Girardin Kriek 1882 | Brouwerij Girardin
Brewed by:
Brouwerij Girardin
Belgium
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.00%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by rastaman on 09-28-2002
Reviews: 57 | Ratings: 122
3.98/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Pours a saturated ruby red color with a pinkish, stable head.
Has aromas of sweet, jammy cherries with a jogurt tartness to it, also featuring a dusty stone pit quality.
Offers a soft, sprizzy mouthfeel, revealing a subtle stone minerality among its refreshing tartness.
Tastes of an aqueous softness, cherry stone pits and unripe cherry pulp, together with a bright acidity. Leafy, old hops add to the tartness with a subtle dryness, creating an intriguing interplay with fruity, sweeter turning cherries. Finishes utmost soft on the tongue with a refreshing, bubbly carbonation and matured, ripe cherries, revealing a cherry skin quality.
Very well put together with a refreshing sparkly aspect, revealing an astonishing cherry complexity, which finishes almost with an overripe, fermented sweetness.
★ 808 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Pours a saturated ruby red color with a pinkish, stable head.
Has aromas of sweet, jammy cherries with a jogurt tartness to it, also featuring a dusty stone pit quality.
Offers a soft, sprizzy mouthfeel, revealing a subtle stone minerality among its refreshing tartness.
Tastes of an aqueous softness, cherry stone pits and unripe cherry pulp, together with a bright acidity. Leafy, old hops add to the tartness with a subtle dryness, creating an intriguing interplay with fruity, sweeter turning cherries. Finishes utmost soft on the tongue with a refreshing, bubbly carbonation and matured, ripe cherries, revealing a cherry skin quality.
Very well put together with a refreshing sparkly aspect, revealing an astonishing cherry complexity, which finishes almost with an overripe, fermented sweetness.
★ 808 characters
4/5 rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Very ammoniacal. Otherwise sour, tart and dry with a nice cherry finish. Nice and earthy. The ammonia dissipates some way down the glass. Certainly one of the better lambics I've had.
★ 183 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Very ammoniacal. Otherwise sour, tart and dry with a nice cherry finish. Nice and earthy. The ammonia dissipates some way down the glass. Certainly one of the better lambics I've had.
★ 183 characters
3.92/5 rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a raspberry hue with a fluffy light pink head. Nose expresses slightly medicinal cherries somewhat akin to Sucrets; however, more cherry is evident. Taste consistent with nose with the addition of a slight buttery quality, although not akin to diacetyl. Mouthfeel is light in body with a lively carbonation and a slight astringency. Overall, a decent kriek - not my favorite offering from this brewer but quite drinkable.
★ 431 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a raspberry hue with a fluffy light pink head. Nose expresses slightly medicinal cherries somewhat akin to Sucrets; however, more cherry is evident. Taste consistent with nose with the addition of a slight buttery quality, although not akin to diacetyl. Mouthfeel is light in body with a lively carbonation and a slight astringency. Overall, a decent kriek - not my favorite offering from this brewer but quite drinkable.
★ 431 characters
4.13/5 rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Murky ruby under pink web. 4.5
Dirty nose: barnyard and cherry stone. 4
Fruity front, sugar hit, balsamic undertones, slight earth, and lingering tang. 4.25
Fizzy, almost medium, some cling. 4
Tastes a lot smoother than it smells. Cherry wacks the funk but still characterful. But not the Brett fest of 1882. 4
★ 311 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Murky ruby under pink web. 4.5
Dirty nose: barnyard and cherry stone. 4
Fruity front, sugar hit, balsamic undertones, slight earth, and lingering tang. 4.25
Fizzy, almost medium, some cling. 4
Tastes a lot smoother than it smells. Cherry wacks the funk but still characterful. But not the Brett fest of 1882. 4
★ 311 characters
3.75/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Picked this up with a lot of other lambics while passing through Belgium last week. Pours a deep red with a small white head, medium retention. Cherry comes through on the nose, but mostly funk. Really surprised how much funk compared to the framboise which had almost none. Would be a 4 for aroma, but some of that funk is a bit off-putting. Flavor is somewhere in between sour and sweet lambics. Not particularly nuanced, but has good cherry and is refreshing and quite drinkable. Not great, but much better than the framboise.
