Lips Of Faith - Dark Kriek
New Belgium Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2009 rate.

Bottle. Pours a clear dark cherry red with a frothy head. Nose is sweet and sour, red berries, faded hops, slightly medicinal. Collage of sweet and sour dominates this, which I like, but there's a little too much sweet and the cherry flavor is a bit strange. I can't stand the slightest bit of medicinal cherry flavor in a beer, this borders on it. Not bad, just alright, not really my thing.

22 oz into a glass. going to the cellar for one.

A - Pours a deep dark brown color with some amber highlights. Strong head formation, brownish in color - quickly breaks down to a film. Appears lightly carbonated.

S - Combination of fruits and yeast. I get quite a bit of cherry and other fresh fruits, but then it is balanced by a very earthy brett and wild yeast. Tobacco, leather come to mind.

T - Starts off lightly malty, brown ale like with some crystal malts. The brett yeast comes in big time, very wild, very earthy - deep. The cherries and the sewetness come in later, bringing the beer back into balance. Finishes with a strong sour fruit flavor and just a hint of wood tannins.

M - Moderate body, strong carbonation. Very well built for a beer of this style. Let the yeast run. Finishes somewhat cloying and sweet, but right on the center of the tongue the brett yeast brings some bitter balance.

D - A very complex ale - I can only see drinking one of them. But the flavors are so unique that in itself is very drinkable. ABV will sneak up on you. Can be filling, but thats okay for a slow sipper like this one.

A very unique beer. I enjoyed every bit of it.

"We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success."

--Henry David Thoreau

Brownish russet red with orange accents along the edges of the glass. The golden beige colored crown started out looking good, but doesn't develop much visual character as it melts. Nor is it sticky enough to lay down more than a single sudsy necklace of lace. Pretty typical for a (partially in this case) barrel-aged beer.

Dark Kriek is 35% 'light, dry, tannic beer' aged two years in oak barrels, and 65% dark ale brewed with sour cherries. The aroma has a wonderful earthy cherry quality that is remiscent of the dried fruit. The darker malts aren't appreciated and the oak adds yet another layer of depth and complexity.

Sour cherries dominate the flavor profile. They taste 100% natural and the amount and quality of the fruit flavor is right on the money. Sweetness and sourness are both fairly prominent, balance one another nicely, and should please both the sweet lambic lovers and the tart lambic lovers... or neither if they're picky.

This Lips Of Faith brew does taste 'dark' in some indefinable way, although it's much more black cherry dark than roasted or chocolate malt dark. Horse blanket funkitude is minimal (if it's present at all), which makes me think that American wild ale is the wrong style. Finally, alcohol is buried exceptionally well.

It's difficult to tell what sort of mouthfeel beer like this should have. The one that has been provided is at least medium for the ABV, has a pleasant hang-on from the fruit sugars, and has nicely buried bubbles that give exactly the right amount of lift and creaminess. Well done.

Dark Kriek is the second delicious and drinkable Lips Of Faith beer to have entered my glass. New Belgium has done an admirable job of blending the two component beers, which is the secret to this fine ale's success. Here's hoping it isn't really retired.