1st May 2024, Toogoloo. 33cl bottle all to myself. Ruby red hue to the dark brown body, beige top. Semi-sweet malty brew with a good dose of alcohol, dates/figs sort of flavours, very pleasant.

Bottle. Color: Clear amber, off-white head. Aroma: Malty, caramel notes. Taste: Malty with grassy hop backbone. Caramel notes. Candy sugar hints. Medium body, average carbonation. Ok Belgian Strong Dark.

J'ai déjà du mal à voir que l'on fait du marketing comme cela sur la marque Kwak, mais en plus sur une kriek qui est un style pour lequel je trouve que l'on fait beaucoup d'immondices, je tremblais quelque peu en ouvrant cette Kwak Rouge. Sur l'étiquette, l'indication d'arômes naturels de cerise et de houblon n'était pas fait pour me rassurer d'ailleurs. En verre, comme à l'usuelle, c'est propre avec un une robe rose limpide et une très fine mousse. Le nez est sur la cerise artificielle et le bonbon. Mes craintes étaient fondées. En bouche, si pour les arômes ce n'est en effet pas mieux avec une texture pâteuse, la sucrosité est mieux maîtrisée que d'autres bières du genre (qui intègrent souvent de l'édulcorant) avec une légère acidité appréciable. L'alcool à 8 % est également intéressant et la corpulence contrebalance la longueur trop courte. L'impression de goût chimique reste toutefois prépondérante pour une bière pas terrible.

Caramel, malty, raisins

Fruity, slightly sweet and bitter

Pours amber with a thin frothy white head. Aroma of slightly lactic malt. Taste has overripe fruit, slight stone fruit, ferrous, like a heavier hefe base. Palate has some more fruit, banana, stone fruit, ferrous.

Draught Very huge, white head; darker golden beer, seemingly not very carbonated. Classic (pale) malts' nose, indeed some other grains, garden weeds, nettles. Bit grainy & herbal/weedy flavour, with lots of restsugars underneath. Dull, if not cloying sweetness. Some discreet fruity esters. Light to medium carbonation, at least medium bodied. Very faint alcoholwarmth. I would have marvelled if the 4th grain would have lifted it above average. Well, I'm not marvelling.

After those completely useless (and frankly, disgusting) additions to the old Kwak brand, our AB InBev overlords now apparently decided to also elaborate on that other Bosteels classic, Tripel Karmeliet, the famed three-grains tripel dating back to 1996 (but not the 18th century as Bosteels always wanted you to believe); the elaboration in this case is as simple as it is effective, namely turning it into a four-grains tripel by adding rye to the mash, soaking toasted oak chips in it and calling it ‘grand cru’, which is a term Belgian brewers already took over from viniculture a long time ago for more ‘special’ brews. Limitedly available (15,000 bottles), they managed to even stir a bit of a hype around this new beer as well, as it can only be ordered online and in a selection of around 150 bars and restaurants. Overly expensive 75 cl bottle (with tin tube) shared with Craftmember. Moussy, egg-white, stable, thick head leaving ‘Brugse kant’-lik lacing over a clear warm ‘old golden’ robe with a steady column of sparkling in the middle, shifting to a somewhat deeper apricot-tinged blonde further on – same as the regular Karmeliet when poured from a 75 cl bottle. Aroma of ripe banana, honey, moist white pepper, indeed a grainy rye spiciness peeping through, clove, dry bread crust, wet flour, ripe apricot, green apple, toasted peanuts, Conference pear, hint of old potatoes. Sweetish onset, banana ester with pronounced bubblegum effect and mixed with hints of apricot jam and ripe pear, strongly and sharply carbonated; supple yet full mouthfeel, a white-bready core supporting all the other grains, from spicy rye over soapy wheat to velvety oats – all adding a layer of extra ‘graininess’ to an essentially dull pale malt base, and all working together well at that. The spice bread-like effect from the rye, a bit dried thyme-like at a certain moment and connecting well with a subtle but clear toasty-nutty touch from the oak chips, noticeably enriches the basic recipe. Residual sweetness (as in the regular version), warming calvados-like alcohol (idem) and light floral hops (ibidem) join in at the end. I remember the regular Karmeliet being launched and becoming popular in the late nineties and think it has gone downhill since AB InBev took over Bosteels (having become sweeter and blander), but especially in 75 cl bottles it is still one of the better Belgian AB InBev beers, in my opinion, and this Grand Cru version, I hate to admit, is a notable improvement of the regular one in its current form: the rye indeed adds body, spiciness and character, even if the differences are subtle and the whole thing remains a sweet tripel for the more casual ‘Belgian beer drinker’.

Appearance: Slightly fogged crimson red withe decent pink head. Aroma and taste: Cheries, spicy notes, distant malt, grassy hop, light alcohol. Relatively dry. Mouth feel: Medium plus body, average carbonation. Summary: OK.

Not lovely. Pic: study time at the monastery