★ 531 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Picked this up with a lot of other lambics while passing through Belgium last week. Pours a deep red with a small white head, medium retention. Cherry comes through on the nose, but mostly funk. Really surprised how much funk compared to the framboise which had almost none. Would be a 4 for aroma, but some of that funk is a bit off-putting. Flavor is somewhere in between sour and sweet lambics. Not particularly nuanced, but has good cherry and is refreshing and quite drinkable. Not great, but much better than the framboise.
★ 531 characters
3.6/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Ruby color with pinkish head. Aroma has mostly fermented cherries, not much funk. Taste is really "flat", not sour but also not sweet. Finish has some nice cherry and cherry pit notes. Not bad but it lacks some highlights.
★ 222 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Ruby color with pinkish head. Aroma has mostly fermented cherries, not much funk. Taste is really "flat", not sour but also not sweet. Finish has some nice cherry and cherry pit notes. Not bad but it lacks some highlights.
★ 222 characters
3.78/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
very interesting kriek here, quite a lot sweeter than anticipated, especially considering the sourness and maturity of their lambics. the cherry in this is super sweet, a little medicinal at times, and a little generic fruity as well, but once i get past my initial expectations, i start to like it a lot more. i think we as kriek drinkers have a tendency to associate the sweet ones as lower quality or cheap, and the more sour ones as the best ones, but i dont think thats always true, and this is a good example of that. while i do think it would benefit from a higher degree of acidity, i like the way the funk is allowed to be so prominent in its absence. really farmy and almost stinky, musty and old it seems, yeasty in a different way for the style. the fruit is good, but its not fresh cherry to me, almost like cherry jello or something. long long finish, fine carbonation and a rather fuller body for the style. tasty beer, happy to have shared it with drlovemd87, but unlike their gueuze, i wouldnt put this in the upper echelon of the style.
★ 1,054 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
very interesting kriek here, quite a lot sweeter than anticipated, especially considering the sourness and maturity of their lambics. the cherry in this is super sweet, a little medicinal at times, and a little generic fruity as well, but once i get past my initial expectations, i start to like it a lot more. i think we as kriek drinkers have a tendency to associate the sweet ones as lower quality or cheap, and the more sour ones as the best ones, but i dont think thats always true, and this is a good example of that. while i do think it would benefit from a higher degree of acidity, i like the way the funk is allowed to be so prominent in its absence. really farmy and almost stinky, musty and old it seems, yeasty in a different way for the style. the fruit is good, but its not fresh cherry to me, almost like cherry jello or something. long long finish, fine carbonation and a rather fuller body for the style. tasty beer, happy to have shared it with drlovemd87, but unlike their gueuze, i wouldnt put this in the upper echelon of the style.
★ 1,054 characters
4.3/5 rDev +17.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
This is nearly 4 years in the cellar.
A: It pours hazy red with a slight brown tint under a thin, fizzy white head.
S: Has a tart nose with cherry, lemon, and ripe fruit backed by faint wet horse blanket.
T: Big cherry palate with tart lemon, light barnyard, vanilla, no hops or smoke falvors.
F: Super creamy with super fine carbonation, light, refreshing.
O: After 4 years in the cellar the beer has developed a very fine texture giving the sensation of drinking a fine, soft cherry lemon foam with a bit of funk. The texture more than makes up for the slightly faded cherry flavors.
★ 590 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
This is nearly 4 years in the cellar.
A: It pours hazy red with a slight brown tint under a thin, fizzy white head.
S: Has a tart nose with cherry, lemon, and ripe fruit backed by faint wet horse blanket.
