De Ranke Kriek

Brewed by Brouwerij De Ranke
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Dottignies/Dottenijs, Belgium

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottle. A - Vibrant cherry red color with a slightly smaller than average, white foamy head. It somewhat reminds me of cranberry juice that comes out of a machine. Head goes away fast and leaves only trace lacing. S - Slightly sweet and acidic cherry smell on initial whiff with a typical Flanders Red/Bruin and funky smell in there as well. On the finish of the smell, a strong tart cherry aroma comes out and lingers. A touch of the sweetness comes back on the finish in subsequent smells. This makes for a wonderful cherry aroma on the finish that lingers. T - Good mix of tart, sweet, and sour cherry throughout. Some sour and tart flavor initially. This gives to some sweet cherry flavor along with a good amount of malt. Some earthy and woody flavors also come out. Just a bit of funky flavor and slight acidic taste. The finish has some tart and sweet cherry. M - Light to medium body with average carbonation. Pretty smooth, and a little drying, but definitely nothing compared to some other sours. D - A pretty drinkable beer with a nice balance of sweet, tart, acidic, and sour. Doesn’t overpower the palate and pretty refreshing. Not as sour or puckering as other sours. Notes: Best before 09/2012. Nice lambic that isn’t as sour or puckering as a lot of sours but also doesn’t have a cloying or artificial sweetness. Good balance of flavors featuring a lot of aspects of cherry. Very enjoyable lambic, may not quite be world class, but a solid one. Worth trying.

Bottle purchased at Buyrite in South Plainfield NJ. Appearance: Lovely transparent cherry with a soft rose petal pink 2 finger head. Smell: Some sourness and enough barnyard to make it smell nearly rotten. Taste: Dry cherries in the front, yielding to barnyard flavors that bridge to a nice sour finish. Mouthfeel: The carbonation is excellent and comes across as important in this brew. Really helps to knock that barnyard and sourness down before the next sip. Drinkability: Again the carbonation really helps this sour funky dry cherry beer go down fairly easily. I had put this bottle in my cellar only 1 week ago but had a change of heart and decided to open it. When I opened it I noticed the cork was really wet....as if some liquid had passed through the cork and was stopped by the metal cap. Not sure if this skewed my sampling but based on the strong ratings this brew has, I’ll probably try it again in the future. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 12-22-2008

Pours cloudy reddish hue with pillowly pink head. Aroma is cherries. Taste is sweet cherry with a nice sour dry finish. Sourness is fantastic.

Medium pink head. Hazy purple body. Concentrated wooden cherry aroma with waxy barnyard notes. Acidic-dry wooden waxy cherry taste, very powerful, with hidden sweetness, and floral herbal notes. Mid-to-light body. Dense palate. Dry-acidic waxy cherry aftertaste with wooden notes. Nice, but not great. (0.75l bottle. Not sure where from.)

750ml Bottle, pours a mild hazy red with orange and light brown hues when held up to a light, gave a small white bubbled head, this ale has aromas of earthy funk, cellar, sour with sour Cherry and Horse Barn, I thought I got a hint of stinky cheese in the background, a little smidgen of sweetness here and there, and Raspberry in the background, a drink provides flavors of sour Cherry and earthy wheat with a sour puckering in the mouth, finish is dry with continued puckering, this beer is probably one of the funkiest I have had.

Very sour cherry ale. Dark cherry red. Sour cherry nose and taste. Rated 8/26/08

750 mL bottle poured into a tulip glass. Pours a brilliant, deep, ruby red with a rapidly fizzling pinkish head. Aroma is very lambic-esque, with lemons, sour cherries, and mushroomy brett funk. Flavor is pretty damn sour. Lots of tart cherry sourness and a lactic character recall black cherry yogurt. Light wood and barnyard, very dry finish, high acidity. The extra 2% alcohol above normal kriek is subtle but noticeable. Maybe just a tiny breath of ethanol, indistinguishable to someone not looking for it. Slightly thin as well. Very good sour.

If you approac this as a sour ale, rather than a lambic you’ll be right. Pours a lovely blood red, but head dies VERY quickly. Nose is funky. ON the mouth once the inital brett assault dies, it gives a very smooth, sour mouthful, without the usual lambic overkill. Esy drinking and Alcohol is not noticeable despite the high ABV. A good link to more sour beers.