Selins Grove The Phoenix Kriek

Brewed by Selins Grove Brewing Co.
Style: Fruit Beer
Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania USA

Growler from brewpub. Pours brown with dark red hues, light khaki head, small and rimming. Nose is sweet cherries and berries - straw, rasp, and blue. Taste is tart cherry and mild, artificial chocolate, some strawberry/raspberry. Just a plethora of berries. Fruity, chocolaty-ish, a touch of base "beer" but doesn’t really get through. It doesn’t matter, though, because the sour fruitiness rules the day. Tasty treat.

Growler, courtesy of TheCheeseMan. This one poured a deep red almost purple color with a small, bubbly white head that leaves minimal lacing behind. The aroma is all fresh cherries, baked pie crust, and sweet cherry glaze. The flavor follows suit with the fresh sweet cherries and pie crust coming first followed by natural sour cherry flavor. The sourness is subtle making this like cherry sweet tart, but without any artificial flavors added. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and just a touch syrupy with good carbonation and a slight sou finish. This is a great fruit beer, and one I hope to be able to try again.

Thanks to dpjuart for sharing the growler! Beautiful red body with a thin, bubbly, off-white head that leaves fantastic lacing. The aroma is kinda weak, and mostly of cherries, berries, and dark fruits, with some toffee and chocolate notes. The taste, on the other hand, is overwhelming! The taste of strong, ripe, quality black cherries is just so fantastic. I was assuming lambic when I saw Kriek, but holy crap was I wrong. This is anything but lambic. The is hearty, rich, delicious and filling. I couldn’t have more than one or two of these though - I ’d feel like I ate a whole meal. Thank God for good beer, huh?

Objectively speaking: A sharp fruit beer that offers a very serious compromise between refreshment and intensity.
I like: This was from Stine’s handbottles via Glouglou and it seems to have held up very well. The carbonation is still very appropriate. Considerable tart bite towards the finish. Well extracted cherry flavours. 8% alcohol never hampers the refreshment.
I dislike: Not much to dislike about this was besides its rarity. It was much drier than I expected and relatively complex in its maltiness with earthy, toffee and a robust palate to boot.

In short: A kick-ass cherry beer. That simple.
How: Hand-bottles from Stine, thanks a lot Eben! Drank a few days after receiving them. Shared on the “Stone-Bourbon-Barrel-RIS-Hype-And-Disappointment” tasting session with the Montreal crew
The look: Beautiful glowing dark red body with a medium beige head.
In long: Nose of some kind of stale cherry drink with a slight “decaying” sensation. Not an unpleasant aroma at all but the nose definitely was its weakest feature. Everything else kicked-ass in this beer and that little nose imperfection is probably not present fresh from the tap. As with most good fruit beers the taste is rather focussed, and this one proposes earthy cherries and also some wild cherries flavours. Medium tartness and medium sourness. Very tasty. Not a “refreshing” fruit beer this one is actually quite nourishing and tasty. Compared to the Belgian Red (drank 5 minutes before) the Phoenix Kriek was more pure cherry skin oriented while the Belgian Red was more on the sweet maraschino side of things. They are a lot more different than I expected. But after drinking the Belgian Red followed by this Phoenix Kriek I can honestly say that I’ve never enjoyed tasting cherries that much, and that’s including my teenage years and the things we did when our parents were away.

Hand bottle thanks to BK for sharing this one after his drive to the brewery. Pours a pink ruby body with a pink head. Aroma is gushing with sweet cherries, and some tart fruit flavors. Loaded with a nice sweet acidic tart cherry madness. I almost asked him to just share the whole growler. So good!

Growler at WeeHeavySD’s birthday party. Poured a deep clear red. Very big sweet and tart cherry aroma, like good pie filling. Rich tart cherry taste, lots of sweet and sour fresh fruit. Lighter lingering sourness. Really great cherry beer.

Growler shared by tjthresh, via kramer17801. Pour is cloudy ruby brown with a half inch tan head. Aroma of fresh cherries, sweet, with a depth of tartness and sourness as well. Matt said Cherry mash, Tom said Cherry pie, both are certainly good descriptors. Real deep and complex, wonderful nose. Taste is black cherry sweetness with a nice crisp tartness to the finish. Nice earthiness, nice mouth coating lingering finish. Really a beautiful beer - huge thanks to Tom for sharing, honored to have had an opportunity to try this one.