T: Big cherry palate with tart lemon, light barnyard, vanilla, no hops or smoke falvors.
F: Super creamy with super fine carbonation, light, refreshing.
O: After 4 years in the cellar the beer has developed a very fine texture giving the sensation of drinking a fine, soft cherry lemon foam with a bit of funk. The texture more than makes up for the slightly faded cherry flavors.
★ 590 characters
2.23/5 rDev -39.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.25
2013 vintage. 375ml corked and caged bottle into Hill Farmstead stemware. Shared with schen9303.
Pours a foamy 1 finger white head with moderate retention. Beer is a clear dark red. Lacing is spotty, stringy and sparse with ok stick. Average.
Nose is candied cherry and artificial sugar. A bit of oak hides in the background. I don't like hints of artificial sweetner in my lambic.
Opens cherry meat and pit. Sweet and juicy in the middle with bitter cherry skin at the end. Some foam and yeasty bitterness also. Pretty terrible.
Light bodied with low carbonation. Slick and smooth in the mouth and dry going down. Finishes mellow with a barely there aftertaste. Decent.
Some lambic wants to be traditional and other lambic wants to be sweetened... that's all fine and good except that Girardin kriek seems to want to straddle the line and does neither well. Its too sweet, not at all funky but with a rotting wood bitterness that just doesn't work. Hard pass on this one.
★ 979 characters
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.25
2013 vintage. 375ml corked and caged bottle into Hill Farmstead stemware. Shared with schen9303.
Pours a foamy 1 finger white head with moderate retention. Beer is a clear dark red. Lacing is spotty, stringy and sparse with ok stick. Average.
Nose is candied cherry and artificial sugar. A bit of oak hides in the background. I don't like hints of artificial sweetner in my lambic.
Opens cherry meat and pit. Sweet and juicy in the middle with bitter cherry skin at the end. Some foam and yeasty bitterness also. Pretty terrible.
Light bodied with low carbonation. Slick and smooth in the mouth and dry going down. Finishes mellow with a barely there aftertaste. Decent.
Some lambic wants to be traditional and other lambic wants to be sweetened... that's all fine and good except that Girardin kriek seems to want to straddle the line and does neither well. Its too sweet, not at all funky but with a rotting wood bitterness that just doesn't work. Hard pass on this one.
★ 979 characters
4.01/5 rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured from the bottle into a stemless wine glass. Mild pop off the cork. From notes.
Scarlet red body, with a bit of cloudy opaque character but not hazy. Brown to light tan head with a clean appearance. Some interesting spotty leg wet like lacing as well.
Interesting kriek aroma. Mild cherry like notes with some pepper tartness. Mild acetic notes and hints of menthol mint as well, with funky quality sort of dominating.
Palate hints more towards cherry cough drop candy a bit on first sip. A real nice herbal tea like quality on the mid palate, which gets stronger on the aftertaste. Solid tartness bringing a bit of pepper and mild red wine like vinegar quality too, but a thin body slightly becomes distracting.
A unique tasting kriek though and one I would have again and can enjoy.
★ 801 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured from the bottle into a stemless wine glass. Mild pop off the cork. From notes.
Scarlet red body, with a bit of cloudy opaque character but not hazy. Brown to light tan head with a clean appearance. Some interesting spotty leg wet like lacing as well.
Interesting kriek aroma. Mild cherry like notes with some pepper tartness. Mild acetic notes and hints of menthol mint as well, with funky quality sort of dominating.
Palate hints more towards cherry cough drop candy a bit on first sip. A real nice herbal tea like quality on the mid palate, which gets stronger on the aftertaste. Solid tartness bringing a bit of pepper and mild red wine like vinegar quality too, but a thin body slightly becomes distracting.
A unique tasting kriek though and one I would have again and can enjoy.
