Liefmans Cuvée Brut (was: Kriekbier)

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

Bottle form 1985 courtesy of willblake. Sour cherries, grapes and alcohol in the aroma. No head and no carbonation. Dark red/amber in color. Flavor is pretty mellow. Sour with tons of floaties. Sour, tart finish with a pretty dry palate. Will have to try a fresher bottle when I get the chance

Bottile from 2002. Strong cherry and vinegar aroma. Murky reddish brown color. Headless. Sour cherries and a little bit of something medicinal. Unusual beer, but the medicinal aftertatse doesn’t hit my palate right.

Pours a reddish amber with very little head. Aroma is strong of cherries, with wood and vinegar type scents. Taste is acidic, with cherries and a little burnt wood. Taste definitely gets better as it warms. It went from like a 3.0 to 3.7 just with the warming process!

375ml. corked bottle. Murky brownish red color with no head whatsoever. Sweet cherry aroma with hints of wood. Flavor was a bit of a let down. Lots of cherry flavor, but it reminded me of cherry cough syrup. Absolutely no carbonation. A bit of wet cardboard in the aftertaste. I’m assuming this bottle wasn’t in perfect condition, but I remember having this beer a few years back and having a similar reaction.

Bottle (brewed 1995 !!!): Amber coloured, red sparks, absolutely no foam, astonishingly clear; fruity (plums,raisins) and vinous (Port&Sherry) nose, some hints of cherries and almonds; the initial sweet fruitiness turns into a light acidic flavour, very complex, very ripe; ending slightly bitter-acidic; nearly no carbonation. Is it a beer or is it a wine ? Very nice experience, the initial acidity makes this beer very drinkable even after 10 years...............

(375ml bottle, cork dated 1995, best before 1997) Dark amber colour with no head to speak of. Very vinous aroma like Port wine with a fruitiness of dried prunes. Mild dry flavour, almost no sourness detectable anymore. Vinous taste like a very ripe wine with traces of prunes and raisins combined with a soft and moderate sweetness. A slight acidic note appears in the finish with only a hint of tartness. Great and complex beer (and with an age of ten years one of the ripest beers I´ve ever had). (375ml bottle at Léon de Belge in Essen/Ruhr, best before 2011) Hazy red to brown colour with a disappearing reddish head. Sour fruity cherry aroma with bitter almonds. Sweet and sour flavour. Complex taste of sour cherries, bitter almonds and a hint of caramel with a rather dry and tannic sour aftertaste. One of the best Krieks I know so far.

(Bottle) Pours a reddish brown body with a small pinkish off-white head. Aroma and flavor of cherries. Truly a wonderful Kriek, indeed. My mouth is watering right now for another....

Almost still and organic red, looks like juice but for the thin film of a head. Tart and musty aroma with that beautiful barnyard smell. Super mouth puckering followed by some sour cherry flavor and finishing dry. Disappointing level of complexity that doesn’t match the aroma. Still a pleasant drink.