Tripel Kriek
Pike Brewing Company

Pike took their Monk's Uncle Tripel, fermented it with Brettanomyces, and added 60 pounds of Bing cherries "per cask" (according to their website). Sixty pounds per cask sounds like a lot, unless Pike has some seriously big casks.

But the result is a tart and classy ale of sour cherry aroma and taste. The beer is somewhat undercarbonated and tends to draw thin in the mouth. It was aged in cabernet casks and likely recarbonated after conditioning. But it's perhaps the best beer of its kind in Seattle. (Not that I can think of another sour cherry beer brewed in Seattle. But if I could, it would have to work hard to beat this one.)

The Kriek is the color of apricot brandy with a splash of cranberry and looks dignified in the tulip glass Pike serves it in. The aroma is of classic brett fermentation with ripe cherries - ideally on target and greedily inhaled. Worthy of comparison to Cascade's kriek down in Portland - and that's a sound compliment.