★ 801 characters
4.02/5 rDev +9.8%
I brought this bottle back from Brussels, shared with Alex enjoyed from a tumbler chilled, review from notes.
The color is deep red with pink head and fine bead. The smell has a slight stone fruit intensity with mild medicinal phenolic with fruity so cherry it almost seems artificial. The feel has moderately carbonated and medium body with moderate sourness and juicy tangy essence.
The taste is excellent with juicy cherry and gentle sour flavor with mild sweet flavor in the finish with a cherry pie type sweet/sour juxtoposition. I consider this an above average kriek, not the best I enjoyed from Belgium but very good in its own right.
★ 646 characters
I brought this bottle back from Brussels, shared with Alex enjoyed from a tumbler chilled, review from notes.
The color is deep red with pink head and fine bead. The smell has a slight stone fruit intensity with mild medicinal phenolic with fruity so cherry it almost seems artificial. The feel has moderately carbonated and medium body with moderate sourness and juicy tangy essence.
The taste is excellent with juicy cherry and gentle sour flavor with mild sweet flavor in the finish with a cherry pie type sweet/sour juxtoposition. I consider this an above average kriek, not the best I enjoyed from Belgium but very good in its own right.
★ 646 characters
3.7/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 3.5
Purchased in Belgium on my last trip there with PurpleCloud.
Nice rose color. Poured with decent head that eventually dissipated. This was a good kriek but I was expecting more tartness in the body and finish. Definitely not cloying and tons of cherry taste but needed a bit more 'snap' for my taste.
★ 301 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 3.5
Purchased in Belgium on my last trip there with PurpleCloud.
Nice rose color. Poured with decent head that eventually dissipated. This was a good kriek but I was expecting more tartness in the body and finish. Definitely not cloying and tons of cherry taste but needed a bit more 'snap' for my taste.
★ 301 characters
3.73/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Hazy pinkish-red colour, ring of pink-white head, light lace as well. Smell is lots like cherry juice at first, some sugar coated cherry sweetness, underlying musty notes, funky with some cheese like qualties, lactic notes as well. Taste is a mix of sweet and sour cherry, lots of fruit comes across, starts off with sweet cherry before acidity and tart fruits come in and add some drying points to keep this from going off the rails in terms of sweetness. Medium spritzy carbonation, medium body. Overall this is quite nice but a bit too sweet to be in the realm of top tier fruit lambic, still something I could have several glasses of throught the course of a day.
★ 667 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Hazy pinkish-red colour, ring of pink-white head, light lace as well. Smell is lots like cherry juice at first, some sugar coated cherry sweetness, underlying musty notes, funky with some cheese like qualties, lactic notes as well. Taste is a mix of sweet and sour cherry, lots of fruit comes across, starts off with sweet cherry before acidity and tart fruits come in and add some drying points to keep this from going off the rails in terms of sweetness. Medium spritzy carbonation, medium body. Overall this is quite nice but a bit too sweet to be in the realm of top tier fruit lambic, still something I could have several glasses of throught the course of a day.
★ 667 characters
3.69/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Girardin Kriek 1882 has a clear, ruby complexion that looks like just like cranberry juice, or would save for the pink-tinted froth. All beers should be poured into a glass - ideally the appropriate sized and shaped one - but it'd be especially a shame to drink a Kriek right out of the bottle.
The aroma is sweet and reminiscent of a cherry liqueur (the 'Nalewka Babuni' my Polish grandmother drinks). It smells like it was heated and then mulled with spices - sounds pleasant on Christmas morning but not when wishing to drink real lambic in the Grand Place.
The taste continues to remind me of Christmas owing to its strong marzipan flavour. The sweet, candied cherries and almond confectionery notes are classic holiday flavours (and perfect pairings for the aforementioned cherry brandy). It's dry enough but has no 'funk'.
This Kriek desperately lacks the style's trademark tartness. To its credit, it found a compromising middle-ground between high sweetness and convincingly natural cherry flavour. Still, this kind of thing shouldn't even be considered when talking about an authentic Belgian Kriek.
