Liefmans Kriek Brut

WHAT OTHER CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING

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  Complex Sour-Sweet Cherry drop

  Kriek is a kind of sour-cherry fruit beer, Belgian/Dutch - and my interest in it came from a mention by successful and cerebral American Novelist Richard Powers, in Galatea 2.2 (he admits he developed a taste for Kriek during his time in the Netherlands). Liefmans is a blended and aged Kriek, perhaps at the entry-level low-price end of the spectrum but it certainly was pleasant. Plum-Cherry fruityness, red-brown hues and and fine foamy head make the first few mouthfuls quite an experience. There is a polite sourness that builds and the hint of solventy-phenols may be from the aging/lambic nature of the beer before refermenting with cherries. This is a "blended" Kriek, a low-end version of a highly regarded style and perhaps not a great representative of the line of Belgian Fruit Beers - I found it a bit sour for my taste and am beginning to realise that my search for an elusive sweet fruit beer will have to lean into the area of ciders - but if you enjoyed the Gose/Lambic fruit beers this will be ok for you!