Better to drink Cantillon Kriek old or young?

Ive had a 2012 Kriek and a 2007 Kriek within the last 12 months and thought that the older version was much dryer...and I like it. I also had a 2002 Lou Pepe Kriek and it was super tart and dry....I know that is not an apples to apples comparison but just dropping some perspective. BTW, the 02 LP Kriek was out-freaking-standing.

 

There are many people who have had a lot more experience with Cantillon than I, but just in case they don't answer, I would echo the sentiments on Cantillon's site that it's a matter of preference. The cherry stays around for awhile, but gets a little more muted each year, as the funk and tartness come to the forefront. The perfect ratio of those flavors changes from person to person, and through the years as a person's palate develops and changes.

 

Fresh Kriek is thick cherry taste, almost like a cherry pie kind of deal which is very very cool. I will also support what was previously said about it drying out and becoming funkier. I think a good comparison (if you have had it) for fresh are the Upland lambics. I have not had any experience with them with age on them however.

 

Ah sorry. In that case, I currently prefer an iteration with two to three years on it. Still plenty of cherry, but the funkiness has started to become more prominent and complex without taking over yet.

 

I prefer the bright fruit of a fresh bottle, but in my experience, krieks hold up so much better than other fruit lambic (I'm looking at you, Lou Pepe Framboise).

 

What happened to the lp fram? I had a draft version that was a couple years old and may have been the sourest thing I ever tasted.

 

The difference between that LP Kriek and LP Framboise was crazy, especially since the Kriek was older. Definitely didn't expect THAT much.

Anyway, age your kriek if you want something so sour that your dentist will ask if you've been drinking battery acid. That shit gets SOUR. I mean, it's already a sour beer, but with age on it you end up in some pretty ridiculous territory. I think that in general kriek holds up the best of the fruit lambics, in terms of how much fruit remains, but it still falls off. The main thing is really the ridiculous sourness, though.

 

Having had a 10+ year old kriek, I didn't think it was that sour. Nothing like the other fruit lambics cantillon makes. The kriek ages great

 

The great thing about Lambic is that there isn't really an answer to this question. It's so good young and the beer changes over time and is delicious in a new way. Best advice: stock up on Lambic and both age and drink fresh.

 

Part of the issue with the older Cantillons is the transition to Jean Van Roy. His father tended to make very sour beers. I want to say the switch took place in 2007 but I may be wrong. That may play into the perception of Cantillons becoming insanely sour as they age.

 

Fou Foune is the only one that gets more sour faster than Kriek, in my experience. Though I haven't had a lot of aged St. Lam/Vigneronne.

 

fou'foune is hands down the fastest, lamvinus is pretty fast too. the rest arent too bad. the only two that really age well long term that do not become acidic sour bombs are viggy and kriek (not including lou pepe series)

 

Shrug, I had an '07 the other day and my notes on it are just "sour sour sour". I think kriek gets really sour. What's interesting about it, too, is that I got some pretty fresh in Belgium, only a few months old I think, and it hardly reminded me of Cantillon Kriek at all. Even the ~6 months it takes to get over here gets it way more sour than it is when you get it from Cantillon.

Then again, ymmv, sounds like we've had pretty different experiences.

 

Young, but both are great.

 

A group of us just opened a 1993 Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus (thanks Jason!) alongside of a 2011 vintage. Both were wonderful in their own right, but they were so far apart in taste. If you want the fresh fruit characteristics, obviously open it sooner than later. But I can tell you first hand, a 20 year old Cantillon Rose was pure bliss. Sour as hell, subtle raspberry, just sublime. It all depends what you're looking for.

Anyone who tells you their fruit lambics don't age well are completely wrong.

 

I think their point is to experience the fresh fruit flavor in which case I agree with them. But if you're patient and want a super sour fruit lambic, age them bitches.