De Ranke Kriek

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Pours a pure deep with an initial head but fades. Aroma is strong with sour cherry and some yeasty funkiness. Lots of lactobacillus-like sourness all around and finishes very dry. Also has a bit of tart cherries in the finish which was nice. Pretty good overall.

Pours a cherry red with a thin white head that quickly dissipates. Smells quite funky. Horseblanket, salty, sour ripe cherry. Taste is sour and funky. Very earthy and barnyard-like in the flavor. Sour cherry, quite tart. Not a lot of sweetness here. Crisp and dry in the mouth. A whole lot going on here, not sure I was able to catch it all on the first go around. A bit of a sipper due to the sourness but really tasty stuff nonetheless.

UPDATED: SEP 16, 2009 Bottle at GBBF, August 2005. Lets think about what I don’t like in a lot of fruit beers. Artificial aroma: Not this one - funky farmyard character, not boiled sweets. Artificial flavour: Nope - definitely gives the impression of genuine sour cherries, and plenty of them. Sticky mouthfeel: No way - this has a lot of sour acidity to cut through the fruit. Too sweet: Definitely not - this is very dry indeed (I like that). Lack of body: Well maybe this doesn’t have the fullest mouthfeel but it does have woody and vinous depths that work well with the fruit. No clout: Not this one - certainly not a puny confection, with plenty of character and a generous 7% alcohol punch (which doesn’t intrude too much). In short, this has pretty much all I could want in a non-lambic (OK so there may be some lambic in the mix) fruit beer. But I still generally prefer beer to taste of beer than of fruit, so a fruit beer has to be really well done for me to appreciate it. This hits the spot perfectly. The very bright red/pink colour is a bit alarming though.

Bottled. Red colour, small white head. Sour cherry flavour and aroma. Very dry finish. Hides it’s ABV well.

Good till 2015. Quick fading head, more red than pink. Aroma more strawberry than cherry. Intense flavour, acidic, above-average carbonation. Sourness, but not mouth puckering, very drinkable.

UPDATED: AUG 22, 2005 Nice faded red color. Sour but not overly sour nose. Zero head. Tart cherry/rasberry flavors but not too much so. A nice balance between drinkablilty & sourness. Dry palate but still thirst quenching & refreshing. I really like this. If I could get it here, it would go into the regular rotation.

For those who are wondering, this is a mixture of 30% Girardin lambic, 35% Sour Pale Ale and 35%, new, unhopped pale ale. Of course this information comes directly from Shelton Brothers wesbite, which I would recommend you read if you are wondering how this beer is produced. The brewers really want this to resemble traditional Kriek lambic, and in many ways they succeeded. Unfortunately its not nearly as wood influenced as lambic (although it is corky) and it’s maliciously sour (maybe even too much so, dare I say it), hiding subtle nuances. Lightly vinous, with a fairly light sour cherry influence. Gentle aroma, with a cherry red color and low carbonation.

2004 bottle consumed July 2005. Light strawberry to deep, blood-red color as the pour progresses and more sediment is added. Good-sized head with light whisps of lacing. Smells of tart yeast, cherry medicine (dry), black pepper and a merlot-shiraz mix. Flavor is black chery meat, sour cherry skins, lots of cherry medicine and black pepper. Light vinousness and very yeasty, but dry and lightly tart throughout. Tingly carbonation carries a spiciness all over the palate. Just really well-done and drinkable. Low acidity hits the back of the mouth. Retronasal hops?? Very earthy and leafy, if that’s really what it is. Medium to medium-full body. I drank this bottle over the course of 2 weeks (stuffing the cork back in between sessions) and it was flat, but not anywhere near thin or watery. Really interesting beer, I find myself falling somewhat short of being able to describe it as well as I would like.

Lovely ruby red color. A cherry aroma comes up immediately after opening the bottle (bottled nov. ’03, # 5). In the aroma not only cherry and cherry pits, but also dusty and vinous, like old Oud Zottegems Kriek. Sour flavor, with oak, cherry, cherry pits, almond, citrus, even chewing gum. Absolutely "brut" and a bit thin. Very well made cherry flavored Flemish sour, in the best tradition of this almost disappeared ale.

Bottled @ GBBF 2005: Red coloured. Unclear. Not much head. Sweetish cherry aroma with a light sour touch. Flavour is dry and fruity and has a fresh sourness thats very cleansing. Has a light sweet cherrysourness in the end thats perfectly balanced. Has a very high drinkability. One to search for.