnyard notes, some cheese and a wine like finish. Excellent!