Valley Brew Fat Freddys Freiky Kriek

Brewed by Valley Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale
Stockton, California USA

At BeerGeeks, and this with a couple of other sours, became my beers of the evening. Considering that there were some serious IPA’s and RIS’s around, these were beers that were sheer pleasures on the palate. Tremendous stuff, that I know the guys would love back home. Mid brown/red.. some light caramel malts, and the cherries (mont?) - some horse, some haybarn... but all good! very good!

On draft at the Bistro’s BA Fest 07. Murky copper pour with an ivory head. Fruity aromas of cherries and malts. Sour with more fruit notes. Comes across very balanced. A good balance of the malt, fruit, funk and wood. Re-Rate. Bottle. This is the coolest bottle of beer in my cellar; an old plastic soda bottle given to me by the brewer and fitted with a Schrader valve in the cap. Pulled from the barrel and let to settle for a week before the urge to open it finally overtook me! Somewhat murky, garnet pour with no head. (This beer has no conditioning and it’s been stored cold so I expected no carbonation.) Funky cherry aroma with heavy horse blanket and cobweb notes. A slightly warm, peppery feel with a good bit of sweetness still. Very fruity with tart cherry notes. Musty cherry finish. This beer is the closest thing to a traditional kriek I’ve seen brewed in America. There’s a million reasons I should be biased towards this beer (not the least of which is that I consider the brewer a friend) but I’m confident this beer can stand on it’s own merits regardless. My favorite beer so far this year. Nice one, Steve!

Last one rated off memory I promise. Too amazing to not rate. Once again from Mike. Light brownish red with not too much head. Aroma of tart cherries, funky brett, oak. Flavors of tart fresh pomegranate moves into a tart cherry juice that is similar as the NG Belgian Red, all followed by a funky oat or graham cracker finish. Incredibly complex, downright fantastic, exquisite, etc. Can I get some more of this man?

I’m honored that I get to give the 10th rating on this gem and put it on the charts. Brew master extraordinaire Steve @ Valley brought this out at the NorCal tasting, and oh my goodness was it awesome! Wonderful nose of cherries and summer fruits, with a smooth, tart yet sweet complexity. Outstanding toasted nutty finish that lingers. RERATE: After having several great sours and then having this again this week, it’s aging beautifully and even more incredible than remembered.

Draft, courtesy of KrausenJockey. Thanks!! Pours a bright, orange-amber, slightly hazy color; off-white head with fine-bubbled lacing. Loads of tart red fruits, lemons, and cherries in the aroma; gorgeously tart, acidic, and loads of dense pomegranates. Lively carbonation. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: loads of tart tart cherries, lemony citrus and acidity; pomegranate, cherries, and tart lemons; high acidity and intense fruits with some solid pittiness and lightest tannins; a gorgeous, gorgeous sour beer. Lengthy finish: red fruits, acidic citrus, and tart cherries; nicely dry.

A Mes rate: bottle at the ever brilliant Chris O’s Pre GBBF Extravaganza.
Red-ish amber with a thin white film. Excellent cherry and superb fruit all round. Jesus this is really good. An exceptional flemish sour base, the tarty fruit and oak are just about perfect and the balance of sweet and sour is right up there. It’s not huge, it’s not particularly complex, but bugger me, it’s a belter. Balance, finesse, stunning palate topped of with an amazing sour, then sweet, then sour finish. Bloody excellent.

Sampled at the second annual Bistro’s West Coast Barrel Aged Beer Fest: Pours a hazy orange bronze with some pinkish hues and a stringy-lacing wispy white head. Aroma of sweet tart light fruits and cherries with some semi-sweet caramel malt and nice oaky complexity. Body starts with a good sweet cherry and caramel fruitiness nicely balanced with drier oaky notes toward a crisp, slightly puckering sweettart finish. A very nice kriek!

Poured a hazy red color with a small, white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of brett, vanilla, oak, lots of juicy pomegranate, and some sour cherry as well. Taste of funky vanilla oak, sour cherry, red berries, some acidity, and a lengthy sour finish. Thanks to FrumptyDumpty for sharing!