Oude Kriek Jart-Elle
Lambiek Fabriek

375 ml bottle from the LCBO. Purchased for near $10 CDN some months ago. Best before 2042. Served cool into a trappist glass.

Appearance - Nearly neon (dark) pink in color with a finger plus of loose pinkish white Head. Very good staying power and no lacing to speak of, but a truly shocking pink color.

Smell - Earthy, funky with little hints of marmalade, sour cherries, vinegar and barnyard funk. Some woody smells, complete a complex aroma.

Taste - Fairly tart, but not overly so. Cherries, woodiness, a touch of leather with cranberries as well.

Mouthfeel - Medium full in bodied, lots of carbonation, but it doesn't really pop on the tongue the way some lambics do. Good depth of feel however.

Overall - A solid and fruity lambics but everything seems muted, flavors aren't dialed up, carbonation while fizzy doesn't really express the tartness and the funkiness is reigned in as well. Besides those fine fault the completed product is quite well made and a tasty endeavor, but given the hefty cost, not one I'm likely to make on the regular (should I even ever see this beer in local LCBO's again).

375 mL corked & crown capped green bottle from the LCBO; dated Oct 2022, best before 2042. Served slightly chilled.

Pours a deep, relatively clear ruby red colour, generating nearly an inch of soapy, pale pink-tinged head that lasts for the next several minutes. A generous collar of creamy suds is left surrounding a filmy cap; looks good so far. Subtle cherry juice on the nose, with suggestions of barnyard funk, sour cherries, vinegar and musty oak - understated yet enticing.

A mesmerizing blend of sour, funk, wood and fruit - none of these markedly overshadow the others, though the cherry is at least sitting in the back seat (with the oak). Notes of sweet cherry at the forefront are almost misleading, soon giving way to wheaty malts, barnyard funk, vinegar and musty, leathery Brett yeastiness. Hints of cranberry and vanilla, with Brett, oak and wine vinegar acidity rounding out the tail end; moderately funky aftertaste that fades within a second or so. Medium-full in body, with moderate carbonation that feels frothy on the tongue, contributing to a smooth, soft mouthfeel that makes each sip satisfying.

Final Grade: 4.32, an outstanding A grade. Many of the fruit lambics that show up on LCBO shelves focus primarily on the fruit ingredient - think Boon Kriek or Lindeman's Framboise - but Oude Kriek Jart-Elle is a different animal entirely. Funky, sour lambic flavours take the reins here, with the sour cherry juice acting as more of a complementary accent. In fact, a little more of a sour cherry punch might've improved the experience a tad. Still, it's a very good wild ale that I'd be delighted to drink again. Admittedly a little pricey at $12 CAD per bottle, but brews like this only come around once or twice a year, if that. I even bought a second bottle for the cellar, but I doubt I'll save it 'til 2042.

Poured a 9 month old 375ml capped and corked bottle into a tulip. A three finger bubbly pink head on a hazy red. Vigorous carbonation settles down to a fine one finger head that sticks around.
A strong fruit smell from an arms length.
Mildly tart up front. Smooth, lingering mild tartness. Subdued cherry and mild brett. The fruit comes through more as it warms.
Medium body and carbonation after the initial flush.
An excellent Kriek. Smooth and well melded.

 

 

 

been dying to try this one, and its super cool beer, lovely, different, memorable even, a whole additional realm of funk and weirdness on it than in their gueuze, i was really impressed with this. stunning pink color from the little bottle, jewel toned and clear until the very bottom, despite their being some sediment accumulated around the neck. this is sparkling and lively the whole way, the head is impossible to keep down on the pour, rising three or more inches high, tiny bubbles, insane bottle conditioned life to this, its really popping! gorgeous in a white wine glass. the nose is lambic funk to a high degree, more complex to me than the gueuze, more intense, iodine and lemony acidity, old oak, heavy tang from the cherries too, which seem tart and fresh for beer this mature. neat that the base beer is a blend of one, two, and three year old lambics, i think each vintage adds something unique to this, but its the fruit that makes this stand out. i get raspberry and cranberry notes in addition to the cherries, light red table wine too. interestingly, i get some medicinal bitterness at the end, along with deeply earthy minerals, almost an iron thing like when you have blood in your mouth, all at the end, and its dry too, very strange, but ends up being a kind of defining element of this for me. the fruit isnt too heavy, so the funky ferment still drives it. very cohesive, complex, and drinkable. the bubbles are tiny, just like they are in the enormous head, they kind of prick the tongue again and again, driving the flavor home, the body is minimal, the grain aspect is incredibly subtle, and the weird brett and green glass runs wild. wonderful beer, flavor and texture both, stoked to have been able to get a bottle of this! looking forward to my next beer from them already!

Shocking but lovely pink-amber with a bright pink foam. Tower of foam in the Saint-Martin wine-style glass that subsides a little but stays very frothy. Faint fruity aroma with a whiff of vinegar. Very dry and verging on the sour side. The aftertaste is very bitter in a yeasty way with woody astringency. I think you could say there is some sour fruit, like cherry, but it turns quite bitter quickly. I don't find this very drinkable, but kettle sour fans will find it enlightening. From the year-old capped and corked bottle.

 

Bright pinkish red color, good head. Decent cherry flavor, a little bit of funk. Tasty kriek overall but not quite 3F or Cantillon level. Probably take a bit of time.

 

Pours an almost clear, deep crimson coloration with a large, frothy, quickly receding head and slightly visible carbonation. Smells of light wheaty malt and sweet and tart black cherries, with just a hint of musty funk and oak also coming through. Taste is great balance of light wheaty malt, a distinct sweet and tart black cherry character and hints of estery fruit and spice, with accents of green apple and clove, musty funk and oak, as well as a good, underlying acidity. Finishes rather dry, with a medium acidity and some black cherry and oak lingering in the aftertaste. Effervescent mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

Like everything that I've had by Lambiek Fabriek so far, this makes for a lovely Lambic that is perhaps just a little lacking in depth and complexity, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. In fact, this is probably my favorite from them so far. It's got some really vibrant black cherry notes to it, along with quite a dry character and some light musty funk and oak also coming through, with the very slighlty tannic oak standing out a little more here. Overall, this makes for a very enjoyable Kriek that's quite well-balanced, dry in character and with a vibrant cherry and lighter oak and funk presence to it, with a very nice look and effervescent carbonation as well.

cherry look like a rose wine. blend of brett tartness. sweet cherries.

750 mL bottle. Bright red. Soft pink head. Smells of cherry candy, light brett, and light oak. Tastes of bright cherry, earthy and grassy notes, oak. Effervescent and well carbonated. Not a very deep cherry flavor. It's decent.

 

Bottle: Poured a bright red color lambic with a large pink foamy head with light retention and light lacing. Aroma of strong cherry notes with some tart notes and light funky notes. Taste is also dominated by huge cherry notes with some tart notes and light funky notes with light acidic notes. Body is about average with good carbonation. Huge amount of cherries and very refreshing and enjoyable with right amount of complexity.

Dark cherry red, beautiful pinky foam.
In the smell, cherries, obviously. And a lot of cherry stones. And funky.
The taste start wit fruitiness, then sour. And tart.
Maybe it lacks some complexity, but still, well done.