Kriek
Dovetail Brewery
- From:
- Dovetail Brewery
- Illinois, United States
- Style:
- Belgian Fruit Lambic
Ranked #105 - ABV:
- 6.5%
- Score:
- 91
Ranked #8,650 - Avg:
- 4.16 | pDev: 8.65%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 9
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- May 05, 2025
- Added:
- May 15, 2018
- Wants:
- 2
- Gots:
- 2
SCORE
91
Outstanding
91
Outstanding
The base of this lambic-style beer (60% pilsner malt; 40% unmalted wheat; aged hops; and cooled overnight in our coolship to capture wild florae) was brewed in the Spring 2016.
It then matured in barrels until August 2017, when it was racked over 2,300 pounds of Balaton cherries from the Leelanau Peninsula in Northern Michigan, which is also notable for its wine production. Approximately 100 pounds of cherries went into each barrel selected for the beer.
After waiting another year as the beer and cherries did their thing, we’re incredibly excited to finally release it, our second bottle release, and our first spontaneous beer.
It then matured in barrels until August 2017, when it was racked over 2,300 pounds of Balaton cherries from the Leelanau Peninsula in Northern Michigan, which is also notable for its wine production. Approximately 100 pounds of cherries went into each barrel selected for the beer.
After waiting another year as the beer and cherries did their thing, we’re incredibly excited to finally release it, our second bottle release, and our first spontaneous beer.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by snaotheus from Washington
4.19/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.19/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
2024-12-23
375ml bottle served in a stemmed glass. 2020 vintage. Bought it a year and a half ago at Dovetail.
Pours slightly hazy purplish-amber with a small head, little retention, and lots of carbonation. Smell is tart, dry, cherry juice and cherry skin. Oak, some barnyard funk, some old hay.
Taste is also dry, more on the funky side than the tart side, definitely features some stem and skin character. Cherry juice is hard to recognize with so little sweetness.
Mouthfeel is very very dry, very very light, airy. Overall, very nice beer -- leans a tiny bit toward saison/wild ale than lambic.
Dec 24, 2024375ml bottle served in a stemmed glass. 2020 vintage. Bought it a year and a half ago at Dovetail.
Pours slightly hazy purplish-amber with a small head, little retention, and lots of carbonation. Smell is tart, dry, cherry juice and cherry skin. Oak, some barnyard funk, some old hay.
Taste is also dry, more on the funky side than the tart side, definitely features some stem and skin character. Cherry juice is hard to recognize with so little sweetness.
Mouthfeel is very very dry, very very light, airy. Overall, very nice beer -- leans a tiny bit toward saison/wild ale than lambic.
Rated by Jugs_McGhee from Texas
3.65/5 rDev -12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.65/5 rDev -12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
On-draught @ Jake Melnick's Corner Tap, Chicago, IL, USA. $15 USD per tulip - ouch.
B / GOOD
Jun 05, 2023B / GOOD
Reviewed by Luscious_Malfoy from Illinois
4.31/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.31/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
draft pour into snifter. pours a really lovely lighter red with a thick, creamy-looking off-white (almost pink) foam head. loads of funk and tart, sweet cherries on the nose. think de Garde or kriek lambic with that prominent old world oak-forward funk. taste follows with tart cherries, wet oak and again, a ton of funkiness. medium-full mouthfeel with that lambic spritz to it. a little more bubbly and carbonated than i would prefer but it’s still really enjoyable. kind of crazy that a brewery known for its lager production can produce this quality of a barrel-aged sour ale. glad to have tried.
Jul 21, 2022
Reviewed by michaelsmith11 from Illinois
3.79/5 rDev -8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev -8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
I don't think I've ever had anything quite like this before. This is really described as a Lambic - Kriek. It's definitely a little bit lighter than I thought it would be. A little sour but really more tart. I think the cherries bring the tartness to the forefront. Very dry finish. Interesting beer.
Apr 24, 2021
Reviewed by NeutroMan from Illinois
3.67/5 rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.67/5 rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
500mL bottle (undated, as far as I can tell, but purchased approximately two months prior to this review) into a tulip glass.
A: Deep ruby color. Somewhat vigorous pour yielded a eggshell head that completely vanished almost immediately. Good amount of carbonation bubbling up from the bottom.
S: Montmorency cherries and dark brown sugar.
T: A puckering sour slap that I was not expecting given the aroma! Subsequent sips seemed to mellow out a bit more, maybe I just had to acclimate myself. Still, perhaps a tad too acetic with the cider vinegar and chlorine tones.
M: Medium-bodied, moderate carbonation.
O: A very wild kriek that perhaps needs to be civilized just a bit.
Apr 01, 2021A: Deep ruby color. Somewhat vigorous pour yielded a eggshell head that completely vanished almost immediately. Good amount of carbonation bubbling up from the bottom.
S: Montmorency cherries and dark brown sugar.
T: A puckering sour slap that I was not expecting given the aroma! Subsequent sips seemed to mellow out a bit more, maybe I just had to acclimate myself. Still, perhaps a tad too acetic with the cider vinegar and chlorine tones.
M: Medium-bodied, moderate carbonation.
O: A very wild kriek that perhaps needs to be civilized just a bit.
Reviewed by TMoney2591 from Illinois
2.97/5 rDev -28.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75
2.97/5 rDev -28.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75
Served in a Revolution Every-Day Hero glass from an aluminum growler filled at Beer on the Wall - Arlington Heights.
I remember the bottles being a bit too expensive for me when I visited the brewery, so I was jazzed to see I could get a fill alongside my bi-weekly order. This stuff pours a mostly-clear garnet-ruby topped by a half-finger at best of off-white foam. The nose comprises tart black cherry, light vinegar, and a tinge of red grape. The taste holds notes of raspberry vinaigrette, light tart cherry, and a wiff of funk. It's a wildly chaotic flavor, one that has more in common with household cleaners than a cherry-based lambic-style beer. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a dry, sticky finish. Overall, though I know Dovetail's wild and barrel program is pretty damn solid, this beer did not work for me at all. It's far too acetic to be enjoyable, and the cherry character is pushed all the way into the background, somehow. Not my thing, kids. (I see that past iterations have been better, so perhaps I'll try to get my hands on one of the older bottlings for comparison.)
Mar 01, 2021I remember the bottles being a bit too expensive for me when I visited the brewery, so I was jazzed to see I could get a fill alongside my bi-weekly order. This stuff pours a mostly-clear garnet-ruby topped by a half-finger at best of off-white foam. The nose comprises tart black cherry, light vinegar, and a tinge of red grape. The taste holds notes of raspberry vinaigrette, light tart cherry, and a wiff of funk. It's a wildly chaotic flavor, one that has more in common with household cleaners than a cherry-based lambic-style beer. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a dry, sticky finish. Overall, though I know Dovetail's wild and barrel program is pretty damn solid, this beer did not work for me at all. It's far too acetic to be enjoyable, and the cherry character is pushed all the way into the background, somehow. Not my thing, kids. (I see that past iterations have been better, so perhaps I'll try to get my hands on one of the older bottlings for comparison.)
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