I like Girardin Kriek 1882 but can't in all honesty say very many good things about it. It is absolutely pleasant to drink and will be downright bewitching to unfamiliar mainstream drinkers, but it leaves plenty to be desired for those who've acquired the taste for real Lambic.
★ 1,393 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Girardin Kriek 1882 has a clear, ruby complexion that looks like just like cranberry juice, or would save for the pink-tinted froth. All beers should be poured into a glass - ideally the appropriate sized and shaped one - but it'd be especially a shame to drink a Kriek right out of the bottle.
The aroma is sweet and reminiscent of a cherry liqueur (the 'Nalewka Babuni' my Polish grandmother drinks). It smells like it was heated and then mulled with spices - sounds pleasant on Christmas morning but not when wishing to drink real lambic in the Grand Place.
The taste continues to remind me of Christmas owing to its strong marzipan flavour. The sweet, candied cherries and almond confectionery notes are classic holiday flavours (and perfect pairings for the aforementioned cherry brandy). It's dry enough but has no 'funk'.
This Kriek desperately lacks the style's trademark tartness. To its credit, it found a compromising middle-ground between high sweetness and convincingly natural cherry flavour. Still, this kind of thing shouldn't even be considered when talking about an authentic Belgian Kriek.
I like Girardin Kriek 1882 but can't in all honesty say very many good things about it. It is absolutely pleasant to drink and will be downright bewitching to unfamiliar mainstream drinkers, but it leaves plenty to be desired for those who've acquired the taste for real Lambic.
★ 1,393 characters
3.63/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
375ml bottle served in a wine glass.
Enjoyed in Treviso-IT. Bottle expiration: End of 2013.
A: Pours a dark red (cherry) color forming a big and fizzy rose head. Soapy and bubbled. Good retention and lots of lingering lacings formed and left in the glass
S: Sweet and fruity. Cherry juice, a bit sour and syrupy. Mild Lambic style yeasts
T: Slightly sweet upfront. Strong notes of cherries. Mild sourness, a bit vinegar. A bit syrupy too. Notes of sweet malts and wood. End is light bitter
M: Light body and good carbonation. Cherry, light sourness and bitterness in the aftertaste
O: Quite smooth and easydrinking. I was expecting a much more sour beer. Perhaps a little bit too sweet and and syrupy than I was expecting too but still a nice Kriek
★ 755 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
375ml bottle served in a wine glass.
Enjoyed in Treviso-IT. Bottle expiration: End of 2013.
A: Pours a dark red (cherry) color forming a big and fizzy rose head. Soapy and bubbled. Good retention and lots of lingering lacings formed and left in the glass
S: Sweet and fruity. Cherry juice, a bit sour and syrupy. Mild Lambic style yeasts
T: Slightly sweet upfront. Strong notes of cherries. Mild sourness, a bit vinegar. A bit syrupy too. Notes of sweet malts and wood. End is light bitter
M: Light body and good carbonation. Cherry, light sourness and bitterness in the aftertaste
O: Quite smooth and easydrinking. I was expecting a much more sour beer. Perhaps a little bit too sweet and and syrupy than I was expecting too but still a nice Kriek
★ 755 characters
2.63/5 rDev -28.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
2012 bottle.
Pours a bright dark pink/light red color with a big pink head that leaves a decent amount of lacing on the glass.
Aromas begin super sweet and cherry forward. Really juicy and almost medicinal with some lesser lactic notes, mild acetic acid and little-to-no funkiness.
The tastes begin super super sweet and cherry forward as the aromas were leading on. The flavor is almsot unpalateable because of the sweetness and medicinal cherry flavors which dominate this brew. This brew is just like barley carbonated light aritficial cherry juice.
Mouthfeel is light bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. Finish is super sweet, almost cloying and weighs on the palate.
