Kriekenlambik
Hanssens Artisanaal bvba

Sampled at Hanssens Artisanaal, Toer de Geuze 2019.

 

 

 

Sampled July 2010
A big pour leaves me with a large bubbled, pink tinged frothy ring of a head. The beer is a very, very dark red color that is quite clear and reminds me of dark cherries. The aroma smells of buttery cherries and is very wine-like in its berry like character that is backed by hints of spice and wood from the oak.

The beer feels flat as it hits my tongue (appropriately so) and tastes tart with notes of cherries (that aren't overly expressive or explosively fruity as some that I have had recently). As in the aroma, this seems fairly wine-like in its cherry-fruit character, the berry notes and the touch of oak; all of which are the most dominant notes found here. A lactic acidity is nicely present and I can't tell if it is a cherry sourness or acetic character that adds a spicy bite to the lingering finish. The beer is light bodied, but cherry skin tannins and oak texture allow it to stick to the palate and adds a hint of heft to this brew.

The beer is really quite dark, it is amazing how much color it has; it makes me wonder if these lose all there color in their shipment over to the US. This beer is actually lacking the super-funkiness that most Hanssens Lambics have and I wonder if it is just too young for this to have taken hold.