Selins Grove The Phoenix Kriek

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

Growler, courtesy TheCheeseMan. Pours a clear, purplish, crimson red color. A small, foamy, cream colored head settles to a wispy film, leaving minimal, sudsy lacing behind. The nose can only be described as a freshly baked cherry pie. Even the sugar glazed, baked crust comes through, along with the sweet-tart, cooked cherries. The flavor is essentially the same, but perhaps a bit sweeter than the nose shows. Ultra-sweet cherries meet tart cranberry sauce and savory, lightly salted pie crust. There’s none of the typical annoying, artificial fruit extract elements here. This one is pure, fresh fruit and pastry. The body is medium-full, syrupy, and just shy of cloying. Incredible that this brew is 8%, as it seems more like 5%. Short of New Glarus, this is about as good as it gets for fruit beer. Thanks CheeseMan!

growler, thanks holdenn! pours beautiful deep ruby with almost pinkish-cream colored head. nose has nice cherries, lactose, and nutmeg. flaovr is subtle sourness, cherries, dark fruits, cherry pit, balanced tart and sweet. slightly acidic. really reminded me of belgian red, but perhaps better! alcohol is very well hidden. a great fruit beer.

20061007 After Kennett, from growler. This was the first time I was lucky enough to sample Phoenix Kriek and these are the most pure notes of any of my samples, however simplistic. I think I’ve had it twice since. ’A beautiful blending of kijafa and soured rich malts, as from a freshly carved wooden chalice.’

Many many thanks to Stine for this handbottle. A rich red color with faint white head. A delicious sour aroma reminiscent of door county cherries. An excellent balance between tart and sweet in the strongly cherry flavored body. An excellent smooth finish.

Out of a growler at C-Bus 7. This is a reddish beer with a small pinkish head. Very fresh cherry nose that reminds of cherry pie filling. Very natural, fresh cherry flavors, unlike the artificial cough syrup flavors in a lot of fruit beers. Tastes like a Hostess Fruit Pie. Some tartness that comes from the fruit. This is a very nice use of fruit in beer. It is one dimensional, but it is a good dimension.

Deep brownish red in color with a nice reddish head. Sour cherry aroma with caramel and woody notes. Cherry and vanilla flavor. Dry. Finish is sour and crisp. Full bodied. Very nice beer. Very drinkable.

Crimson orange in color. Off-white head with pinkish hues settles into a tight, sticky fringe. Ripe black- and sour-pie cherry aromas with hints of raisins, straw, cinnamon and caramelized (Munich?) malt. Soft prickles of fuzzy carbonation. Tartness initially teases the palate but is largely neutralized by the fairly weighty residuals which outweigh much of the potential brightness. Explosively ripe surge of luscious cherries establishes itself alongside a peach-fuzz bitterness. Very little depth, however. Vague rubbery astringency develops late in the swallow. Phenols are entirely nonexistent, as is the malt which scarcely lends a slightly crunchy quality which resembles straw and crackers. Finishes with notes of black cherries and raisins, but overly brief as well as wet, unpleasantly rubbery and astringent. Those who rave about New Glarus Belgian Red will undoubtedly enjoy the authentic/fresh, albeit one-dimensional, cherry profile of this. Not really my bag, though, as it is rather flabby and lacking in dryness, depth, yeast character and assertive sourness. Malt also lacks definition. Should they inoculate some barrels with wild yeast, they will likely have great success as they are definitely on the right track.

Growler, courtesy thecheeseman. I just love the heck out of this! Deep reddish purple copper with a medium head. Aroma of funky sour cherries, spicy cherry pits, graham crackers and cherry soda. Flavor starts with a combo of sweet and sour cherries, the graham cracker provides the crust for this cherry pie. Palate is med full up front with the sweet, but then it lightens on the way back as the tartness tightens pulls and puckers at the sides of the tongue. The tartness begins to border on a cranberry sauce acidity. Finish is bone dry and refreshing. Just outstanding.