Overall this bottle is way way too young and needs like 3 years probably for the sweetness mellow with the lambic yeasts to possibly develop into a palatable beer. I am normally not a fan of Krieks but I can appreciate a good one, and everyone else in attendance agreed, this is not in a good state currently, unless you like cherry juice.
★ 1,024 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
2012 bottle.
Pours a bright dark pink/light red color with a big pink head that leaves a decent amount of lacing on the glass.
Aromas begin super sweet and cherry forward. Really juicy and almost medicinal with some lesser lactic notes, mild acetic acid and little-to-no funkiness.
The tastes begin super super sweet and cherry forward as the aromas were leading on. The flavor is almsot unpalateable because of the sweetness and medicinal cherry flavors which dominate this brew. This brew is just like barley carbonated light aritficial cherry juice.
Mouthfeel is light bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. Finish is super sweet, almost cloying and weighs on the palate.
Overall this bottle is way way too young and needs like 3 years probably for the sweetness mellow with the lambic yeasts to possibly develop into a palatable beer. I am normally not a fan of Krieks but I can appreciate a good one, and everyone else in attendance agreed, this is not in a good state currently, unless you like cherry juice.
★ 1,024 characters
3.68/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Red in color with a white-pink head. Nice cherry aroma, lots of cherry skin, a bit of cherry pie and spice notes. Oak, moderate tartness, and a light but musty funkiness. The flavor is only lightly tart and not as funky as the gueuze. Plenty of cherry pie and cherry skin. Some grass and musty funk. Not bad, but the gueuze or Kriekenlambik are both better.
★ 357 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Red in color with a white-pink head. Nice cherry aroma, lots of cherry skin, a bit of cherry pie and spice notes. Oak, moderate tartness, and a light but musty funkiness. The flavor is only lightly tart and not as funky as the gueuze. Plenty of cherry pie and cherry skin. Some grass and musty funk. Not bad, but the gueuze or Kriekenlambik are both better.
★ 357 characters
3.55/5 rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Served via bottle into goblet @ Bier Circus (Brussels, Belgium) on 7/5/12.
Pours a clear rose in the glass, topped with a finger of pink colored head. This retains with more of a fizzy look, leaving back foamy swathes of lacing that stick. The aroma smells of fresh cherries and backing sugars. Some souring funk mixes in as well and picks up some steam as this warms.
The taste is fresh tart cherries, with a souring edge to the profile that is evened by some sugary sweetness in the background. This is dry and funky on the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and lively feeling on the tongue, with a firm and crisp feeling creaminess that fills up the back of the palate.
This was solid Kriek, with some nice cherry flavor and a well balanced tartness to it that never got to be too much. I just wish that it could have wowed me a little more.
★ 855 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Served via bottle into goblet @ Bier Circus (Brussels, Belgium) on 7/5/12.
Pours a clear rose in the glass, topped with a finger of pink colored head. This retains with more of a fizzy look, leaving back foamy swathes of lacing that stick. The aroma smells of fresh cherries and backing sugars. Some souring funk mixes in as well and picks up some steam as this warms.
The taste is fresh tart cherries, with a souring edge to the profile that is evened by some sugary sweetness in the background. This is dry and funky on the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and lively feeling on the tongue, with a firm and crisp feeling creaminess that fills up the back of the palate.
This was solid Kriek, with some nice cherry flavor and a well balanced tartness to it that never got to be too much. I just wish that it could have wowed me a little more.
★ 855 characters
4.42/5 rDev +20.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
375ml bottle poured into a mug. Enjoyed during the London Drinker festival as a refreshing break from all the real ales.
A: Clear cherry-red body under a finger of fine pink head. Decent retention, nice patchy lace. Attractive.
S: Rich cherry dominates, accented by some cheesy and grassy funk. Very smooth, solidly sour, and frankly terrific.
T: Follows the nose precisely: fruit dominates pleasantly with enough sourness and funk present to keep it crisp, refreshing, and interesting. Excellent Kriek.
