The Cervigne
de Garde Brewing

Hazy garnet with a dense pinkish off-white head.

Spiced and charred krieky cherry-ness even exhibits a quality of luxardo while being met in the end by pie crust.

The flavor profile run deep via a fluffy carbonation that helps it go down so well despite an unflinching acidity.

Look - Nice blood red burgandy with a pinkish foamy head and sticky
Smell and Taste - really nice tart dark cherry
Feel - dry medium body and medium light carb
Overall- pretty fantastic!

This one pours a dark-ish purple color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells quite sour, with some vinegar, black cherry, red wine, and lemon.

There's some good aspects to this, but it's just overall too sour and aggressive. There's a touch of vinegary character, as well. The cherry seems to be the culprit here in these flavors. The Nordic cherry wine barrels are cool though, adding oak and vanilla, and some dried cherry character.

This is light bodied, and overly sour on the back end. It's not super drinkable overall.

I wanted to like this one more.

 

 

750ml corked & capped bottle - 2019 Vintage - poured into a tulip at 50°F. Bottle courtesy of Skeeter17 (thank you!)

Pours a brilliant glowing ruby gemstone red with impressive clarity, and topped with a tall, sudsy, short-lived pale pink head - receding to a thin pink collar. Plentiful visible effervescence.

Nose: Super jammy, almost festive holiday-like cherry explodes with big, bright, fruity notes. This isn't dark, dense black cherry, but bright, tart cherries lending a lot of ripe raspberry character as well. No cinnamon that I often get with Montmorency. Fleshy, sweet, and almost candied, like cherry lollipop. There's a sweet, dense, mead-like character, very saturated, and punctuated by some dry oak. A touch of hay, lemon, and farmhouse must, but mostly a blast of cherry.

Palate: The Cervigne greets the palate with some ripe, fleshy, sweet and sour cherry, followed by a fairly lactic-forward lemony sour zing. The fruit is saturated, but natural, with ripe flesh, and tannic skin, and a characteristic tartness. That amburana wood spice/cinnamon-like Montmorency note shows up, lending an exotic spice character. A strong stony minerality lends some shimmer, while subtle underlying wild notes of musty brett, wet hay, and subtle dusty funk remind you of its wild lineage. The fruit is definitely the star here, but it's well balanced. The cherry sweetness takes a steep dive, suddenly revealing this beautiful soft grain character as well as some buttery oak and vanilla, flowing into the finish with soft tannins, cinnamon, and a faint cherry candy note.

Mouthfeel/Body: For a 7% ABV wild ale, there's a lot of presence here. It's medium-bodied with a robust fullness and plush soft texture. Still incredibly crisp and fluid, but it feels substantial. The effervescence is plentiful, but incredibly fine - borderline fluffy, highlighting that softness. Tart, not puckering, and a dry finish with some oaky cling.

Overall: I generally don't enjoy cherry fruited ales, but The Cervigne seems to effortlessly capture the true-to-life character of these ripe sour cherries, with a delightfully subtle jammy element, and the unique spice notes of the Montmorency. I think perhaps the cherry wine barrels are adding some candied character, which I find to be the finishing touch here. Not terribly funky, but it's an exciting highlight of fruit while preserving rhe integrity of the base ale, and everything just comes together so seamlessly, it's difficult not to enjoy this one. A truly upper-tier Kriek-style ale.

 

Dark purple reddish body. Big cherry flavors, a deep bold cherry flesh with a slight bit of that sugary fruit sweetness, but balanced by tart cherry skin and lemon acidity, a bit of wood also. Medium body, substantial. Delicious!

 

 

 

deep ruby color. Nose is strong cherry and dG funk. Taste follows the nose, strong cherry, typical dG funk. Clean and crisp, good carb. Overall, excellent Kriek!

 

 

Very solid sour beer had on tap at other half in Brooklyn. Smell was the best part - Great sour taste as well. Good earthiness and clearly a well made brew.