Boon Oude Kriek

Brewed by Brouwerij F. Boon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Lembeek, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

Bottle: Pours a dark ruby color with a nice explosive head with large bubbles and a thin lacing. The nose is tart with some some light champagne vinegar notes, cherry pit, ripe fruit skin and some light sweet malts. The flavor is balanced between cherry and tart yeast. Ample esters, a decent body and some funky cheese and leather notes in the tail. Yummy!

Best By Date March 2026; Sampled March 2008
Pretty well carbonated as a careful pour yields a two-finger thick, pink tinged, light colored head. The beer is a dark cherry color and shows a lightly hazed, bright red color when held up to the light as well as an aggressive carbonation with lots and lots of CO2 bubbles coming out of solution. The aroma has a nice tartness to it that is mostly lactic in character but seems to have a touch of something like uriatic acid too. Somehow this smells a bit tannic, slightly woody and a bit like cherry skins, though it does not have a pronounced fruitiness to it. As I dig through the aroma the cherry becomes a bit more evident within the sour aromatics; cherry flesh aromatics and tart cherry notes subtly contribute to the aroma. Towards the finish the nose gets a bit funky with barnyard notes, some musty slightly moldy cotton aromas, damp leather. There is even a touch of faint, toasty grain notes that assert themselves after I spend a protracted time deeply inhaling the aroma. While the cherry notes are not pronounced, there are times were I can clearly smell their signature, even if for only a half second or so and then the Lambic notes take over again.

Nicely tart up front, but a fleshy, though still quite sour, cherry flavor and texture is quite noticed. The beer has some tannic structure and body to it that provides for a touch of heft. This is very well carbonated and this adds to an effervescent texture that tends to scrub the palate. Cherry skin flavors, a slight woodiness and a touch of Brettanomyces character (musty, slightly earthy, with a bit of barnyard funk) tends to dry out the finish. Though I guess dry out, is the wrong way to say this as this was never sweet to begin with. The sourness in the flavor is a bit more balanced between Lactic and cherry derived tartness than the aroma might have suggested. As the beer warms up a bit, the fleshy, cherry flavors become a bit more noticeable; there is a substantial fruit character to this beer despite it being bone dry.

Another nice beer from Boon, at times I have written this brewery off because of its non-Oude products, but he really can produce tasty, authentic Lambic. I especially like how rich the cherry flavor is here, but without being sweet at all.

UPDATED: MAR 30, 2008 Rerate: much better than first time now that it’s chilled to a decent temperature. deep ruby red, lovely bright pink head. traditional lambic flavor, but not so hardcore sour as some others. refreshing "fruitness" without so much sweetness. And I’m the only one at the tasting that doesn’t hate this. In fact, I love this stuff.

Original: Got to try this since one of my friends randomly ordered it, and surprise surprise she didn’t like it, so I had to help finish it. Very decent kriek as it turns out, you could do a lot worse.

Pours a nice cherry red with a half-inch slow diffusing bubbly head. Aroma of sour cherries, alfalfa, and some oak. Lively carbonation and tart flavors on the palate. Slightly astringent in the finish. Sour cherries, unripe persimmons. Excellent!

pours a cloudy ruby red with a nice two finger bubbly dark red head. aroma is sweet and tart cherries with oak, yeast, and a touch of vanilla. has a light to medium body with ok lacing and good carbonation. flavor is mostly tart cherries with oak and a touch of yeast, vanilla, and sweet cherries. has a bit of a dry aftertaste but this could use some aging. all in all not bad of a pure cherry lambic.

Great pink head. Lively palate. Very flavorful and zingy from start to finish. Quenchy cherries (but not too much), zippy vinegar, pinch of fruity sweetness and wood. Wonderful levels of tartness and sourness. I really enjoyed this one.

12.7oz, Best by 22.__.12 (couldn’t read the date). Clear burgundy with a one finger pink fizzy head, fading to a ring very quickly. Wow, this smells exactly like something, but I can’t place it at all. Unmistakable aroma of fresh cherries--more specifically, the pit and flesh--with some funky sourness in the background. There is also a bit of leather. Flavor changes slightly with the same type of cherries (the dark ones you find in produce at the grocery store, I dunno the variety) though a little less sweet with tons of tartness and acidity. Bone dry woody finish. Highly carbonated with a light to medium body. Definitely one of the better (and sour) fruit lambics I’ve had.

Finally can taste some sourness, thought I couldn’t pick it up anymore. Red body with little head, Get a lot of oak in the nose and the taste is quite tart , dry and a lot of cherries.