M: Frothy, light, lively. Fun.
O: What a great little Lambic! I was shocked to see how low its overall score is on here, as I thought this was every bit as good as the Krieks I've had from heavier hitters; in fact, I'd be hard pressed to say whether I preferred this or the Lou Pepe Kriek I enjoyed just the night before. Amazing beer.
Cheers!
★ 853 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
375ml bottle poured into a mug. Enjoyed during the London Drinker festival as a refreshing break from all the real ales.
A: Clear cherry-red body under a finger of fine pink head. Decent retention, nice patchy lace. Attractive.
S: Rich cherry dominates, accented by some cheesy and grassy funk. Very smooth, solidly sour, and frankly terrific.
T: Follows the nose precisely: fruit dominates pleasantly with enough sourness and funk present to keep it crisp, refreshing, and interesting. Excellent Kriek.
M: Frothy, light, lively. Fun.
O: What a great little Lambic! I was shocked to see how low its overall score is on here, as I thought this was every bit as good as the Krieks I've had from heavier hitters; in fact, I'd be hard pressed to say whether I preferred this or the Lou Pepe Kriek I enjoyed just the night before. Amazing beer.
Cheers!
★ 853 characters
3.5/5 rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a dark mahogany red with notes of purple and a fluffy light pink head. The nose has a light musk, lots of sweet cherry with a faint sourness and maybe a touch of citrus. The taste is lightly musky, again very sweet. light hop presence and fairly sour. Light body with a little syrupy feel to it and a high carbonation with a semi dry finish.
★ 347 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a dark mahogany red with notes of purple and a fluffy light pink head. The nose has a light musk, lots of sweet cherry with a faint sourness and maybe a touch of citrus. The taste is lightly musky, again very sweet. light hop presence and fairly sour. Light body with a little syrupy feel to it and a high carbonation with a semi dry finish.
★ 347 characters
3.78/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
This Kriek poured a clear, very red color with creamy, pink foam that persisted and clung to the glass lightly. The smell was cherries, lightly sweet, and mild overall. The taste was cherry and a tad too sweet overall for me. The mouthfeel was creamy and syrupy with medium body and good carbonation. This was OK but seemed sweeter than when I have had it from a bottle.
★ 370 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
This Kriek poured a clear, very red color with creamy, pink foam that persisted and clung to the glass lightly. The smell was cherries, lightly sweet, and mild overall. The taste was cherry and a tad too sweet overall for me. The mouthfeel was creamy and syrupy with medium body and good carbonation. This was OK but seemed sweeter than when I have had it from a bottle.
★ 370 characters
3.18/5 rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Inflatablechair provided this one at a tasting recently.... Very cool Sammy!!
Pours with a pinkish head atop a cloudy red brew.
Nose is sweet cherry.... sorta doughy... something that I identify as smelling like cinnamon.... smells sweet... only mild funk.
Flavor mirrors the nose... again, only hints of funk... the cherry reminds of cherry sucrets... pretty sweet..
Medium body with a medium carbonation... too thick and not enough carbonation IMO.
4/3.5/3/3/3
★ 468 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Inflatablechair provided this one at a tasting recently.... Very cool Sammy!!
Pours with a pinkish head atop a cloudy red brew.
Nose is sweet cherry.... sorta doughy... something that I identify as smelling like cinnamon.... smells sweet... only mild funk.
Flavor mirrors the nose... again, only hints of funk... the cherry reminds of cherry sucrets... pretty sweet..
Medium body with a medium carbonation... too thick and not enough carbonation IMO.
4/3.5/3/3/3
★ 468 characters
3.33/5 rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
bottled very early 2011, most likely january.
pour is a dark ruby. fluffy pinkish head. nice retention.
light ripe cherry pie. some old musty basement with light oak. hints of tartness.
some cherry deep within the flavor but for a 2011, kind of weak. sweetness through out. maybe a hint of oak. overall, weak.
moderate to mild carbonation. a very faint dryness.
not something i will ever get again. oddly enough, their gueuze is just amazing.
