Monk's Cafe Cuvee Kriek
Brasserie Cantillon

On cask at Monk's the other day, served in fluted pilsener-like glass

A: Pours a completely still deep cherry red. Decent clarity, no head.

S: Awesome combination of funk, wet leather, barnyard, dried sour cherries and some acidity

T: As with the nose, this beer is pretty sour up front with a sharp funk. Acidic, musty and mild cherry flavor

M: The way this beer feels on the palate is awesome. Soft with low carbonation and an sour, dry finish

D: My stomach was hurting from a funky cider I drank right before but this still went down quite easily. Would love to give it another go

 

 

 

 

 

2009 rate.

Hand pump at Monks cafe. Beautiful look; a rich, deep crimson with a whimsical fluffy snow-white head. I took a few notable things away from this. First, the lack of carbonation, which normally bothers me but actually created a nice, soft feel, probably due to the hand cask. Next, there was a relatively low acidity level, allowing the fruit to shine in a well put-together, nuanced package. Subtle and refreshing, but not mind blowing. Succeeds greatly in its pillow-soft feel and subtle nuance.

6 glasses consumed over a week at Monk's... I'm greedy.

A: Deep blood red. The clarity varied between the glasses that I had. Earlier glasses had some clarity, but they became increasingly less transparent. Very thin pinkish skim. Quickly recedes, minimal lacing.

S: Dank sour cherries and a bit of funky oak. Nowhere near as complex as what was to come...

T: Amazingly cherries, bold tartness, sharp acidity, and a nice little puckering. Also present is a dash of citric notes, funk, leather, and oak. Very assertive, but not overwhelming.

M: Low, but not non-existent carbonation. Velvety on the tongue. Medium-light bodied. Immensely refreshing. Wish I had a cask of it in my house to pour myself 4 oz before heading to work every morning.

D: The different Cantillon krieks serve different purposes. The regular is mind melting sour, the lou pepe is bright and juicy, and this, like the Cuvee Moeder kriek, is packed with complexity. Sad that this one might not be around for a while.

Had it on hand pump at monks cafe.

Description from Monk's:
YUMMY! This is poured through our beer engine. I was at Cantillon to blend a new Kriek for Monk's Café in September 2008. I tasted 8 barrels of kriek. When I tasted this particular barrel, I thought "why blend perfection". This one had a very bright sour cherry taste. So Jean did a light filtration and put it straight into the kegs. No sugar added, no blending. That means no carbonation - that's why it comes through the beer engine. Tasting this is like having a barrel sample at the Cantillon brewery.

Appearance: a beautiful opaque crimson red with amber hues. This was a bit darker and cloudier than the standard Cantillon Kriek.

Smell: sour cherries and citrus dominate the nose. There is a bit of funk, but it is very reserved for a lambic. The amount of dry tart cherry aromas is very strong.

Taste: Pure lactic attack with ample tart cherries. Amazingly clean flavor for the style. Extremely refreshing and drying on the palate. This lambic is intensely sour, but balanced perfectly with a broad range of fruit flavors. Very complex for the amount of lactic intensity. A subtle amount of oak and leather are present as well. The best Kriek I have had to this point.

Mouthfeel: As described, a very low level of carbonation is present. However, the time in the cask seems to have allowed some carbonation to develop. The body of the beer is quite light and extremely palatable. A much different feel than a bottle conditioned lambic. However, I think I prefer kriek served on cask this way.

Drinkability: I easily finished two during a quick stop at monk's. If I didn't have to drive I would've had a few more. The funk on this specific kriek is very reserved which makes it very drinkable. It seems like the time in cask allowed the beer to mellow as well.

First had: cask-conditioned at Monk's, Philly, PA

Review from notes, as I had this back in about 2008 or 2009. I don't really buy into the Cantillon hype, but this is probably the best of all the ones I've had from them, including the 100% Kriek and Lou Pepe.

Bore a deep, reddish brown color, with a tiny reddish-white ringlet that dissipated pretty quickly leaving nothing behind. Very low carbonation (almost flat?). Aroma of dry, earthy spice, and copious sour cherries. Sour cherry punch in the taste, some funk, fruity sweetness coming in mid-palate, and some notes of booze-soaked wood and leather also noticeable. Medium-thick body. Syrupy, yet sharp and crisp, especially in the finish. Very tasty and drinkable, pleasantly sour, maybe a little too low in carbonation, but that didn't seem to affect it too negatively.

Lucky day on my first visit to Monk's! Reviewed from notes.

Appearance: Pour is a deep, bright, ruby red without head or lacing.

Smell: Funky, tart cherry, with lots of french oak. Also some wet leather, hay, and barnyard.

Taste: Similar, some funk, lots of tart cherry, french oak (and vanilla); sour and astringent.

Mouthfeel: Thicker than I expected; near flat (and I loved it).

Drinkability: Goes down smoothly and quickly, I wish I could get this one again. My only regret is not ordering another.

Man what can I say?

Had it on cask at Monks Cafe, and this is perfect. Beautiful to look at, great nose, sour and lactic. Great mouthfeel, almost no carbonation, complex and thought-provoking. Served in a thick cut glass. Easiest beer to forget your world as you contemplate one after another...

