Girardin Kriek

Brewed by Brouwerij Girardin
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Sint Ulriks-Kapelle, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

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red with no head... smells old cherry pie. tastes the same with some sour and acid notes... not that great but maybe i just dont like krieks

Sweet and sour cherry smell, the taste is sour but the sweetness completely acts against everything that is good in this beer, the wood and the sourness are held back by the sweetness. Not refreshing, more like a dessert kind of a deal and because of that doesn’t hold a candle to oud beersel’s kriek.

Girardin has already earned much respect from me for their exceptional pair of gueuzes, so from there forward it’s all bonus points. There’s an elegance about Girardin’s balance that I genuinely appreciate and clearly emerges in this kriek as well, proving a consistency that I respect and pushing the brewery up in my top two favorites of the lambic world (Drie Fonteinen has them all beat, though). Poured, it seems darker than any kriek I’ve seen, blushing of a dense frosted Bordeaux hue and polished with an opulent faded pink cream. Whoa! My grand-mother’s clafoutis is more present than ever, the cherries shining through clearly but fused with a rich doughy sweetness and a profuse almond fragrance. White pepper, cork, grape juice, figs and brown sugar lend admirable complexity to the nose. With time, a deep richness evolves, reminding of plum and molasses to which the slightest touch of funk adheres in a combination of cranberries, goat cheese and Emmental. An avalanche of red fruit cascades upon the tongue melding cherries, raspberries, grape juice and wild strawberries. The sweetness upfront glides gradually to a dry sourness rich in brown sugar, biscuity malts and salient almonds. Full-flavored and not overly sour, this is an excellent kriek to which I can ascribe only one small flaw. The squalid Emmental and stale hops that work to great effect for Girardin’s gueuzes appear here in the aftertaste but does not match the cherries as well as I might have expected. An otherwise delicious effort, well worth seeking and drinking young.

A dusty aroma leads into a sour taste of fresh and yet old (?) cherry. This kriek is by far better then most of the commercial ones and yet I still feel a tad unfulfilled. I don’t really know what to think. Good and very interesting - but not orgasmic.

Vinös och torr, välbalanserad mellan sötma och beska och full av livfulla körsbär.

Non amo molto lo stile. Troppo fruttata per i miei gusti. Questa però è un ottimo aperitivo: amarognola con finale acido.

Aroma of funk and fruits. Appearance is ruby-red with small white head. Taste is sour with a clear taste of fruits. Overall a very pleasant beer that’s not as complex as some other fruit lambics.

Pours hazy light red with a pinkish head. Clear almond aroma. Very drinkable sour, tastes like sweet cherries. Would like it a little more tart.

One of the world's greatest beers by reputation, this kriek fills your palate with a frothy blast of lemony sourness. It is absolutely the fizziest beer I've tasted yet, and truly reminds of a citrusy alka-seltzer, though of course it's flavor is much more developed. I was surprised by how quickly its fine, really quite delicately subtle sourness evaporated, though. In a flash, it's gone - a bit disappointing; or perhaps just bittersweet.

Red-brown colour, superb creamy and long lasting head. I noticed nougat in the aroma. It also reminds me the nose of some red wine. Pleasant cherry taste with some acidity.