Black Kriek
Arbor Brewing Company - Plymouth Taproom

 

looks like these guys have a couple of locations where they are making beer, not sure where this one came from, but this is the first of their beers i can recall having. a neat little bottle of beer in a style i wish we saw more of, quite distinct and well made, generously shared by some new friends as part of a killer session we had together. i was stoked to pop this one, a stout type beer as a base it seems, very dark brown but not real thick or anything, fizzy but not holding much head. its done with cherries and smells both very tart and very mature to me, woody and fresh fruity at the same time. it seems like the sourness is somewhat one dimensional, its neither as funky or as different as i kind of wanted it to be, especially with kriek in the name, i was thinking some lambic sort of wild character, but this is more lactic than anything, nicely done and all, but a little underwhelming. i like all the wood on it though, the natural cherry profile from start to finish, and the nuances of licorice, cracked black pepper, and burnt coffee. its mellow to drink, expands on the palate, and warms up well, it does have a lot going on even without a more complex fermentation profile, and it ended up being one of my favorite beers of the evening. looks like these guys do quite a lot, and i would love to get into drinking more of their stuff. this was a fun surprise and something a little bit unconventional. nice!