Cantillon Lou Pepe Pure Kriek

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

1999 edition
Aroma: cherry vingarette, very strong scents, sweet/tart aroma that fills the nose. cherry and gueze scents, cherry wood scents, black cherry juice, vanilla beans, and flowers
Appearance: bright red, semi-purple head, lacing
Flavor: deep, strong cherry flavors--similar to a cherry pie. floralness, tartness, brown sugar flavors, hibiscus flowers, and pineapple
Palate: very smooth, tart bite, great cherry aftertaste--like pie--very sweet
Overall: This one really blew me away--just fabulous!

The most beautiful beer. Deep clear ruby color with a little pink head to go along. The ever amazing geuze flavors of horsestble, hayloft and barnyard is complementes with cinnamon, clove, pepper, cherries and a complexity that keeps my nose in the glass forever. The taste completes the experience with matchin sourness and I want more

Draft at Max’s. Deep ruby red color. Very acidic vinegar aroma with lots of cherries. Really delicious. Nice and sour cherry taste with a really creamy oak finish. Heavenly

Glass: flute, tumbler Purchased at: OakTree BuyRite, South Plainfield, NJ (Thanks, Jason and Matt) Price: $22.99 Size: 25.4 fl oz ABV: 5 % IBU: n/a Estimated Calories: 300 C RateBeer Rating: 99 Aural: cork opening, but uneventful, beautiful, continuous carbonation, quiet, luscious pour Aroma 10 out of 10 Intensity: strong Balance: sharp Impression: nice Malt Aroma: sour Hops Aroma: wholly floral, rose, cinnamon, clove, Other Aroma: orange, cherry, lemon Notes: You have to be able to enjoy sour to get into a cherry behemoth like this. While it’s not my favorite style, I genuinely appreciate it when it’s done well. It’s done perfectly. Appearance 5 out of 5 Color: ruby Clarity: nearly opaque Head Retention: poor Lace: poor Notes: Very much like a sparkling wine, with great visual effects. Flavor 10 out of 10 Intensity: strong Balance: bitter Impression: nice Malt Flavor: sour Hops Flavor: rose, lemon, rind Other: cherry, plum, dates, raisin Notes: An absolutely overwhelming sourness and bitterness. Done with finesse and great care. Palate 5 out of 5 Mouthfeel Sensation: drying Body: full Carbonation: heavy Finish Length: long Intensity: strong Balance: bitter Notes: A dark, oaky, bitter finish and a very dry bite. delicious. General Impression: 19 out of 20 Craftmanship: excellent Freshness: fresh Personal Taste: liked very much. Notes: As I said, while this is not my go to style (luckily, since I couldn’t afford it) I definitely appreciate when it’s done well, and this is very well crafted. It demands to be sipped.

Rerate, after several tries of the second vintage: 4.9. Original at 5.0: #800 - Hey_Kevin brought this from the wilds of John's Grocery in Iowa City and I am indebted; he and his friend Frank and I had an excellent afternoon of sampling a couple of rare beers while watching the kids play with their new yo yo balls. On to the beer - incredibly rich cheesy horseblanket, the kind of oaky woodiness normally I only sense in Hanssen's and the most incredibly sour Schaarbeek cherries - a bit softer that Cantillon's regular Kriek, and slightly more sour than Oud Beersel Kriek, but just as complex. The Gueuze is limited to 120 (!) bottles, but this does not have a bottle number on it. The label says 1999, the cork indicates a bottling of 2001. Delicious, and utterly world class.

2001 bottle shared with drmatt, smhncabot. Aroma is all sour cherry and funk that just assaults your senses. The sour dry, barnyard is so appealing. Jesus, this aroma used to repel me; what happened? Taste is super sour at first, just very unripe cherry and crazy yeast profile. The finish is slightly bitter, funky, and bright cherry- like you have the first bite of a sour cherry, but as you slowly chew it the cherry develops and matures into a ripe, well-rounded fruit. This beer is amazing. It looks like cranberry juice, tastes like sweet/sour cherry, barnyard, and smells very similar with a lot of cherry and funk. I could drink this all day. 959518 ----re-rate- 1999 Lou Pepe Pure Kriek consumed 1/24/2009 Aroma is dirty hay and rotten cherries; ah, lovely! It’s like an earthy, cherry pie. Taste is lemony-tart cherry. Lots of acid and some small bit of sweetness brought on by the malt. Wow. 959418

Thanks to, uh, me for sharing. Perfect cloudy cherry red body with a great pink head (that’s what she said..). The smell is of fantastic fresh cherries with great funk, sour, and sweet notes. Nice honey, bright dry hops, a slight mineral/iron note, and a strong vinegar tone. The taste is super dry, very acetic, fantastically funky and super sour. Cherries, raspberries, sulfur, mineral, vinegar, cranberries, bread, and an almost gingery, cinnamon spiciness. The irony aftertaste lingers for hours, and I love it. Oak, rubber, and barnyard notes appear as it warms. This is almost exactly what a kriek should taste like.

Bottled. Amazing deep red colour. Loads of cherries in the aroma and in the flavour. This is one of those beers you don’t want to drink beacuse of the fantastic aroma. Very soft and well balanced between sourness and sweetness. In June 2005 I tasted the first version of this. A "test brew" from 1986 of which only some 20 litres were bottled. Still after 19 years it was very red in colour and the aroma was extremely complex and full of fresh cherries. Very impressive.