★ 448 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
bottled very early 2011, most likely january.
pour is a dark ruby. fluffy pinkish head. nice retention.
light ripe cherry pie. some old musty basement with light oak. hints of tartness.
some cherry deep within the flavor but for a 2011, kind of weak. sweetness through out. maybe a hint of oak. overall, weak.
moderate to mild carbonation. a very faint dryness.
not something i will ever get again. oddly enough, their gueuze is just amazing.
★ 448 characters
3.14/5 rDev -14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
A: Pours a beautiful, translucent, dark magenta. Large foamy pink head exhibits excellent retention and leaves layers of lacing. I'm hesitant to give this a 5 because I'm not 100% sure that this is really normal for the style.
S: Super sweet, medicinal cherry aroma with an underlying almost plastic-y funkiness. In other words, the good smells are there, but they're tainted in a (bad) way.
T: Balanced sweetness/dryness. Muted cherry flavor. It might just be me, but the aged hops really seem pronounced. Then again, the whole thing has a faint stale taste to it that just isn't really pleasant.
M: Medium-bodied, though it feels a little weak around the edges. Decent crispness from the carbonation. A little sticky on the finish.
O: Disappointing. I was told this wasn't a fantastic kriek, but I assumed this was because it didn't have enough flavor or something. Instead, the flavors are a little off, which puts a damper on the whole experience. A step up from the mass-produced Belle Vues and 10x more authentic, but still falls short of being a solid beer. I got it because it was only 6 euros for a 75cl. bottle here in France, but I'd advise everyone in the States not to waste their money.
★ 1,204 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
A: Pours a beautiful, translucent, dark magenta. Large foamy pink head exhibits excellent retention and leaves layers of lacing. I'm hesitant to give this a 5 because I'm not 100% sure that this is really normal for the style.
S: Super sweet, medicinal cherry aroma with an underlying almost plastic-y funkiness. In other words, the good smells are there, but they're tainted in a (bad) way.
T: Balanced sweetness/dryness. Muted cherry flavor. It might just be me, but the aged hops really seem pronounced. Then again, the whole thing has a faint stale taste to it that just isn't really pleasant.
M: Medium-bodied, though it feels a little weak around the edges. Decent crispness from the carbonation. A little sticky on the finish.
O: Disappointing. I was told this wasn't a fantastic kriek, but I assumed this was because it didn't have enough flavor or something. Instead, the flavors are a little off, which puts a damper on the whole experience. A step up from the mass-produced Belle Vues and 10x more authentic, but still falls short of being a solid beer. I got it because it was only 6 euros for a 75cl. bottle here in France, but I'd advise everyone in the States not to waste their money.
★ 1,204 characters
Girardin Kriek 1882 from Brouwerij Girardin
3.66
out of 5
based on 122 ratings.
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
375ml bottle (2015 vintage I believe) poured into a matching Girardin tumbler appears ruby red in color with a pink stained head.
Aroma contains a solid amount of natural cherry character smelling minorly medicinal akin to luden cherry cough drops. Slight mineral character also present.
The taste of this is kind of like if you took a bunch of cherries directly from a tree, juiced them and then extracted all the sugar leaving just a sense of what the cherry pits and skin taste like without any sweetness. It is very natural feeling but lacks complexity. There is a bit of mineral/seltzer water feel to this along with a base beer that is very boring in comparison to unfruited girardin lambic. Minimal funk/sourness just a basic lactic tartness with earthen minerals and slight herbal bitterness.
This is medium to lighter in body with modest carbonation. A great cherry flavor that is watered down with a carbonic bite. Pretty effortless to drink a bunch of this but for the cost I would much rather have their black label geuze.
★ 1,037 characters