Hanssens Oude Kriek

Brewed by Hanssens Artisanaal
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Dworp, Belgium

Dark red color, strongly hazy appearance. Little vanishing white head. Strongly dry, even more sour aroma, only hints of cherry comes up. Medium bodied. Strongly dry and sour flavor, mild cherries in aftertaste. Maybe the dryest beer I’ve had.

Poured into a lindemans lambic flute. Slighter than expected hiss- perhaps some CO2 escaped? Pours a clear amber with peach highlights, thin head and low to med carbonation. Aroma sour and tart cherries, lots of barnyard funk, brett and pedio. Flavor starts off with some sour cherries, lactic acid, more funk, then finishes off with a bit of acedic acid and a dry tart finish.

Sweet red pour with zero head. Musky, sour aroma, only the slightest touch of cherry. Flavor is a beautiful blend of sour funky gueuze and lovely cherries, only slightly sweet but very well balanced. Mouthfeel is wonderful, slightly thick though not distubingly so, lively with a bite though still refined. A step above Hanssen’s already fabulous oude gueuze. I couldn’t ask for much more than this in a beer.

From a bottle more or less straight off the shelf at Bottleworks. The cork bursts out of the bottle with an explosive pop, instantly dispersing into the air a musty barnyard aroma (and surprisingly little cherry). The beer pours a pale red with no head, and the aroma in my glass is sour vinegar, the slightest hint of cherry, and a blend of funky lambic aromas. On the mouth, this beer is powerfully sour and acidic, like drinking lemon juice but more so, strong enough to sting the back of the throat on the way down -- but this acidity turns quickly to a woody dryness that lives a lovely mouth-puckering dry finish of wood and ash.

This lacks the complexity and balanced drinkability of the Oud Beersel Oude Kriek - and in fact it comes off as so sour that I’ll save the second half of the bottle for tomorrow night - but it’s clearly a fine kriek. I’d enjoy trying a bottle that had been aged for a few more years.

Pour is warm hazy red with a pinkish head...smell is cherry and sugar...actually, the flavor tasted like it had an artificial sweetener in it...saccharin maybe...just tasted cherry and overly sweet...

Great natural fruit taste. Finish is very refreshing and the amount of cherry is balanced to perfection. No cloying sweetness, in stead a powerfull sour, fruity finish. Great.

Botle, 375ml, aged 4 yrs. Red, flatish, slight pink head. Expecting a classic beer, this is a bit of a disapointment. Whilst appreciating the cherry sourness with the Lambic acidity, there just seems to be a flatness about this. Raw and harsh with a palid palate, the cherry is fresh and strong but over dominating. Not the best Lambis I have had.

33cl bottle. Clear red body, minimal head and nearly no acid the beer. Aroma of sugared sweet cherries, light alcohol, wood, cellar. Sour flavour, with hints of spices, wood and fruits. Easy to drink.