Lou Pepe - Kriek
Brasserie Cantillon

Lou Pepe - KriekLou Pepe - Kriek
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From:
Brasserie Cantillon
 
Belgium
Style:
Fruit Lambic
Ranked #2
ABV:
5%
Score:
100
Ranked #48
Avg:
4.62 | pDev: 7.14%
Reviews:
374
Ratings:
1,885
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 06, 2024
Added:
May 12, 2002
Wants:
  1,803
Gots:
  356
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Callenak:
Photo of Callenak
Reviewed by Callenak from California

4.5/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured on tap at O'Brian's into a tulip…

Pours a bright red with a small pink head that lingers for quite a while. The beer has wonder champagne feel to it with the many tiny bubbles circulating in the beer.

The nose was everything you would expect from a wild beer. Sourness with a slight barnyard to it. You definitely pick up on the cherries, but more of an unripe, slightly tart cherry. Beautiful, couldn't wait to taste.

Ahhh the taste. Reminds me of sucking on some sour candy when I was a kid. Makes the mouth pucker with tart delight. The sourness subsides leaving beautiful sweet cherry taste. Ah, the joys of Brett, pediococcus
and lactobacillus at work.

Mouthfeel is tingly from carbonation but you can't help but mention again the mouth puckering sensation when discussing mouthfeel.

Now of course this beer will turn many people off. If you respect the true style of lambics, this beer is a grand example of one of the most truly unique styles known to brewing. In my opinion Cantillon rules the lambics. At least the many I've had. For my wedding night we opened a bottle of Lou Pepe Framboise that was amazing, but I wish I had the Kriek. Thankfully I have a bottle sitting in my cellar now.
Dec 13, 2006
More User Ratings:
Photo of moysauce
Reviewed by moysauce from Illinois

4.59/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
2014 vintage tasted in 2024 at Cantillon: made friends during a tour of Cantillon and had an impromptu bottle share. Someone bought a bottle of 10 year old Lou Pepe - Kriek to share. Unreal to have had this experience.
Mar 06, 2024
 
Rated: 4.68 by The_Kriek_Freak from Pennsylvania

Feb 24, 2024
 
Rated: 4.73 by smi69 from New York

Jan 20, 2024
 
Rated: 4.34 by Benish from Utah

Dec 30, 2023
Photo of zac16125
Reviewed by zac16125 from South Carolina

4.89/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
2018
Bottled: 14 September 2020
Reviewed: 24 December 2023

A: Pours a crystal clear deep, dark ruby with a large dark pink head that dissipates quickly until it looks almost still. When the head dissipates it almost looks like a medium body red wine in color, like a pinot noir or chianti. 4.5

S: Aroma is lovely with very strong dark berry notes and substantial plastic like funk. There is a huge bing cherry character, balancing notable citrus sourness. 4.75

T: Taste is very sour, probably the most puckering sourness I’ve ever experienced in a beer. Outright impressive. These sour notes are balanced by a very nice red fruit palate bouquet, lead by of course cherry characteristics. There is a big clean minerality and some smoothly oaky notes. Essentially perfect. 5

M/D: Lighter side of medium bodied with a nice bright, crispy carbonation, and a great drinkability. 4.75

O: Truly an elite beer. In the discuss for best I’ve ever had. 5
Dec 24, 2023
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

4.93/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
750ml bottle at share. Cranberry pour, wispy off-white head. Tart cherry aroma. Taste starts with a big pucker, lots of sour cherries, fruity, wine-like. So rich, so full. Definitely worthy of it's high rating. Honored to get to finally try this.
Nov 21, 2023
 
Rated: 4.78 by SierraFlight from Virginia

Oct 22, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by bigred89 from Maryland

Oct 15, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by jschott75 from Illinois

Jul 22, 2023
Photo of Sabtos
Reviewed by Sabtos from Ohio

4.94/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Seeing the tape get pulled off the menu listing for the 2020 bottle at the Cantillon bar definitely got the old heart pumping. As the freshly, horizontally uncorked bottle rested in its lambic basket, it began to slowly push a soft mauve foam out of the spout before I gave it a tilt to pour a damn near smoothie-like stream into the glass. There it displays fully opaque garnet with a dense cotton candy head.

I said St. Lam was the juiciest Loon? Scratch that, this is like Schaerbeek puree with mild hints of cinnamon marzipan delivered on a pillowy body with a surprisingly balanced acidity. Even still, a complex oak tannin brings us to a bone dry finish before exhaling a touch of black pepper and perhaps chevre. A delicious candied quality further emerges as it warms.

I'm not sure I ever imagined just what made LPK the highly coveted fruited lambic that it is, but clearly, that distinguisher is decadence. This is undoubtedly the thickest lambic I've ever had, and in all the most delicious ways.
Jul 05, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by Lucoli from New York

Jun 12, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by Gambyt20 from Illinois

Jun 06, 2023
 
Rated: 4.72 by BRoweski30 from Massachusetts

Oct 31, 2022
 
Rated: 4.75 by rstump24 from Ohio

Jul 08, 2022
 
Rated: 4.8 by not2quick from Missouri

Jun 10, 2022
 
Rated: 5 by JAWS from New York

May 30, 2022
 
Rated: 4.88 by Affinity from Missouri

Apr 25, 2022
Photo of Harrison8
Reviewed by Harrison8 from Missouri

4.64/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
Cradled 750mL bottle served in decanter, sat for ~20 minutes, then served into glass. Pours a rich burgundy color with a finger of pink foam. Aroma is cherry forward, but not in a fleshy, fruit forward way, instead delivering a rindy dark pit. It's morphs into notes of almond and cinnamon, with light tart cherry and stone just beyond. Complexity is notable, without any overtly sugary tendencies. Flavor profile delivers those same almond and cinnamon notes. Cherry is present, with a tart twist. Stone, followed by big lemon zest and grassy notes play the outro. Again, the complexity and depth is just amazing. For a beer blended with cherries, it develops much more nuance and thought beyond this single note. Mouth feel is medium in thickness with a consistent grit throughout. It verges on bubbly, at least at the onset. Overall, cherry notes here are just a delight, swirling together with almond and cinnamon for a thought provoking sip. It refrains from every dipping into overtly tart or sour.

2018. Served from a 750mL bottle. Decanted. Reviewed from notes.
Apr 08, 2022
 
Rated: 4.81 by Jkolls from Ohio

Feb 02, 2022
Lou Pepe - Kriek from Brasserie Cantillon
Beer rating: 100 out of 100 with 1885 ratings