De Ranke's 'oud bruin' Wijnberg with sour cherries, fitting in an old tradition of cherry beer on oud bruin (think Verhaeghe Echte Kriek, Rodenbach Alexander and the former Liefmans Kriekenbier). Bottle from Geers, shared with Goedele. Medium thick, opening, densely small-bubbled, pinkish-tinged off-white head on a lightly hazed, warm vermillion red beer with deep 'old red wine'-like hue, cloudy and more brownish with sediment. Aroma of sour cherries indeed and a lot of them, cherry tree leaves as well for some reason, dusty attic, old bread, fruit yoghurt, old straw, moldy walnut shells, unsugared plum jam, green garden plants, red wine vinegar, almond, unripe peach, touch passionfruit. Soft, tart onset, very fruity, esters from the oud bruin (peach, gooseberry) mingling with a generous, juicy 'wave' of ripe sour cherries, adding fleshiness and body but also additional malic sourness; softish carb, fluffy mouthfeel, bit astringent from the overall sourness. More lactic sourness in the middle, piercing through a bready maltiness, with lots of cherry skin effects showing up, tannic, with woody tannins adding to this effect - yet, and I think this is how it ought to be, no match for the fleshiness of the sour cherries. The tannins and the tartness make for a dry ending, in which even a deeply buried earthy hop bitterishness appears, but it is that juiciness of the fruit which get the last word. Generously fruited, with all that fruit fleshiness seemingly lending extra body to the basic beer; adorned with 'dusty' and rustic aromas too, so in all, I experienced this one as being more complex than the basic beer. Distinct, 'full' and 'deep', a lovely and uncompromizing interpretation of the often sugared 'oud bruin' cherry beers of the twentieth century. Kudos to craft pioneer De Ranke once again, even if it still does not beat the classic De Ranke Kriek for me (which contains lambic so I guess a comparison is not really fair to begin with...).

11/VII/21 - 75cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker), shared @ home, BB: 29/X/25 (2021-618)

Clear deep ruby red beer, small creamy white head, unstable, falls down quickly, non adhesive. Aroma: lovely, very fruity, lots of cherries, acidic impression, hint of vinegar, some tannins? MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: good acidity, lemony, bitter touch, some tannins, sharp vinegar touch. Aftertaste: dry finish, wood notes, fruity, cherries, bit oxidized, some almonds. Decent, not as great as I would’ve hoped from the smell.

Pours unclear red. Small pinkwhite head. Smell is mild cherry, Taste is sharp, cherry, medium mild tartness. Malty, fleshy, lactic acid, malty. Nice.

@ BXL Beer Fest. reddish colour. Nose of tart cherries, some plastic. Taste is tart, acidic, fruity.