Boon Kriekenlambik
Brouwerij Boon

L: Hazy, deep red color, half finger purple head, superb thin lacing, no visible carbonation. A beauty!

S: Sour cherries, sour, tart. Nice!

T: Sour cherries, sour, tart. Good.

F: Light bodied, full of cherries mouthfeel.

O: Nice, refreshing sour for this hot summer day.

If you look at the range of beers brewed by this brewery the nomenclature can be pretty confusing, so many iterations of Boon, Kriek, lambic and so on. I've worked from the listed sub-set that are 4% ABV and this one is the closest in name/style, I believe it to be right. I've got a 375ml green bottle, with a wire-caged cork stopper. The main lable is burgundy-red and reads in bold white 'Kriek Boon, Lambic 100%, Traditional lambic ale, Brewed with real cherries [etc]'. There is also a neck lable that reads '2017'.
L- Deep ruby red, clear, pours with a 10mm fine-bubble Barbie-pink head.
S- I struggle to get other than cherry, it comes with a kind of richness to it.
T- Cherry-ade, slightly sweet on the front, and slightly bitter/sour on the finish, and wall-to-wall cherries in between.
F- I'm trying to find much beer-like about this beer, beyond it's foam head (holding v well, too well if drinking this down my local boozer!). How does one rate a beer that neither looks or tastes like beer? It's surprisingly refreshing considering the overall flavour/style. I think it's the sour cherry in the finish causing that. But I'd suggest others unused to this style start with the bottle very well chilled, as if it's not chilled enough this might be OTT sweet/fruity before you're through.
O- Well a kriek is always going to be unorthodox, and (IMHO) not really like beer at all. Would I drink it again, no unlikely a 4% one, though I might be open to one up around 7-8% where the 'oomph' might help balance out the over-bearing cherry-ade profile of it.
BB: 19/09/2022 Batch#82702. £4.60 from Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge, London.

 

On tap at 2be in Brugge.

Nice dark red appearance with a pink foam. Slight tart cherry smell, kind of pleasant. Definitely taste the cherries. Light & refreshing. All in all, I liked it and will probably do it again, especially with some friends on a hot summer day.

 

 

Had on cask at the brewery. Pour is dark ruby red with copper edges and a creamy light pink head leaving a huge lace. The nose is overly singular and heavy on fleshy cherries. The taste folllows suit, ripe fleshy cherries, much akin to cherry juice. Body is light and soft, fair amount of carbonation but lingering finish.

 

Enjoyed on-tap @ Stone's Bistro & Garden in Escondido, CA for $6. Poured into an 8oz Tulip Glass and enjoyed thoroughly after walking through the garden. One of the coolest breweries I've ever been to!

Aroma- Strong cranberry aroma from the start and a sweet, malty blended background. Very recognizable as a Lambic and has the earthy aroma that has power to it.

Appearance- Received with a half finger head that dies down to a ring around the glass. Has a dark burgundy color body that has good clarity and has minimal lacing. Effervescent.

Flavor- There is an artificial cranberry aroma that starts off the drink. Very fruity and sweet but then finishes with no bitterness or anything. Good all-around.

Mouthfeel- Light- Medium Bodied, High Carbonation, and has a low tart taste at the finish.

Overall Impression- Nice, fruity lambic but too sweet for me. I have to say this is a great beer for the style though! Has a mild sour and acidic character with a Strong Cranberry attribute all the way through.

On-tap at the Stone Bistro.

A - Pours a dark rose-red with a creamy pink head that fades to a thick haze and ring.
S - Sweet and tart cherries, oak, vanilla, and brown sugar. Excellent fresh cherry aromas, reminds me of a nice cherry jam or compote.
T - Similar to the nose, good fresh cherry flavors, oak, brown sugar and vanilla.
M - Pretty thin bodied, in fact a bit watery, with moderate carbonation.
O - Pretty good, I really enjoyed the flavors but the thin, watery mouth-feel really hurt this one.

2/24/2011

On tap at Stone.

A: Appears an attractive dark purplish pink with a big frothy dark pink head. Nice retention. Great color in the body and the head, and great clarity.

S: Ripe cherry flesh with a lot of sweetness, a little vanilla, and a lot of sugar. Reminiscent of cherry candy. It's slightly lactic, with no evident sourness or tartness. Really nice fruit profile in the aroma.

T: Very sweet, tastes like a cherry jolly rancher with some vanilla. Initially, it has a hint of cough syrup character that it's a little detracting. It's decidedly lactic, though not really sour at all. There's a very faint tartness and no real acidity. It's just pretty much sugary cherry cough syrup. The cough syrup waxes as the beer warms to the point where it's not very enjoyable.

M: Lower medium in body with moderate carbonation. Mouthfeel is smooth and silky.

Overall: That cough syrup note took away from what would have been a very enjoyable fruit beer.

Sampled fresh, July 2010 at Brouwerij F. Boon
This beer is a deep purple color and quite still with no head. This has a huge cherry smell to it that is so sweet smelling. It is richly complex, aromatic and has such an awesome sour cherry acid quality to it that makes it seem quite rich.

The beer is dry tasting, especially when compared to the aroma, but a complex cherry flavor adds a perceived, virtual sweetness to this beer. The cherry character also contributes to the sourness of this Lambic. It is very refreshing with some viscosity to it, but not enough to keep this from being quite quaffable. A nice tannic, cherry character adds to the texture and adds some palate presence; this is likely boosted by the oak character of the base Lambic.

This really has an awesome cherry texture, flavor and aroma; not to mention the color that is so dark and purple looking. It is so refreshing, but I like how the flavor and texture really linger on the palate.