Liefmans Cuvée Brut (was: Kriekbier)

Brewed by Liefmans (Moortgat)
Style: Sour Ale
Oudenaarde, Belgium

Cloudy dark amber color with red hue; small creamy head. Light cherry aroma, mature. Good body, some malt and sweetness, with a good fruity level. A touch of acidity. Balanced.

Drink this last sunday at Wannegem. Red body, white head, looks like a dark red strawberry. The aroma is a slight barnyard, cherries and currents. The flavor is a bitter/sour taste with a finish of sweet cherries. Different but good.

A Mes rate: 37.5cl bottle from pretty much anywhere you like. God I love this stuff. I swear it is better than it used to be. Yes it has that artificial sweetness and it has that slightly unpleasant metalic note but it is reliably enjoyable. Cinnamon and other spices, lots of brown sugar and probably more strawberry than cherry in the aroma. Attractive blood red body with a dissipating head. Intitial hit is very sweet but then the sour ale takes over. The fruit is not so apparent at first but it comes through in a tart then sweet then tart rush at the finish. Refreshing and with a wonderful mouthfeel. It’s never going to be a world beater and the aftertaste is just a little artificial but it always hits the spot for me. One of the first quality beers I ever tried and one I will never tire of. Like an old friend.

Bottle: Explosive pop, blew the cork before the cage was even removed. A large diminishing pink head, no lacing. Nose of light funky malt, some musky hop and fruit along with sulpher and horsey cherry. The flavor isn’t too tart but is dry with some sweet mouthfeel to balance. A bit of fruit and a zippy finish. Finishes a touch malty, good fruit beer, but I don’t think it’s quite a flemish sour, more like a lambic. Hmm.

On tap at christian firtal Odense: Dark rasperry red with fine white head. Sweetness and sourness from the cherries goes very well here. Both dominates. Nice & pleasant fresh finish. A great kriek!

375ml bottle came in a red wrapper, ’94’ was stamped on the wrapper. Bottle looks different than pictured bottle. Appearance: Poured with no head, brown with red tint, no lacing :: Aroma: Deep cheery aroma :: Flavor: Initial good strong nutty cherry taste, soon fades to a bitter bite. Palate: tastes too nutty. I believe that the bottle I got may have been too old, not impressed at all, could not finish the glass.

Heavy cherry aroma. Huge frothy head. Fair lasing. Mostly lasting longevity. Dark red body color. Heavy sweet cherry initial flavor, with a long duration. Medium palate. Oily texture.

This is actually a very good kriek, surprisingly. A kriek with lots of taste and aroma, without the fruits beeing too sweet.