Oude Kriek
Hanssens Artisanaal bvba

A nice cherry color with a slight head and lacing.
Aroma has cherry hints
Taste has a tart cherry flavor
A light bodied well carbonated beer
A good Lambic

(12.2021) Abv: 6,5%
Dark red colour with a slight haze. Froth of delicate pink colour, low, not persistent.
The aroma is very strong, intense. There are of course cherries, there is wine, there are wild, funky, country notes. Already the aroma suggests a sour or even very sour beer.
The taste is as expected sour, tart, wild with notes of wood and stones. It is these stones that give character to the slight bitterness present in the background.
Saturation medium. Body medium. Texture not quite rough, as it sometimes seems to be jelly-smooth. Aftertaste very long sour.

Oude Kriek – from Von Hanssens Artisanaal. Single 25.4 fl oz corked bottle purchased online. Reviewed 05/10/24 (Review 3370). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Label is clipped on “2016”. Unknown storage at the seller. Stored at 34 degrees F at home. Served at 57.3 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 59.1 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Pink, slight haze.
Body – Maroon, opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, red, and hazy.
Head – Small (Maximum one cm, aggressive center pour), pinkish, high density and fizzy, short retention, leaving a broken ring of single bubbles and no cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.25 – Weak cherry. No hops, no malt, no alcohol (6 % ABV, according to the label).
Flavor – 4.25 – Tart and weakly acidic, with tannic acid from the oak barrel taste. Cherry and some funk, no ethanol. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. No gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Thin; watery; soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines, as condensed by BA.
Final Impression and summation: 4.25 The Kriek beers are my favorites in this style – gulpers, not sippers!

1961
Name: Oude Kriek
Brewery: Hanssens Artisannaal
Location: Dworp, Belgium
Style: Fruited Lambic
ABV: 6%
Date: 2016
I am drinking the Oude Kriek today. I served it at 42 degrees. The pour created an airy half-fingered medium off-white head with poor retention using a tulip glass. The color has this pinkish hue with tints of rust—lots of yeast and fruit floaties. The overall appearance is suitable for this style.

The first whiff was a nose full of Brett, farmyard funk, and acetic acid. Swirling the glass a few times to get air in, I go back and nose it again. This time, I smell cherries, fruity sweetness, oak, and a touch of horse blankets.
This is fantastic. The beer is slightly sweet but balanced with Brett, funky barnyard, horse blanket, acetic acid, and cherries. The sourness is not overly mouth-puckering; it makes my mouth water. I do taste a slight honeysuckle note and fruity sweetness. The only con I have is the cherries are not bright and tarty. Does the age have something to do with it?
The mouthfeel is tart and astringent. The body is thin, and the carbonation is high.
I have consumed other fruity Lambic with more sugar to tame the sourness. I am glad the brewers allowed them to present the beer without sugar. I want more cherry flavor, which is my only major complaint.

12.7oz bottle into a tulip. 2015 vintage, so 8 years in the bottle.

Solid plum colored body. Head quickly disappears. Sour cherry aroma. Taste follows the nose, though cherries seem a bit muted. It is a very tart drink, and there is a mild vinegar note left on the lips. This is pleasing rather than overwhelming. Finish is faintly sweet and very tart, but not drying. Good kriek lambic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rose-colored pour generating zero head. What stands out is the deep, deep cherry flavor, at once sour and sweet. Tartness does prevail, but never goes over the line. There is a subtle underlying touch of oak that creeps in. Had this with a barbecued steak, which complemented it well. Do yourself a favor and leave the sediment at the bottom of the bottle where it is unless you want to pucker up.

2yo (2019) bottle: any reviews higher than 3.50/5.00 are mistaken. Bottles from the past 6 years have been garbage.

 

375 ml bottle, corked champagne style, at Plan B, Copenhagen. Red / "pinkish" / brown colour, moderate pale pink head. Sour cherry and funky barnyard aroma. Flavour is very sour cherries and red wine vinegar.

Bottled January 2015. Not as balanced and jammy as say 3F. No almonds, but very nice all-around. Very dry and on tarter side but not overly tart and unbalanced.

A - Vibrant cherry red color with no carbonation and no lacing.

S - Tart acidic cherry, tang with light oak on the nose.

T - Surprises here as it follows the nose exactly. Extremely tart, face puckering cherry sourness from start to finish that punches you in the face.

M - Thick and wet throughout the mouth with a big dry spot on the back of the tongue.

O - No bitterness here, just face puckering cherry through and through.

 

somehow it has taken me a really long time to try this one, which seems like one of their more popular beers. they do quite a few different kriek types, and this is another really good one, 2014 vintage if the notch on the label is correct, thankful to be sharing this in an online session with the homies! beautiful clear and glassy looking ruby red color through the first two thirds of the bottle, hazy thick sludgy dark and sedimented (even an apparent piece of cherry stem) blood red through the last bit, some head too which isnt always the case with their lambics. it smells brightly fruity, very natural, quite tart like acidic pie cherries, and has all the funk, woodiness, and maturity of good blended lambic, definitely old in a good way, and smelling very sour, even for the style, which a lot of theirs have been, but more mellow on the acidity when i actually drink it, way less intimidating than it smells on that. the flavor is crazy good, sour sure but equally as funky and weird, highly vinous with an obvious red wine and red berry character, oak tannins all through it, and a density to the fruit which seems to get more intense withe very sip and every degree it warms. traces of smoke, vanilla, raspberry jam, and even cinnamon, but this isnt one of those krieks that feels wintery like some do. very sharp, but i easily drink the whole bottle, enough carbonation but pretty light on it, very natural on the fruit, and not so much of it that its juice, the base lambic is distinctive and old and very good, a nice blend. i get to the point every month or so where i like physically need good kriek, and this was a great fix. always a treat to have beer from these guys, especially with the boys, even if digitally. yum! an awesome start to the weekend.