Pours red, no head at all.

Nose has a bit of sour cherry in it, mildly sharp, astringent.

Taste is kind of mellow and astringent at the same time if that makes sense. The sourness isn't crazy and out there, it's more that it's working to drive the flavor behind the scenes. But then the cherry is behind the scenes too, so I'm not sure what exactly is in front of the scenes. What cherry there is shows itself almost as cherry skins, crisp but without too much bite. Not a whole lot of straight funk, but I do pick up a light acidity.

Mouthfeel is very lightly carbonated, almost silky. Pretty drinkable, unapologetically Cantillon. Seems to pair well with the Monk's geueze.

I'm guessing this was off a cask since everyone else put it down as such. I ordered it from the front bar, so I didn't see where it came from.

Pours red. I might expect it to be Lindemans if I didn't know. Real antiseptic nose. Flavor is funky yes, and mildly cherry. Oddly mild really. I would expect a bit more cherry. Feel is that thicker liquid feel. Carbonation is decent. This is really easy to drink. I would consider this the antithesis of Lindemans. Much more traditional, yet still quite easy to drink.

Poured through the beer engine at Monk's Cafe.

A-Brilliant, bright pinkish hued cherry red with the thinnest of whire rings.

S-Sour cherry, duh, with a bit of funk and dry oak.

T-Very bright sour cherry with a nice astringency. Tart and bright with the perfect blend of sourness and dryness taste.

M-Medium-light with a lasting tartness and nice dry finish.

D-About as perfect as an unblended lambic can get! This one is tart and dry with enough tartness to make you pucker a bit but with a nice astrngency that tones the sourness down. The lack of carbonation does not detract at all, in fact it seems to aid by making it a bit softer and smoother. A marvelous barrel pick by Mr. Tom Peters!

served off the hand pump at monk's, where else. Poured into a pint glass, kind of.

A- It's really dark at the bar so stating that this looks red pretty much sums up this coveted kriek. Even when held up to the limited light it seems dark. No head to be seen.

S- Sour cherries on top of more sour cherries. The nose let's you know that this is indeed Cantillon at it's best. No sweetness as there is no sugars used. This is for sure something that will wake you up.

T- Yes, This is the truth. Being a Kriek sour cherries is at the forefront but the non use of sugar let's them shine in all of their tartness. This one is funky like the rest of em in the cantillon lineup. Even with the sour essence this beer seems pretty calm alll in all, even though I am a sour head.

M- Off the pump this came warm giving off the full array of this beer at once. Good puckering capabilities but by far not the most sour/tart kriek i've had which is probably why I like it so much. A bit of roughness on the tounge after 6oz or so. This one finishes on the dry side.

D- Really could drink this forever but one glass will do as my tounge is in shambles but not in a bad way. Not over the top sour which I expect from this brewery. It's really all the better to sip this bad boy and come to think of it, is there any other way.

I had this off the cask at Monk's last week. The beer is pinkish red, a little hazy, a thin head (!) despite what felt like no carbonation. The beer smelled funky and sour, acidic cherries and musk. The taste was the same, acidic sourness and cherry sweetness and saddle leathery. Very soft mouthfeel, casky and lightly carbonated, delicious and easy to drink.

Got this as my start off beer when I and a group of friends went to Monk's Cafe a couple days ago. Poured from a cask into a hexagonal glass.

A - Deep dark red, very clear and still due to lack of carbonation. Very interesting

S - intense winey aroma with a boatload of cherries.

T - Upfront cherry and yeast, tart and eye-opening.

M - No carbonation was kind of a weird sidestep in my mind, so the mouthfeel was nothing special, but it wasn't hard to drink.

D - Have one as a starter or with dinner. Good to sip and savor, but you don't want to drink that much acid.

Overall - I'm glad I tried it. I'd have a much more detailed review if I wasn't drawing from scribbled notes and foggy memory, but if you like kriek lambics, this one's worth a try if you're going to Monk's.

Served from a cask (beer engine) at Monk's Cafe, in Philadephia.

A- Pours a clear reddish color with no head at all, and no carbonation. Very still. My co-worker noted that it looked like cool-aid.
S- There's a lot going on here: cherries, earthy funk, cherries, and some farmhouse horseblanket. Still not as good as it sounds.
T- Sour tartness and a whole mess of cherries. A bit of funk as well, and it seemed to get more tart as the beer warmed.
M- Highly acidic and dry on the palate.
D- I normally love sour beers but had a hard time finishing this one and i certainly did not want a second.

Overall, this beer just was not for me, and not recommended. Meh...

had this at monks tonight

really really excited to try it
it pours a very park red with a little head that goes away right away... no bubbles

it smells like oak , sour cherries, it smeslls fresh and natural smelling

it tastes awesome, it was on a handpump and it was very warm. It really worked tho. Lots of cherries, but not overly sweet. It had that nice sour smell that i drool for

it was fairly warm , but it really let the flavors shine, it was so lightly carbonated but still refreshing

I really liked it and will def have it again, Id be curious to see what the abv is tho..id say about 6