Crombe Oud Kriekenbier

Brewed by Brouwerij Strubbe
Style: Sour Ale
Ichtegem, Belgium

Gushing, after 12 years! Head is however immediately gone. Completely clear, red-gold, few big bubbles. Overpowering aroma of fruit, old vintage sherry, fruit essence, cherries, wild strawberries. Distinct fruit taste, but not as in fresh fruit. Rather as a precious liqueur made with selected ripe fruits. The essence of cherries - on sherry. Neither sweet, neither sour. Retronasal taste of venerable aged wine and, strange, lytchee. Mouthfeel neither thin, neither full - aetheral. Aftertaste is liqueurish, fruity. Perfection is not of this world. But this comes bl*** near. Will they finally start brewing the finest of non-lambic fruitbeers again, D*MN them! Still available at some specialised Belgian beerbars.

Sadly Crombé does not brew this any longer, but Strubbe has done an excellent job. This is one of the few beers in which you taste real cherries.

Delicious rocky, totally uniform foamy white head covers the 80% orange, 20% pink coloured body. A remarkable colour. Also remarkable is the aroma that explodes with yeastiness amongst which stand out delicious mushroom notes. Woody and sharp. Orangey, slightly plasticy. I love pomegranates and they are everywhere in this nose. Complex fruity and yeasty profile all along, funky. Unfortunately, it is not as spectacular in mouth, but still accompanied by a good level of acidity and a pretty dry palate. The cherries come with the complete fruit flavour, pit and flesh, and its sugars are fully attenuated. This is as authentic as it gets nowadays. Perfumey and floral closing, plain complex and delicious, unique offering.

Bottled@GBBF2007. Rubyish amber colour, mediumsized beige creamy head. Really sour cherry along with acidic notes in aroma. Big sour flavour with end in some cherries in finish. Extremely sour and really nice.

Bottle at Chris_O bottlefest 2007. My last beer of this great, great session. Started at 12.00 midday and finished at 02:00 the next morning. Orange/amber colour with thin off white head. Odd strawberry/ raspberry cherry beer. There is some decent sourness. 2.7/5.0 Re-rate Bottle at GBBF 2007. Red/brown crystal clear, sour funky aroma that is terrific, lasting off pink head. Bit of plastic on aroma. Decent cherries, very sour. Glue aroma. Wow, sour, but just a party time going on in your mouth and tummy. Made me happy. Great lasting finish of sticky cherries.

Ruby red with marvellous orange shines and a beige quickly vanishing head. Aroma is immediately a bit metallic, then it turns to red fruits, tart cherries and hints of Porto. Maybe a vintage bottle but no date and no alcohol content were listed upon the label. Very pleasant in the mouth, complex and hints of Porto again. Easily drinkable and interesting.

Bottle from the early ’90s, offered me years ago by Joris Pattyn
Bright ruby color, with a thin white collar. Wonderful sour aroma, pungent, a bit fruity and with cellar hints; later it’s also woody, with a light touch of milk chocolate. Good body structure, aggressive sourness, a lot of lemon juice; the sourness turns into bitterness; harsh; when warmer the mouthfeel is smoother and there is also a touch of hazelnuts. The palate is nice and astringent to start, but quite short. Very good. Lambic?

Everything is ’oud’ with this beer, even the crappy fifties label. Reddish amber with a small white head. Sour, slightly sweaty aroma with an unexpected sweetness developing. Delicious sour taste with no astringency, plenty of luscious deep fruitiness, and a dry finish. Magical.