Liefmans Cuvée Brut (was: Kriekbier)

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

Draught. Sampled at Delirium Café, Göteborg. Muddy red-ish with a hint of brown. Deep cherry-stone nose, along with a touch of soil. Musty flavour from ripe cherry-stone. Keep the kids away from this!

Superb kriek! Bursts with fresh ripe cherry aromas and flavours. Great fruit and good acidity too! Fantastic!

750 ml bottle. Deep red pour with a finger thick pink head. Aroma is of sweet cherries. Flavor is sour and tart with a lingering cherry aftertaste. Very good but I enjoyed the raspberry sour ale better.

bottle. 2003 cork. thanks DougShoemaker! pours a rather flat, murky, reddish-brown body. the cherry aroma fills the room - very sweet and juicy along with a light funkiness. sweet juicy cherry body with a soft underlying acidity. I liked this but it’s a bit too sweet at times.

Cloudy, almost opaque, red beer with a creamy pinkish head which lasted well and left some lacing. The taste might perhaps have had a little more sourness, but I enjoyed the rich cherry flavour and the engaging dryness which eventually emerges. I confess to enjoying the wrapped bottle.

another chickie beer from liefmans, red w/ white foam, fruity, pungent and sweet.

375mL bottle. 2005 bottle. Best before: January 2015, I believe. Came wrapped and with a different label than that in the picture. A very deep cherry pour with a one-finger thick quartz head. Sweet and tangy aroma is of fresh cherries and lemons, yeast and some vinegar. The flavor is almost perfect. Lots of fresh, tangy cherries and some sour lemon. Tart and sour, but not too much so. Finish is only a little dry with some lemon juice and a hint of vinegar. Just the slightest hint of vanilla and oak gives this the impression that it’s aged and creates a soft and smooth mouthfeel. An excellent beer.

I really enjoyed this one, had all the aspects of a world classic and the awards to prove it. Tasted from the bottle into a chalice glass, cool and not cold. Reddish, tawny brown body, hazy, with a short, dense lather of pinkish foam that persisted for the length and left some lace. Sweet concentrated cherry nose, tart, tight and biting; slightly medicinal and herbal with and aged musty note that was truly inviting. Sweet and spritzy in the mouth, delicate yet with a degree of complexity that saw me savour each sip. Quite tart, smooth and creamy once it had settled, cherries are predominant, but there are hints of musty, sour malt, woody earthy tones, stale raspy hops and light fruity esters that develop to full potential as it warmed. Finish is long, tart and sweet with cherries and woody aged notes lingering in the mouth long after I had even finished the glass. Wonder why it took so long for me to taste this as it has now easily edged its way into my ’good-all-year-round’ category. A lovely brew and yet another gem from Liefman’s. (37.5cL bottle, one year old, 2013)