Kriekenlambik
Brouwerij Girardin

Three drafts served in a Girardin mug at Het Goudblommeke/La Fleur En Papier Doré.

Looks like pure cherry essence, pulpy cherry juice, nearly opaque, deep crimson tone. Smattering of bubbles, no foam. This is what draft unblended kriekenlambik should look like, it’s absolutely bursting with cherries.

Aroma is fruity with a mild acidic back note, cherry skins and light cinnamon.

Tastes like cherry puree and aged lambic blended to perfection. Tart lemon acidity, tart cherry, tannin from the skins, and cinnamon almond from the pits. Medium bodied like a fruit smoothie, due to the high fruit content. Maybe it was the end of the bag-in-box, but the amount of fruit in this is off the charts.

Kriekenlambik is a historical style that is very rare these days, and this is a very fine example. Intentionally still and usually served on draft/cask/bag-in-box, it showcases the essence of the fruit. I'll be seeking this one out in the future. One of my favorite beers of the TDG '19 trip.

Bag in a box Lambic. Light pink bubbly head. Dark cherry red.

A definite crusher. Cherry, cherry pit, cinnamon spice. Lightly tart. Lighy acidic. Fairly flat.

By glass didn’t last long. This is delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from mini-cask at Dag van de Kriek in Eizeringen. Garnet colored, clear, small bubbles on the room so you know it's not cranberry juice. Gluwein-smelling, a bit of cinnamon amid the cherry, raspberry and woodsy smells. Acid and mild cherry are balanced in the attack, with some wheat and citrus zest. Bitter edge nicely works in just when it's time for the next sip. Mouthfeel is thin but you feel the acid. As it should be.

 

 

Cask at In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst, served in a Girardin goblet.

A: Clear bright berry red body with some coarse light pink bubbles on top. Looks like a Kriekenlambik.

S: Ripe cherry on top of some cidery raw lambic notes. Nothing crazy, but nothing bad, either.

T: Restrained, with some sweet cherry pulp up front, some oaky, cidery lambic funkiness in the middle, and more cherry on teh dry finish. Elegant and simple; the cherry is present throughout without dominating. Cool.

M: Soft, slightly sticky medium body. Ok.

O: I really enjoyed this, but had to agree with my drinking partner that it doesn't even begin to live up to the quality of a sour, well-aged Oude Kriek.

Cheers!

Pour is a blood red color with a faint pink head and creamy lacing. Nose is a light metallic twang with a bit of syrupy sweet cherry and not much else. The taste is fairly simple, a little cough syrup with a fair bit of sweet cherries. no tartness and a little artificial. light zesty yeast note underneath it all. light body, very creamy, low carb, and juicy in the back.

Bag in a box, we'll call it cask.

A: The pour is blood red with no carbonation. Nice clarity to it.

S: A really intense cherry aroma. Tons of cherry skin in addition to the flesh. Lemon zest and lactic tartness with a bit of grass and straw. Just an amazing amount of cherry, though.

T: The flavor is even better. It's just a little bit sweet with plenty of lactic tartness to balance that out. As with the nose, a prodigious amount of cherry flesh and skin flavor. Only a mild funk to it.

M: Medium bodied with no carbonation.

O: Awesome stuff. I could probably drink all 5 liters by myself.

Poured from a bag-in-a-box. I guess that counts as a cask. Who knows. Clear dark red, a hard pour left some large bubbles on the surface, but it's pretty much still.

Great cherry pie aroma. Little bit of sweetness, nice acidity, a little lemon and cider. It shows some funk at first, but that gives way to fruit after a while.

Mildly sour, just enough to provide a little pucker. This is quite a bit better than the bottled Girardin Kriek I had, which had little sourness or funk to it. A mild sweetness appears toward the finish, along with a subtle note of malt. Little bit of apple cider, moderate lactic sourness. Finishes oaky, tannic, bit of spiciness from the wood. Carbonation is non-existent, which only aids in the ridiculous drinkability of this beer.

I had this on cask at Bier Circus, with dinner on my first night of a business trip to Europe.

This was dark brownish red, with a tan (not pink) foam comprised of large bubbles. Strange to see these bubbles as the beer is essentially flat. I had some Girardin Oude Lambic on cask directly before this and it had zero head (being similarly still).

The aroma was sweet cherries, very inviting and a nice match for the young lambic. A little funk behind that but really the cherries dominate on this one. It tastes delicious, but not as sweet as I'd inferred from the aroma. A light tart bite is the first sensation, followed by a strong and lingering cherry flavor. Not overly sour, very little lactic character.

Completely still, no carbonation, I am so floored by the chance to get this. And only 2.5 euros. Belgium has a good thing going, and it seems most people don't even know about it.