Kasteel Kriek

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

Pours a dark cranberry color with pink/white head. Cherry and earthy tannins in the nose. Strong tangy cherry flavor, slightly acidic. Earthy and oak like tannins are present. Its too bad they didn’t make a version without the added cherry juice. This tends to feel over-saturated with the cherries. Overall its easy drinking that doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

Tap at the Happy Gnome. Glassy, dark maroon pour with a thin rosy edge. Tepid. Aroma is full and layered; cherry pie with graham crust, dry grass, crisp gingerbread and cinnamon are foremost while a kind of green spiciness lingers on the fringes. Pleasant and evocative. Tastes are thick of black cherry and cranberry concentrates with hints of dry dark chocolate powder and earthy foliage; some dehydrated maple wood, dark spice and thick, confident tannins of a bland merlot imitation. Slightly complacent in its overweight sweetness and tilted too much to the acidity of cherry additions; slick and very juicy in the medium bodied palate. Hard to place, and difficult to appreciate; its character is a bit empty altogether and tilted a bit too firmly to its impish, unbelievable qualities.

Bottle as Kasteel Rouge. Strong dark cherry aroma. Ruby red color with a pinkish-white head. Medium to full bodied with a low level carbonation. The flavor is a bit like cherry cough syrup. However, the sweetness quickly goes to be followed by a tart thick cherry flavor. There is heat. There’s a bit of wood. It is heavy duty fruit beer.

(Bottled) Hazy deep ruby with a smallish, partly lasting, pink head. Strong and sweet, but quite natural cherry aroma with faint oaky notes. Loads of sweet, ripe cherries in the flavor with very little bitterness, and only a tiny hint of acidity. The ABV is obviously hidden behind sweetness, but also the reasonably full body. Medium to full-bodied palate with quite low carbonation. This is quite hard to judge - but if you’re after a sweet dessert cherry beer, you can’t go much wrong with this one...

Bottle at Eulogy in Philly. Pours a ruby red color into the trappist glass with a quick pink head that dissapated rather quickly. A very smooth and filling flavor with cherries dominating. Just the right amount of carbonation with a tasty, sweet finish.

Bottle at Stockholm Beer Festival 2007
Hazy dark ruby color; dark pink head. Very nice morello cherries aroma. Good body strength, sweet, malty, with nice morello cherry flavor and light wood. Balanced, well mixed; good.

on tap at kelly’s. pours a dark reddish brown with little head. great sour cherry smell, with some woody notes. flavor is more big cherry, some plum, and a bit of oak and floral tastes. sweet and a bit tart finish, with a thick and sticky mouthfeel. creamy carbonation, and medium to full body. not my favorite, but quite tasty, and i’m glad i got to try it.

On tap at Rich O’s - Pours ruby red with a fully receding off-white head. Aroma of cherry, sour, tart fruits. Taste is sweet, cherry, lightly sour with tropical fruit esters. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with lively carbonation. Very nice fruit beer, the ladies enjoyed this one.