Big Sky Kriek Ale

Brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: Fruit Beer
Missoula, Montana USA

Serve in Flute

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Bottle 70 of 180. I am starting to think that maybe Flathead Cherries may not be that well suited to beer. Compared to the Smoove cherry ale, this one smelled a bit better, which I attribute to the oak and wine. Same deal with the flavor, too. At the time, we decided that we couldn’t really tell which one was better, but I suppose the Kriek is objectively better. The biggest thing the 2 beers had in common was the Flatheads, and a medicinal flavor throughout.

Deep red-brown in color. Effervescent bubbles. Aroma of burnt cherries, light mustiness. Some medicinal tones. Flavor is a very sweet cherry cherry flavor, that finishes a bit thick. Some medicinal flavors to match. Just way too cloying to be enjoyable.

This beer is terrible. Reddish color with a nice murkiness and a small head. Aroma is just bad. A bit of bile along with onions to start things off. A mild fruit/cherry character followed by a heavy dose of celery. Tastes like pruno/cheap wine with a little bit of cherry. A very strong vegetable character which is far from pleasing. Bah.

Pours reddish brown with white head. Aroma is earthy oak, vanilla and cherries. Flavor is sweet malt, cherry,caramel, vanilla, and hot alcohol.

Bottle:   Deep caramel, violet hued, thin spritzy off-white head, dies immediately, absolutely no lacing.   This one seems deader than dead.   Strong alcoholic cherry cough syrup like nose.   Smells... well, not what I expected.   Some woodiness is apparent.   Tart, actually sour on the tongue.   Make that very lactic and vinegary.   Its like a cherry vinegar.   Not your usualy Sour Ale that you want to sip after each taste.   This one I am searching for something to take the flavor out of my mouth.   Artificial at best.   Matt, this is not like you... one of the harder Big Sky brews I have tried.   Strong cherry like pinesol on the backside.   This is not vibrant, fruity, or pleasing.   Its a bit of a chore to get through this one.   Most Big Sky brews are well done, but this one just seems well off from the norm.   Not sweet, and not enjoyable in the the sour arena.   Kriek = Cherries right?

Pretty stoked to see this sitting on the shelf...and then I tried it. Ample almost fizzy carbonation from this dirty scarlett pour. Cherry juice, caramel, honey, toffee, and brown sugar are all there. Über sweet and syrupy. Not at all what one would expect from the style. Missing the tart, jaw-locking sourness and musty qualities that I was looking forward to. Where’s the feet? Wanted horseblanket, got Welch’s. Disappointed.

#3595/3600, 750, corked and baled. Pours a cloudy garnet with surging gigantic head that settles quickly away to nothing at all. Funky dry woody nose overpowers the tart cherry presence. The cherries are a little overly sugary, but that could be all the vanillins from the oak messing with their mojo. Creamy medium body with subdued carb. Tart cherries, vanilla, and wood on the mid palate. Acetic finish.

Bottle. Hazy brownish red with a fizzy head. Earthy alcoholic and cherry aroma and taste with a bit of acetone like notes and a harshness I didn’t care for. I was wanting something better from these guys.

Initial Impression: Well, busting the cork was the first sign. It was wedged way tight and not quite sticking far enough out to get a real hold on it to force it out. Luckily, I was able to use a corkscrew to get the rest out without the force behind the cork causing too much damage. Aroma: A little buttery and funky, definite Brett presence. Appearance: Slightly cloudy, amber/reddish with absolutely no head, though definitely carbonated as evidenced by a number of small bubbles rising from an absolutely clean glass. Taste: Definitely Bretty, possibly a bit too much so. Heavy and sweet and funky and a carbonation level that just dont quite mix properly. I’m getting a bit of cacao and buttermilk, with possibly a little gorgonzola-esque flavors that are a bit overwhelming, and at the wrong end of the tolerable spectrum. Palate: Way too carbonated. You take a sip and burp it right back, tasting only the off-flavors all over again. Maybe a bit of age would serve to acidify some of this CO2 and bring a bit more of a tart edge to the brew. Overall: Wouldn’t do this one again from the same batch. A bit unbalanced, way too cheesy with very little to back it up (and I love funky brews). Not horrible, a worthy effort, but just a bad batch (I hope).

Reddish pour. Cherry aroma, some light graham cracker, caramel. Flavor is a watery, cherry mess. A big waste of money.

750 ml. bottle from Worden’s. Fuck, I’m sittin’ here in my hotel room, on a business trip, I’ve accumulated enough Hilton Honors points to get a Clark Fork river view. I’m sippin’ on this beer, and life is good. This has a hazy light-brown, dark-copper appearance. Really, it’s close to the color of caramel. This has no head to speak of. The damn thing was a little gusher, but I didn’t lose much, volume wise. Smell is of tart cherries, pie crust, and oak. Bits of the cereal barley aroma poke through, but I think the cherries win here. Barley, cherries, and oak just blast the taste buds, at first, but then you actually get a nice rich oak, and hot alcohol flavor. I acutally think the hot alcohol flavor is a plus; it really brings out the sour attributes of the beer. The alcohol does get in the way, at times, but overall, I think, as just a straight fruit beer, this one has a lot going for it. Cheers.