De Ranke Kriek

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

750ml bottle - Norwich Beer Festival 2010. Couple of friends split this but one couldn’t finish his 1/2 for the sourness. Poured a cloudy, dark red with a small, light pink bubbly head. Loaded with sharp cherries and funk on the nose. Plenty more cherry on the tongue, a puckering oaky, cherry sourness. Biting and lasting sour finish. Good bitterness to boot; it’s got so much going on. Bloody superb stuff. Medium body, quite full & fresh carbonation with a sourness that keeps on giving. The few krieks I’ve had before had always left me wanting more, particularly in the sour department. Where those fell down, this one rose head & shoulders above them.

15/10/2010 75cl bottle @ De Ranke presentation at Gentse Biervereniging

NOTE: this was drunk at a very young age, 3 weeks. So the beer hadn’t had the opportunity yet to age. So this calls for a re-rating.

Intense red to ruby beer, practically no head. Aroma: still lots of bretta, some cherries, but barely detectable. Taste is like the Cuvée De Ranke with some fruits, but not even sure if I would be able to tell in a blind tasting.

Serving: 750 ml. bottle from State Line Liquors.
Aroma: The nose has plenty of funk, lighter cherry notes, oak, leaves, and musty yeast.
Appearance: Int pours a cloudy red with a foamy, pink head.
Taste: The flavor highlights the dark, tart cherries as well as having a strong contribution by the oak. The funk is not as pronounced in the flavor as it is in the nose.
Palate: Light in body with a high level of sparkling effervescence. The finish is exceptionally clean. Overall: An outstanding example of a kriek and definitely worth trying.

A very sharp and acidic concoction. Definitely a good example of a lambic. I enjoy the sharp and tart profile of the cherries, as I love sour ale. But with sour ales, I try to imagine what the beer would taste like without the bracing tartness. If I can’t identify a decently blended beer covered by the sourness, then I can’t appreciate it as much. I prefer the Flemish sour ales better, such as Rodenbach Grand Cru, Monk’s Cafe, and Jolly Pumpkin La Roja, since they taste like substantial brown ales with sourness added as an extra characteristic.

Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy deep ruby colour with basically no head. Nice colour. Aromas are predominantly sour with lots of lactic acid and sour cherries coming through. There is a little funk but it is very much in the back ground. Flavours basically mimic the aromas with lots of lactic sourness, sweet & sour from the cherries and a hint of almonds and vanilla. Once again some funk but it is very much in the back ground. Mouthfeel is on the full side. Yep I did enjoy this one.

A: The pour is a slightly hazed dark red color with a short lived light pink head. S: A nice lactic bite on the nose along with some semi-sweet, semi-sour cherry aromas. Slightly musty and barnyard funk notes, but not all that powerful. T: A really wonderful sour cherry flavor is present right away. The lactic acidity is really pleasant and provides a bit of a lemon flavor. The funk is again subtle, but provides a nice balance. M: The body is medium with a plentiful carbonation that tingles the tongue quite nicely. D: So pleasant, refreshing, and easy to drink. I’ll take another one of these any day.

Little carbonation, dark red colour, not much head. Extremely sour, definitely lambic in there but the cherries took a back seat to a very sour lambic flavour. Unbalanced in my opinion.

Pours a deep red with a tight head. The aroma is barnyard and fresh cherries presenting a pleasant tartness and a nice sourness. There is also this really beautiful floral note in there as well. The flavor has tons of fresh cherry tartness along with a big sour character and a mild bit of vinegar. The finish is a tad salty but somehow that works. The mouth feel is sprizy and almost champagne like at times.