Liefmans Cuvée Brut (was: Kriekbier)

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

(Bottle) The beer pours a clear, deep dark red colour with a small pale pink head. The aroma holds tones of both ripe and tart cherries, cherry candy, cherry stones, light woody funk, mild dirty earth, rose pepper, almonds, vanilla powder and toasted/nutty/caramelly malt. The flavour is light to medium sweet with a balanced, light dry finish. Clear tones of cherries and mild lemon/lime fruits. Light acidic. The mouthfeel is soft carbonated with a light sticky profile. Lemon and sweet cherry tones lingers. Light dusty and woody. Medium bodied.

Pours deep, hazy ruby orange into a tumbler. Off-pink head has excellent staying power. Sour cherry and funk aromas. Deep, sweet and sour cherry from front to back. Crisp sweet cherry pit finish.

Bottle. Pours a deep red color with a nice white head - some lacing. Bottle looks very exlusive and nice also, wrapped in paper and a metall box. Aroma is interesting with cherries, some light notes of almonds, a bit of candy and some funk. Flavour is both sweet and sour with pleasant notes of cherries - quite sweet and a bit candy like in the beginning, but it turns sourer in the aftertaste with a balanced, nice acidity, lightly of funk. Cherry taste is really wonderful in this brew. Mediumbodied, quite filling, dry mouthfeel. Very nice brew from Liefmans.

Bottle. Plum coloured beer. Less sour than most krieks, tastes more like candy than cherries. Deasent but a bit dull.

Bottled 375ml. 6.5 ABV. Apperance: It pours a murky reddish brown beer with a small lightly tanned reddish head. Not much lacework. Aroma: A lot of cork, vinegar and cherries appearing. Flavor and palate: Rather strong acidity. Medium bodied. Dry. A lot of fruits showing up just before the finish which is rather dry. Overall impression: A solid brew.

Bottle. Lilac color. Sweet /sour smell of cherries. The taste is sour at first but the aftertaste is too sweet and has an artificial fell too it.

75 cl bottle thanks to deft! On February 7, 2009
Came in a metallic casing, inside the corked bottle was wrapped in paper.
Clear dark cherry red color, small off-white to brownish pink head. Very nice color, head a bit sad though. Sugary sweet as well as acidic to sour scent, also loads of cherry, though not from the pips. Semi-sweet, some lactic acid, tones, cherry taste, also a bit acidic. Moussy mouthfeel, low bitterness.

In short: A sweet (but not too much so) cherry beer with a light lambic presence.
How: Bottle 375ml, probably 6+ months old
The look: Clear dark red body topped by a small beige head
In long: Nose has a strong cherries presence for a commercial sweetened Kriek. Taste is actually better than I remembered. Sure it is sweetened, no it’s not funky and carbonation is too soft for the style. But the cherries flavour is very much upfront. Dark cherries and red cherries skin. A bit musty. Sweetness and cherry sourness are head-to-head in the finish, I guess that it is balance to some. Nice astringency. The beer has some good qualities so to be positive I’ll say that of all the bad Krieks I’ve had this might be the best one.