Verhaeghe Echte Kriekenbier

Brewed by Verhaeghe
Style: Sour Ale
Vichte, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Bottle best by 14/08/09. Pours cranberry red with airy white head. Gentle white lacing sticks to the surface. Funky aroma of sour cherry, strawberry, lemon, and white grapes. Great flavor of sour cherry, strawberry, champagne, and brett. Not in-your-face tart, but the tartness softly lingers. Apparently, I really dig sours.

Bottle. Poured a deep red with a very light pink head. Aroma was full of tart cherries with an undertone of sweet cherries. Flavor was full of tartness that calmed down to a nice sweet cherry finish. The beer was a bit syrupy on the tongue.

(draft @ The Old Toad - Rochester, NY) Reddish color with a light pink head. Aroma is tart with some mildly sweet cherry notes. Nice and funky notes as well. Flavor is much the same. A nice and tart sour note at the beginning with a mildly sweet and natural cherry flavors. Very earthy and funky. Flavor doesn’t last long, but still good.

Pours a ruddy mahogany orange, not really the brilliant ruby of true kriek. Leaves some nice pinkish-tan-ecru lacing on the glass. Aroma is overripe cherries with a lactic black cherry yogurt note and also some sort of salty, lightly smokey note. Flavor is just about the same, although the smokey note proves to be slightly meaty, as if in a rauchbier. Very odd. Cherries and ham isn’t really my thing. Mouthfeel is coarse from overcarbonation, but otherwise it’s alright.

Sampled on tap at Churchkey DC. Pours a nice mahogany red with a thin, slightly reddish head. Strong fruit aroma, some tartness, sweetness. Flavor is tart, berries, cherries, a touch woody, apples, raisins. Finish is tart and slightly sticky. Nice aroma, easy drinker.

330mL bottle - pours a sharp red with a minimal head. Aroma is strong cherries. Flavour is sour berries, with a strong sweetness. Tastes more like cider than beer. Good, but I prefer Duchesse de Bourgogne to this.

rate #900, keg at Black Door, Helsinki. Dark ruby, tight light pink head. Almondy cherry nose, mild flemish sourness and leather. Flavor is sour cherries, little currants. Shows it’s Flemish sour base nicely, not that sweet or sugary. Strongly carbonated, maybe a tad light palate. Very natural and classy beer.

Bottle from Sam’s in Durham. Pours light red with brown/amber hue. Fizzy soft pillowy near white (slightly pink) head. Nose is mild cherries and a bit of red wine or light balsamic vinegar. This is a mild kriek, or maybe I’ve been spoiled by too many big sour cherry beers. Some metallic notes that get in the way a bit, but decent overall, if not very exciting.