Verhaeghe Echte Kriekenbier

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

Cold 11.2oz bottle: Pours a gorgeous clear cherry amber color with a small pink bubbles around the edges. Aroma is of cherries and rich malts with notes of brown sugar and alcohol. Taste is of rich malts and cherries with notes of wood and sourness. Watery texture and moderately carbonated. Ending is dry and sweet with sour notes and hints of alcohol.

11.2oz bottle: Pours a clear red with some orange and a thin white head, sour wood and cherries in the aroma, very acidic and tart flavor that ends with the taste of soggy wood. I wanted to enjoy this beer, but was unable to.

Bottle... Clear blood-red ale with a mid-sized, creamy, pink head. Good retention. The nose is acidic, lightly woodsy and a touch medicinal with notes of black cherries and subtle molasses. The very acetic, fruity flavor shows flashes of medium alcohol and tempering sweetness. Full-bodied with a velvety mouthfeel and modest carbonation. Finishes sweet, tart and tannic. Hearty for a lambic!

[little bottle like in the picture] Balsamic vinegar that was aged with cherries in the nose. Clear red with a brownish tint and no lasting head. Sour cherry first, followed by a woody aged character that contains some bitterness. A pleasant malt flavour comes in late to round off things and not leave the mouth puckered. Excellent beer that to me is the perfect Flemish red: not cloyingly sweet and not crazy full of acid either. I prefer this to the Duchesse de Burgoyne or whatever it’s called. High carbonation and light to medium body.

Pours a three finger, fizzy red/brown head that fades to a thin layer leaving no lace. Deep red/amber color. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Sour cherry nose. Starts and finishes as sour cherries, there is some sweetness part way through. You have to like krieks to really appreciate this. Pricey at $3.49 for a 330ml bottle from John’s Grocery Iowa City, IA. Best by Feb 15, 2007.

Bottle: Pours a lightly rosy mahogany color with light head and no lacing. The nose is toasty with sweet alcohol, light cherry and a rich sour cherry pop tart type note. The flavor is a bit sweet with a light thin body and a lingering tart note. A bit apple ciderish and vague, light vinegar and wood too. It’s not bad, but nothing is really talking to me like a good flemish sour ale would.

Bottle 25cl at Carlsens "Skvatter", Odense: Dark ruby red with white head. Cherrie & malty feel. Some sourness - vinegar. Then sweetness. Little alcohol appears. OK pleasant finish. Very allround!

Bottle, 25 cl, Taste this more times this weekend. Dark red colour. Aroma cherries and malt. Not bad for a kriek with brown beer. Verhaeghe is good.