Belle-Vue Kriek

Brewed by Belle-Vue (InBev)
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

Draught, served in its glass but way too cold, drank at Chambar, savoured on February 8 2007; eye: burgundy, a thin layer of beige head, nice lacing, no effervescence; nose: cherry concentrate, outdated malt, vinous, acidic, I should not have gone with the retro-nasal approach as the result was outdated malt and way, way, way too much sweet; mouth: surprisingly creamy, nice hint of acidity, a bit of caramel all over the place, finale in cherry with a bit of a sweet side to it, after the finale, sweetness, astringency, acidity and a bit of bitterness and even of acridity, medium body, too sweet, creamy and a bit grainy texture, quite acidic; overall: quite special but not too often FRANÇAIS En fût, servit dans son verre, servit bien trop froide, bue chez Chambar, savourée le 8 février 2007; oeil : bourgogne, petite couche de mousse beige, belle dentelle, claire, pas d’effervescence; nez : concentré de cerise, malt passé date, vineux, acidité, j’aurais pas dû y aller dans la rétro-olfaction car le résultat est un malt passé date et un écoeurement dans le sucré; bouche : curieusement crémeuse, belle pointe d’acidité, un peu de caramel au travers de tout ça, finale en cerise avec un petit côté sucré, après la finale on parle d’un mélange de sucré, astringence, acidité et un peu d’amertume et même d’âcreté, corps moyen, toquant, texture crémeuse et très légèrement granuleuse, assez acide; en résumé : vraiment spécial mais pas trop souvent

Very nice ruby body with a pink bubbly head. Pleasant aroma of real cherries with some hints of balsamic vinegar and oak. Mouthfeel starts with a quite carbonated attack. Then comes some fruity flavors and a paperish dry final that lacks some punch and lenght. There are plenty of better Krieks...

Bottle from Tesco, Loudwater, Bucks.. 375ml. I see Belle-Vue fruit beers being in the middle of the scale, on one hand you have the super sweet almost alcopops of Jacobins and Timmermans, then you have the complex sour ones from Cantillon, Belle Vue seem to hold the middle ground with the likes of Mort Subite. This is not over sweet, but is not exactly beer. With a little more sugar this could qualify as an alcopop but in this state its just an average kriek. Ok.

Bottle: Pours a clear red with no head. Aroma, tart cherry, some sugars, sweet smelling. Flavor, cherries, some slight tartness, very low acidity, and definitely on the sweet side, more lindemans than cantillon. Oh well.

Poured a deep red with foamy pink-white head. Aromas of cherry. Sweet cherry taste with slight tartness and a hint of maltiness. slight lingering hop taste. Lacing on the glass, though no head retention.

Clear brownish ruby with a rocky, white head that dissipates rather quickly to leave some lace and iceburgs. Musty and sour aroma with lots of cherry. Flavour is a woody cherry with some medicinal taste. Good balance of sourness and bitter, but a little too sweet. Through all the cherry, I could actually detect some malt in this lambic. Medium body and not enough carbonation. A bit off balance.

Kriek from a can! Shared by Todd at the Carolina gathering. Clear red pour. Smells like a Luden’s cough drop and tastes the same, only sweeter. Candy beer.

Pours a deep cherry red color with a pink head. Aroma is sugar coated cherries. Flavor is some malt, sugar coated cherries, and a bitter spicy finish.