Belle-Vue Kriek

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

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

Cherry dominates aroma. Pours a lovely reddish brown with a thick head. Quite sweet, cherry flavour is the major standout. No hops to speak of, a sipping beer, kind of tastes like a wine.

Never had a true lambic, and everyone kept telling me that Kriek was a poor mans version of the intestinal adventure that a true Lambic offers. As i have no point of comparison and I dont take my beer as seriously as some, I have to say that this was a surprise, I love that Belgiumy sour finish, it's like there is a party in my mouth and everyone is invited. The sweet/sour cheery flavours certainly hang around on the old palate for a while. Cant wait to try the "real thing". Still has nothing on Motelpogos cherry beer, mmmmm cherry beer.

UPDATED: SEP 29, 2003 On tap at Boucherville's Bocké bistro. Cherry bubble gum aroma. Nice medium to round texture, syrupy taste, tart. Decent

Something different. I like it when I think of it as a cherry drink as opposed to thinking it is a beer. There is something a little jarring about the mix of flavours which I am guessing a better quality kriek may overcome? It does look very nice in a flute with a solid white head, persistent lacing and thick red colour. It has an unusual astringency (from the cherries?) which is a nice change.

Bottle Pours a cloudy deep red with a good frothy white head that never completely goes away. It and nice lacing are maintained well. Aroma is a ver nice sour cherry with earthy musty hints. Flavor however leaves some to be desired. That strong cherry flavor is missing and only a tease of what could be there. Bread, yeast, old wood barrels are a nice inclusion but dissapointing on the cherry. Feel is lively and refreshing. Not very dry or sweet. The after taste is more like sucking on a piece of the barell used to store the stuff. Not bad, just doesn’t compare to the Lindemans.

Bottle: Clear cherry red with a lightly pink, foamy head. I love the intrigue and sense of romance that surrounds the lambic family of beers. There is such magic and mystery connected with their production, and I can very easily lose myself in it. Such is the case here. I found sweetly sour, raw and very fresh garden vegetables and fruits in the aroma. It reminded me of the basket full of such delights that my great-grandmother used to use to collect the gleanings from her garden in. Despite this there was nothing definite; maybe some cherries, probably some capsicum, possibly some musty hops. Nevertheless, the intrigue remains. There is clear difference in the flavours. Full bodied and very lengthy tart cherries dominate. There is good balance here with the tart aspects interlocking nicely with sweetness and some well placed washed rind cheese notes, presumably from the aged hops. All this beer lacks is some zing and life on the palate (not necessarily carbonation). I found it a dark, somewhat sweaty drink, though still very pleasing.

This one kinda reminded me of cherry flavored soda. It pours to a deep reddish color with a thin pink-white head. Smells like cherries, as expected. It has only a slight tartness from the cherries, no real lactic acid sourness is detectable. It seems like a subdued lambic/ fruit beer, but would probably be a good introduction to the style for the less adventurous.

Poured from the bottle into proper glass. Ruby red colour with full head. Aroma is yeasty compared to the Framboise, and taste is more lambic-like.