Verhaeghe Echte Kriekenbier

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

Bottle... Poured deep, ruby-red with a thin, off-white head. Aroma of wine and oak. Lots of carbonation and very foamy palate. Definitely cherries there in the flavor but a very strong sour/tartness that was dominant. Finished with tart fruit and plum notes.

Full aroma with cherries (of course) and also some tender maltiness. The appearance is dark ruby and even the head is a light pink. Sour and tart, as I expected, but it seems slightly off-balanced: it needs something other than the fruit to distinguish it from other fruit beers, it isn’t quite malty/sweet enough, and the sourness itself just isn’t enough to carry the flemish sour ale title, IMHO.

33 cL bottle, snifter, bottle labled as "Echt Kriekenbier". My first impression of the aroma is "gingerbread cookies". Tons of cherries, cask wood, raisin, slight port, a bit of anise and maybe some soy sauce in the aroma. Smells every bit as good as its little brother but yet entirely different. Light plum-red body with a tall, pink, frothy head that diminishes quickly. Heavily sweet, moderately acidic (sour) flavor becomes a moderately sweet, moderately acidic (sour, tart) finish. Strong tannin presence in the aftertaste. Medium body, oily/slick texture, average carbonation. The bottom line is: a very drying, tannin laced finish is a little strong for my preference, but this is still a very fine brew.

Quite a high ABV for a Lambic. Crystal clear ruby red with a small short lasting light pink head. Some red ale character apparent on first approach. Cider sour, wood, yeast, port wine and plastic aroma. Use by date is still 12 months away but it tastes kinda mellow to stale. Medium light body. Winey and balsamic vinegar sour bitter start. Hardly any sweet and even less cherries. Bland sour sweet finish and aftertaste. Different but still uninspiring.

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.

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!

A clear dark red colored beer, with a thich rose head. It disappears quickly. The aroma of fruits, cherries with a little sourness in the back. The taste has also a lot of fruits, cherries, with moves over to wood, bread and dough. There are notes of sweet with a undertone of sour. The aftertaste is fresh and sour.

Dirty brown pour. Nose of vinegar and cherries. Flavor is sweet cherries with a syrupy flavor. Sour and acid finish.