Valley Brew Aud Dubbel Kriek

Formerly brewed at Valley Brewing Company
Style: Fruit Beer
Stockton, California USA

Bottled. Pours murky brown with a small tan head. Aroma is cherries and bread. Favor is primarily cherries but also has a bit of a ’plum-like’ note to it as well. Malty and sweet. Slight banana aftertaste. This one rocks, Steve! This is a great beer to just sit and appreciate. I’m going out to lie in my hammock.

Well-aged bottle a gift from aspidites; Thanks Mike! Nose of cherries, roasty malt, with a very slight alcohol note; dark cherry red with a small pinkish-beige head; Roasted malt flavor with a hint of smoke, cherries, and yeast, in a medium body with a small tart and alcohol finish. Pretty big beer for a fruit beer!

2004 bottle, very generously provided by KrausenJockey. Drunk on 3/2/07
Perfect color for a dubbel. Auburn-chestnut with black cherry hues and some duller beiges. The beer is sparklingly clear, with bubbles clinging to the glass and tiny bubbles rising constantly. Beige-off-white head is small, receding steadily to partial cover.
Extremely enticing aroma is subtle and dark. Cherry pit spiciness, with sweet, black cherry meatiness is wonderfully fresh and authentic. Just like ripe fruit. Malt smells thick and very nicely extracted, with lots of chewy English toffee and very light chocolate-covered caramels that complement the zesty cherry notes perfectly. Sweet vanilla and light honey sit pleasingly in the background, adding another layer of malt complexity. Nice strength of aroma too, with no alcohol or flaws.
Ok, I can’t hold off drinking it any longer....Damn. Beautifully-aged medium and dark malts provide a touch of tobacco, dark chocolate with toffee and sherry. Cherries are perfectly done, this definitely is a dubbel not a cherry beer with a touch of Belgian character. Wow, where to go next? How about the esters and phenols? Really well-integrated in to the flavor, with very light cinnamon, black pepper, cherries, strawberries, banana and light vanilla. It balances the choco-caramel sweetness and leaves a light tingle on the finish. Spicy cherry character joins the mix with a bit of fruit tannin-like tart/dryness. All the while, there is a lightly chewy malt texture that never allows any wateriness or thinning. Light alcohol warmth on the end further helps dry things and you get the best of both worlds (sweet malt up front, chewy, malty texture, with a dry, spicy, warm finish).
Thank you so much for letting me try this, Steve (hint: make more of this!).
My 100th fruit beer and a damned fine one!

roasted malts , cherries and a bit of cocoa on the nose. Soft an round mouthfeel that feel like velvet. Clean and rounded body with good balance of dark fruit and very little residual sweetness. Very nice beer.

Pours cloudy brown, with a small, tan head. Aromas are cherries, malt, and other fruit. flavors are cherrries, other fruits, and malt. Body is a little too thin, with a dry ending. An interesting take on a fruit beer. Thanks to Davecooks for this bottle.

Another very generous gift from Aspidites. 2004. WOW. THANKS MIKE. Hand bottle shared with a few people by me at the Cleveland tasting...We did it all incognito in the driveway even! I cant give an accurate pour description, because it was dark. Sorry. This was a very interesting beer. Very interesting combo of two styles, one I like (dubbel) one I am not fond of (Krieks) but this blended well. Sweet taste of malts and cherries. Tasted like a cherry sweet tart! Thanks again for sharing this with us Mike!

Poured a mostly clear dark brown color with a small off-white head. Aroma of candy cherry with light alcohol notes. Smells like cherry cough medicine but with out the medicine part. Does that make sense? Malty flavor with sweet candy cherries and an acidic finish.

12oz - hand bottled by Steve of VB - Aroma of sweet chocolate malts, cherry and red licorice. Pours ruby red with a small head and good lacing. Flavor is mostly cherries with creamy milk chocolate maltiness smoothing it all out. Palate is creamy and smooth. A nice brew to be sure.