Kriek 2021 w Ripe Scottish Cherries
Innis & Gunn

 

330 mL bottle from a gift pack purchased at the LCBO a few months back; best before Jun 2023 and served barely chilled.

Pours a clear reddish-magenta colour, briefly fitted with nearly an inch of smooth, foamy, off white-coloured head with just a tinge of purplish-pink. It sizzles off within sixty seconds or so, quickly replaced with a bubbly collar and a modest scattering of lace - looks fine in the glass. Mildly funky on the nose, and very reminiscent of red wine - there's oak, cherry, jammy grape and redcurrant, with subtle vanilla and wine vinegar.

Starts off sweet, finishes tart - it's a solid cherry beer, but "kriek" is a stretch IMO. I'm tasting more red wine, with oak tannins and black cherry at the forefront. More of a sweet maraschino cherry note by mid-sip, with faintly sour cherry developing towards the finish; hints of vanilla, oak, red wine and tart cherry echo into the aftertaste, lingering momentarily before the tannins dry things off. Medium-light in body, with moderately low carbonation that lazily prickles the surface of the tongue; decent body, feels soft & fulfilling (just how I like my cherry beers), with great drinkability.

Final Grade: 4.01, an A-. I wouldn't mind another Kriek with Ripe Scottish Cherries, but as a one-off gift pack inclusion I doubt I'll be seeing this again. I just want to be clear that I'm grading this as a soured fruit beer, and not so much a 'kriek' - sure, it's got cherries and oak, but the tart/funk side of the equation isn't intense enough to make this comparable to the authentic Belgian article. Still, it's a tasty Scottish knock-off that I'd encourage you to try, especially if you're a lover of sweeter red wines.

 

330ml bottle served cold into a pint glass. Best before June 2023.

Appearance - Clear cherry colored brew with small head poured that fizzles out in seconds.

Smell - wood and lots of cherries initially with and earthy musk and then lots of vinous notes as well. More grape than cherry in reality. Fairly big nose.

Taste - Fair amount of cherry here, some nice sweetness and there's is hints of wood and grape in here too. Cherry sweetness has just a flash of maraschino in there. Maybe there's something different about Scottish cherries.

Mouthfeel - Lightly carbonated, quite dry and the body is pretty light. Easy drinking sipper.

Overall - An odd beer given how much gape and wine like aromas especially are apparent here, but there's some in the flavors too. The cherries are tasty and take a bit of a back seat, but somehow this kind of works. Maybe it's just my taste buds and isn't something I'd drink on the regular, but I rather enjoyed this one.

Pours a deep purple colour and headless. Smells like red wine. Tastes like carbonated red wine. Looks like red wine. But it’s beer. I don’t detect any familiar beer tasting notes. It tastes nice, but it tastes like red wine
Oct 31 2021