Verhaeghe Echte Kriekenbier

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

Original rating 1/15/06 From the bottle.

Pours a deep elegant red with a reasonablely long-lived pinkish head. The aroma is apple vinegar and black cherries; the flavor is the joy of sucking sour cherry juice out of old tannic oak -- a pleasant (if slightly too sweet) Flemish sour in the Vichtenaar vein, with decided cherry (which is integral, not a flavoring add-on) and hints of oak and vanilla, nice sour twist with a pleasant finish, well carbonated, and refreshing on the tongue in even small sips.

I’m really enjoying this one, though it didn’t last nearly long enough in my glass. I wish I had another waiting in the fridge. 7/4/8/4/16 = 3.9

Rerate 9/11/06. Again bottled.

The above rating was one of my first experiences (maybe the first? I don’t remember) with sour ales. It was a great gateway sour, because it got me thinking about and appreciating both the sour flavors and the fruit flavors that a good beer can offer. (Previous to this, my experience with fruit beer was limited to nasty American wine-cooler alternatives). But I feel that after getting accustomed to a number of the wonderful blended and fruit lambics out there, this one falls a bit short. It’s got some nice funky aroma and flavor in there, but on top is a syrupy cherry sweetness that verges too close to Lindemanns territory. 7/4/6/4/13=3.4 Rating is averaged.

Rerate 8/5/09 Naked City sour tasting. Lindemanns gets ahold of Duchess. 7/4/6/4/12=3.3. Pushing the rating hard in that direction.

Clear reddish colour with a small pink head. Tart fruity aroma with notes of some cherry and marzipan sweetness. Yeasty flavor with hints of almonds and some cherry sweetness.

Ruby color; big head. Lovely aroma, with sweetness, sourness, cherry fruitness. Good sweet taste, but missing some more biting sourness; lightly vinous.

I like all of the beers iv tried from this brewery so far so another bash. Aroma is balsalmic cherrys with maybe a little aluminium too. Taste is Vichtenaar, from the same brewery, but maybe a little less blood and less sour too. There seems to be near no cherry taste at all in my beer, which i like, but im wondering where it comes from in the aroma? I’ll need to try it again. RERATE: Kulminator, 1999. Showing serious age, excellent.

Clear reddish amber colour with thin off white head. Mild cherry nose. Tart cherry taste with dry cherry finish with slight warming alcohol hints.

Much compact and brittle head, little long-lasting. Red clearly color, lightly pinkish, much elegant and fizzy one. Complex and winy scent; notes of sour black cherry, must, red grape and cellar...very balsamic. Extremely stinging and racy taste. Pleasant must, tangy and cherry notes even if lightly top heavy and dry on the end. Little perceivable bitter.

If beers were girls ... This beer is a startling deep, dark, clear ruby red with a large, short-lived pale rose-colored head and light lacing. The aroma is full of tasty things: sour cherries, pastry, sour apples, rose hips and maybe a hint of five-spice powder way in the back. The flavor is sweet with a lightly bitter, slightly coppery finish. The carbonation is lively and the body is light, bubbly and refreshing. A new sweet favorite!

nice black cherry app. with pinkish head....aroma of tart cherries and vinegar...flavor is quite the same with a big bite to it....aftertaste of a lambic...this beer pounds on your palate...good stuff