North By Northwest Kriek

Brewed by North By Northwest Restaurant and Brewery
Style: Sour Ale
Austin, Texas USA

Ooooh what a great sour aroma. Wow. The flavor matches the aroma. Lots of sweetness and some sourness. Dark red amber. Excellent. Another one of my favorites. 2 samples.

Sampled at GABF 2009. Copper colored pour. Vinegary and sour aroma. Big tart cherry, oak, and a hint of nutmeg in the flavor. I loved it.

Bottle RBSG. Pinkish brown pour with a white head. Aroma of light sour, cherry, subtle bready malt/piecrust and cinnamon. Flavors were dry tart cherry, pie spices and sweet malt. Medium body, sour/fruity/tart/dry with a dry/juicy finish. Really nice brew.

Bottle from my main man in Texas---Walt! Thanks so much for this brew Walt. Lightly sour aroma with definite hints of cherries and some sour funk. Hazy brown body with a hint of red. The taste was well balanced--not overly sour in the least bit with definite tart cherries and some oak tastes to balance the tartness. Definitely a long finish in the back of your mouth. Perfectly carbonated. I really appreciate the restraint of this brew in not going over the top with the sour cherry flavors. Well done.

Big thanks to ThickFreakness. As I popped the cap I was very surprised to see the beer is filled almost all the way rim. The pour is again surprising because it comes out with a strong head that does not fade. It’s a pink-ish head that sits on a dark red colored body that has absolutely no clarity. The beer looks so thick with that body and so beautiful with the non-fading head. As I pour more the head grows and never subsides. One of the most beautiful beer I have ever seen. Aroma starts with a quick burst of sourness and brett cobwebs with a bretty sourness after that. Then comes a very fruity jam aroma, not just cherry but a mix of raspberries and other berries in a natural, prickly, farmers market, type of jam. With the first sip there is a nice cherry flavor, thick and natural. But right away comes a quick fizziness followed by a quick sharp burst of sourness. The sourness then relaxes into palate-spreading brettiness and finishes with a prickly sourness that sits in the back of the throat for a very long time. I am highly impressed with this offering, one of the most authentic American versions of lambic.
375 capped, green, unlabeled bottle. Cantillon short stemmed copita glass.

Draught at GABF 2008. Hazy red brown coloured with a medium sized beige head. Light acidic aroma of cherries, wood and caramel with notes of glue. Light acidic flavour of cherries, wood, oak, vanilla and glue. Tart finish. Very well balanced.

Bottle shared by moejuck at cbus 9. Pours a hazy reddish brown with a faintly pink head. Aroma is tart cherries, funk, oak. Flavor is more tart cherries, light oak, dough. Palate is light bodied, medium carbonation, finished tart and funky. Awesome.

Bottle at the RBSG grand tasting on 6/23/07: Pours a hazy dark ruby pink with a thin-lacing off-white head. Aroma of sweet fruity cherries and some complex oak and tartness, very enticing. Body starts with a full dissolved carbonation and some lightly sweet fruity cherries and lots of tartness before a drier, lightly oaky complex finish. Very well balanced, authentic and enjoyable.