Every so often I choose to drink a fine imported beer and one happened to catch my eye the last time I went into Liquor Max in Loveland. This beer was called Oude Kriek Vieille or simply Oud Beersel Kriek Ale. This beer is classified as a sour lambic brewed with cherries. I am always on the lookout for a good sour ale and Nick at Liquor Max pointed me in the direction of this beer.
Oud Beersel Kriek Ale comes in a tall green bottle with a wired cork top. This sour lambic weighs in at 6.5% ABV and comes in a 375ml (12.7 oz) serving. This ale was brewed by Oud Beersel in Brij Boon, Lembeek, Belgium and is referred to as the sparking pink wine of the ale industry. With a description like that, I was intrigued.
Kriek ales are known for the cherries they are fermented with. This beer poured ruby red in color with a pinkish head 2 fingers tall. It was dark enough that you couldn't see through it. There was a very loud pop when you removed the cork. The brew poured with a high amount of fizzy carbonation too. I swore I was looking at a glass of sparking wine but from the sour cherry smell, I knew this was a malty beverage and not wine.
The initial aroma hits you somewhat acidic and reminiscent of something medicinal but rather different. You can definitely pick out the cherries in air. This beer had a unique aroma with a classic funkiness to it that sour beers give.
The sourness hit me right up front on the tip of my tongue on the first taste. It was sweet yet with a hint of vinegar, just how I like a sour beer. It was very tart and made me pucker a bit as I swished it around my mouth. There were lots of bubbles in this brew. It coated my teeth well. The sourness reminded me of another brew I'll be posting on shortly - the Haandbaak from Norway.
Be careful when pouring this brew as there was a lot of dark sediment at the bottom of the bottle. If you get some in the glass, no worries, it all adds to the flavor. The more I drank down this bottle, the more tart and sour it became. Oooo ya, I like that.
If you're a fan of sour beers, you can't go wrong with this. At a 10% discount, I got this bottle for $8.09. May be a bit expensive for a single beer but well worth it for sour fans. I'm giving this sour Kriek a big Thumbs Up and a repeat buy recommendation.
Related articles:
- New Belgium La Folie review.
- What did you drink at the GABF?
- All Colorado Beer Festival 2008.
This article came from FermentedlyChallenged.com
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Oud Beersel Kriek Ale review
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I had this one at a Cinco de Mayo party last May. It was tart, not as much as the Geueze, but still put quite a pucker on my face (and anyone else who was willing to try it).
ReplyDeleteNot too many people drink tarts around here, so whenever I order one at a bar from a waiter, the bartender normally knows it's for me.
V
There's something about a good tart sour ale that I just love. It's an excellent change of pace beer but I find that whenever I see a new one that's available I usually go for it. I could easily make sour beers my session brew. It helps to have a beer store that likes to stock these kind of things.
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