CooperSmiths Belgian Style Kriek Ale

Brewed by CooperSmiths Pub & Brewing
Style: Sour Ale
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

On tap at the berwery. Poured a nice deep red with a faint white head. A very strong almost over powering cherry taste.

Pours a deep cherry red color with a white head. Aroma is cherries, brett, oak, tart fruit, and some funk. Flavor is cherry, oak, brett, tart fruit, slightly spicy, and a sweet cherry finish.

Draft at the brewpub. Waiter INSISTED he bring me a taster bc it was a "weird" beer and I prob wouldn’t like it. Ha! I liked it enough to get a glass. Well done! Nose is predominantly tart, sour cherries - with a backdrop of wood and a touch of cobweb funk. Flavor was spot on with the balance concept...mild brett marries sour cherries and a nice oak presence and a mellowing sweet character. a bit of a vinegar dressing amidst it all. This doesn’t drown your senses in mouth puckering fortitude, but is gracefully drinkable while maintaining a flavor profile that doesn’t come off like a cheap imitation. It might have been a bit more enjoyable with a better flowing carbonation as it ran a bit still. I dig this - very well done indeed, especially considering my expectations.

On tap at the brewpub on 10/14/07: Clear bright ruby red pour has a thin ring of pinkish head. Aroma of sweet and tart cherries with a slightly medicinal character and faint woody oak. Starts with a mild cherry fructose sweetness giving way to bigger, tarter, mildly earthy notes and a puckering dry and tart finish. Fairly complex and authentic, a nice kriek.

Tap @ CooperSmiths: Poured a cleer deep cherry red color with an off-white head. Tart leathery funk aroma. Strong but not crazy (cause I like the stank). Nice sour cherries. The flavor was yeasty and woody with cherry flesh and stones. Fairly acidic in the thorat. Light to medium bodied. Smooth mouthfeel. This was the best they had to offer on this visit.

Date: 10/14/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

clear blood red, scant head, nice tart cherry aroma, rich cherry flavor, big tartness, nice woody character adds balance, a touch of sweetness

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Draft Reddened peach. Fine of-white ring of head. Lovely sour-pie cherry aromas with muted brett notes. Slightly musty with hints of peach skin, cherry stones, and fresh straw. Brisk carbonation. Juicy body. Initial bracing tartness is doused with vanilla-infused cake notes. Vividly bouncy and fluffy straw-tinged malts contribute ample complementary sweetness. Harsh brett does a fine job cutting the balancing the slickness. Juicy and supple cherry flavors saturate the core. Delicate vanillin sweetness enhances the straw notes beautifully. Finishes immensely succulent with a tight tannic sting which is then quelled by a savory swirl of ripe malt and vanilla. Overall, the aroma is a tad simple (not enough funk to match the one-dimensional cherry aromatics) but still pretty enticing. Flavor showcases some lovely malt depth, but this would benefit from more phenols. The cherries, which are admittedly quite juicy, do lack a bit of brightness as well. Very good beer.

Head is mostly diminishing. Body is hazy medium to dark reddish-amber (tiny bits of cherry residue evident). Aroma is lightly malty (caramel, toasted grain), lightly yeasty (cobwebs), with notes of cherry syrup, cask wood, celery/vegetation, hint of balsamic vinegar. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately to heavily acidic. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Not quite as complex and enticing as the Oud Bruin, but you can tell they went through all the trouble to make this as authentic as possible. In the same vicinity as Rodenbach Alexander, just not as sexy.