Kriek
(has 9 batches)

Tap at Borefts. Clear deep red with small light pink head. Lots of sour cherries and almond berry pits, light sweet malts, dust, weird red berries, plastic, light acetone. Medium sour and light sweet. Medium bodied with fizzy carbonation and soft acetone burn.

Classic Cascade beer and classic American ’oud bruin’ or Flemish red with cherries - so I expect something along the lines of Liefmans Cuvée Brut or Verhaeghe Echt Kriekenbier, the last remnants of the regional ’oud bruin-kriek’ tradition in Flanders. The deScription in any case sounds promising. From a champagne bottle which opens with a bang, but there is no gushing (just smoke rising up from the bottle). Loose, pale greyish beige head losing its volume quickly and eventually reduced to a very thin, but more or less steady rim around the glass; initially more or less clear, warm red wine-like robe with deep reddish purple hue, turning increasingly more cloudy and chocolate brownish as the bottle progresses. Rustic, subtly funky aroma of sweet cherries macerated in brown rum, unsweetened fruit yoghurt, wet (even moldy) wood, damp forest floor, passion fruit, overripe blackberry or even elderberry, dry hay, some FFF but not disturbing me at all, sweet red wine, stewed plums, lemon zest, cherry pits, maraschino cherries, balsamic vinegar, dusty (but not damp) cellar, blackcurrant, dried mushroom - the longer I sniff it, the more it finds balance and beauty. Spritzy onset, perhaps even a bit overcarbonated at first but calming down after a while, very estery, with a ton of lively fruit acidity ranging from the obvious sour cherries over juicy redcurrant to ripe blackberry, only faintly sweet but mostly (lactic) tart, a sour yoghurt-like tartness with a lemony edge even, drying the rest of the palate till deep into the finish. Mouthfeel remains surprisingly light and elegant for a 8.17% ABV beer, a little bit oily though, but hadn’t I known this beer’s ABV, I would have estimated it at no more than 6-7%. Caramelly and lightly nutty malt sweetishness underlies, with a very softly bittering accent at the back. Finish has a lot of retronasal fruit flavors, again cherry, blackberry and redcurrant, lush and fresh even though this is a vintage bottle of several years of age, as well as wet woodiness, but not so much vanilla tannins (actually more of a ’varnished’ wood-, vaguely solvent-like effect); hops are only virtually present but bring neither aroma nor true bitterness - both of which would only interfere in this case. There is a certain alcohol glow at the back, but it remains perfectly in place, clean and subtle, with only structural purposes without interfering with the taste. Drying wood supports the fruit and lactic tartness to leave one literally mouth-watering for another sip, while a late, strong, grape peel- (or indeed cherry pit-)like wryness shows up after swallowing, perhaps just a bit too strong - this beer demands to be accompanied by some or other creamy, ’beefy’ food dish, as by its own and contrary to the better Flemish examples, it is perhaps just a tad too wry, impairing its drinkability a bit. Otherwise a great apéritif though, like the other sour Cascade fruit beers; once again it is clear that this brewer has well understood the essence of Belgian sour fruit beer traditions and has cleverly transplanted the concept to Oregon, where it has apparently received a drier, more effervescent, less sweet identity - and in that sense its own personality, instead of being a clone of the aforementioned examples. Recommended, though it did impress me less than the Apricot from the same brewery, but that is probably because being Flemish and familiar with Belgian traditions, I more or less knew what to expect in this case. Still: great sour.

Où, Quand, Comment : Bouteille, dégustée le 8/16/2013.
Visuel : Couleur : rouge. Apparence : quasi-opaque.
Arôme : Fruité (cerises sûres), léger de vinaigre, notes épicées, herbeuses.
Goût : Entrée de bouche : Goût assez sûr de fruits (cerises sûres, notes de prunes et de citron). Un léger support herbeux est également présent avec des petites notes épicées boisées (bois humide).
En bouche : Corps : moyen. Effervescence : moyenne-douce. Texture : légèrement huileuse. Finale : longue et sèche, composée d’une aigreur fruitée (moût de cerises sûres) avec quelques notes herbeuses.

Bottle pour at Watering Hole. Cherry, apple, almond on the nose. Average carbonation, slight creamy mouthfeel. Lots of oak and cherry. Mildly sour more of a fruit tartness. Very drinkable. --- Beer merged from original tick of Kriek Ale on 15 Jan 2016 at 23:09 - Score: 7. Original review text: One last tick for the evening

Refrigerated 75 cl brown bottle, 2014 project, corked and capped poured into a tulip. Opaque dark red with medium light pink head. Aroma is sour cherries, medium body, medium/light carbonation, and some small-bubble lacing. Taste sour cherries, some oak, an a little earthyness.