Liefmans Glühkriek

Brewed by Liefmans (Moortgat)
Style: Fruit Beer
Oudenaarde, Belgium

Serve in Flute

20 cl. warmed to 65 °C from 75 cl. bottles in a kettle @ Kerstbierfestival 2011: A: a, clear deep wine red with no head & some bubbles on the side – S: sweet cherries with a fruitier & sweeter version of glühwine – T: basically warm cherry juice, sweet with a small touch of warm wine & slight syrup sweetness – S: flat, slight syrup-like – probably has more in common with juice than beer taste-wise but it is yummy so how could I complain?

15cl bottle sample @ Kerstbierfestival ’11, Essen. No xmas without a nice 65° warm Glühkriek. Brune foncée, pas de col. Arôme des effluves de fruits noirs; cerises, le tout avec une belle vapeur et notes de tanins. En bouche, profile cerise bien prononcé, palais réchauffant mais restant léger, qcq notes de malt caramel avec ce petit profile aigre de cerise, le tout reste très agréable. J’aurais aimé y voir un peu plus d’épices de Nöel pour être vraiment dans l’ambiance.

Pours copper red with no head. Aromas and taste of cherries. Has some glühwein feeling to it. Simply to much cherries for this to rate any higher.

Bottle from systembolaget, Christmas beer tasting. Helsingborg, November 2011.
Pours sparkling red with an orange hue, small pink, red tinged head. Sharp aromas of cherries, sweet overripe berries, spices and light syrup. Rich and full taste of more spices and sweet cherries. It’s slightly concentrated but I don’t mind it very much. Great winter warmer in a unique style.

750 ml bottle bought @ Systembolaget. Shared and consumed on December 3. Served at about 70 degrees Celsius. Pours deep red with a thick pinkish white head that becomes even more thick and fluffy as the beer gets warmer. Smell is sweet and slightly sour with burnt sugar, cherries cloves and nutmeg. Taste is slightly sour, quite sweet and fullbodied. There’s lots of cherries, ginger, orange zest, figs, cloves and cardamom. Finish is sweet and slightly bitter.

bottle - hazy brown/red body with a small head - smells both cherry and christmas spices - taste like a sweet christmas cookie with some cherry - a lot better when warm as recomended on bottle (70c), but also ok in room temperature

Bottle. Pours a murky reddish brown, no head. Aroma is sweet and oxidized with notes of dark fruits, Jägermeister and anise. Tart cherry notes as it warms. Interesting, but rather cloying. Flavour is very sweet (molasses), tart going sour with cherry and a touch of anise. Overall good, but cloying in the long run. 05.11.11.

Served warm at the Edinburgh Christmas Market. Pours a ruby red colour with a decent pink head. Aroma of cherries, alcohol and candy sugar. Similar flavours. Not too sweet. I quite enjoyed this and preferred it to both the Glühwine and mulled cider on offer.