Verhaeghe Echte Kriekenbier

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

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

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.

On tap at Collins. Pours super red color with little head, no lacing and not even much carbonation. Sour bing cherry nose and nice sour taste.

Deep black cherry soda hue. Small purplish head. Definate vinegar, sour cherry, medicinal nose. Nice funk, acidic, vinegar, light in body, dark cherry, wood, cherry pit, funky sour finish. Crisp and refreshing, but simple, and kind of boring. Finishes with a dark, lingering, over-ripened cherry flavor.

I don’t remember who brought this to Paul’s party, but thanks.

Poured red with an off-white head. Aroma is decent sour cherries. Taste is tart cherries and cinnamon with a dry finish. Somewhat bland.

Pours with a red tingedd head. Aroma of oak and cherry. A decent sour/red with a hint of cherries. Kind of tart, not much sweetness.

Clear ruby red coloured beer with a small pink head. Slightly aged, cherry aroma. Sour cherry taste. Fairly neutral finish.

Draught at Erasmus, Bruges (not a regular). Clear red with small head. Sweet, biscuit, cardboard, cellar-like qualities (cork?), light-bodied. Nice.