Kasteel Kriek

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck
Style: Fruit Beer
Ingelmunster, Belgium

11.2 ounce bottle from In Vino Veritas in Keswick, VA. Pours a dark, clear ruby color with a thin fizzy head. Poor retention and lacing. Aroma is sweet cherries, candylike and reminding me of Luden’s cough drops. Taste is tart, sweet cherries along with some other berries. Medium bodied. Fairly one dimensional and more like a soda than a beer.

Overpowering sweet. Poured ruby red with a pink head. Aroma and flavor of nothing but cherries.

Pours dark earthy maroon-garnet with a rose colored head. Redolent of white grapes, apple, cherry cola, sweet-sour vinegar, and slightly honeyish. Flavor is sweet cherry with raspberry undertones, cola, sharp woodyness, apple cider, slightly sour dry tartness, woody and citric finish. Overall reminiscent of cherry cola mixed with wine. A good dinner beer although I got the feeling this was a little more sweetened than a traditional kriek.

Cherry cola reddish color. Smells like fresh cherry jam that was just opened. Had this at the Belgium Beer Party down at Pizza Port Carlsbad. Very tasty sweet beer with champagne like carbonation. Kind of reminds me of cherry 7-up that has been fermented and carbonated. Definitely a sipper beer to have after a good dinner.

15/03 0.75 l bottle from beershop.hr, shared with Doggythedog. It poured reddish brown body with smaller brownish head. Nice cherry and a bit of caramel aroma, acidic. Full fruity flavor, dominated by cherry of course, but some oranges as well. Mostly sourish, but pleasantly. It finishes with long sour cherry. A very good Kriek this is, a nice surprise.

Kasteel Rouge is red with a thin, lacy head. It is quite fizzy and has a delicious cherry flavor. It also smells strongly of cherries. I’ve had the draft and bottles. It is probably my favorite drink, although much sweeter than other beers.

Draft. I have to admit, I have been looking forward to giving this one a try. It seems like you either love it or hate it, so here we go! It pours a nice, deep cherry red with a pinkish head. The nose reminds me of a black cherry soda/maraschino cherry mix. Medium-high carbonation with a lighter, syrupy mouthfeel. It is a sourish cherry (think good black cherry soda in a way) on the palate. The finish is surprisingly clean. All cherry, all the way, but very well done. I wouldn’t want to drink it all night, but I am a definitely a fan!

In the bottle from Max & Joe’s Tavern. Pours a dark reddish purple with a lavender head. The aroma is strong of Smith Sister’s cough drops. The flavor is an amazing taste of bing cherries. Phenomenally delicious.