919. Up On Cripple Kriek
Jadyn and I had a couple of beers at the CBC on November 19th. They had a "limited release" Kriek on tap, so I had to try it.
From the website:
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.00%
Serving: Tap
Style: Flanders Red Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.5 | Drinkability:4.0
Overall: 3.95
Pours a deeply cloudy, red hued brown. No head was evident when it was served, though a few stray bubbles around the edges were constantly renewed. Swirling brings up a transient, beige, filmy head. There's quite a bit going on in the aroma. The first thing I noticed were oaky, tannic aromas in addition to acidic, cherry notes. As the beer warmed more malty aromas appeared: caramel, molasses and a faint hint of vanilla.
The tartness in this beer is evident immediately, accentuated by the prickly carbonation, but isn't mouth-puckering or overly-strong. A cherry sweetness appears in the center, moreso than a traditional kriek, but not overly sweet. The finish is lightly funky and lightly oaky, which contributes a good bit of dryness to the beer. Light-bodied throughout.
I think the key to this beer is balance. It's both sweet and tart, but not in excess. I prefer sourer beers, but this was nice.
Jadyn and I had a couple of beers at the CBC on November 19th. They had a "limited release" Kriek on tap, so I had to try it.
From the website:
This malty amber-colored ale was brewed as a postscript to our famous Cerise Cassée. Basically we were just tryin’ out a new batch of sour cherries, we had a little left over after brewing, and we needed something to put ‘em into. Just enough, we thought, to flavor a little ten gallon batch of beer with some nice caramel malt flavors complimenting that tart cherry character. Of course, we didn’t expect we’d age it for over a year and a half, but things occasionally get lost and forgotten about. And our (temporary) loss is, of course, your gain. Medium-to-full bodied, and served in our flute glasses emphasizing its beautiful amber-red color and intensifying its cherry and malt nose. Not too tart, not too sweet.It's not quite a lambic, but I thought that the taste was closest to a Flanders Red Ale, so that's what I'm putting for the style.
Just a nice brown ale with cherries.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.00%
Serving: Tap
Style: Flanders Red Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.5 | Drinkability:4.0
Overall: 3.95
Pours a deeply cloudy, red hued brown. No head was evident when it was served, though a few stray bubbles around the edges were constantly renewed. Swirling brings up a transient, beige, filmy head. There's quite a bit going on in the aroma. The first thing I noticed were oaky, tannic aromas in addition to acidic, cherry notes. As the beer warmed more malty aromas appeared: caramel, molasses and a faint hint of vanilla.
The tartness in this beer is evident immediately, accentuated by the prickly carbonation, but isn't mouth-puckering or overly-strong. A cherry sweetness appears in the center, moreso than a traditional kriek, but not overly sweet. The finish is lightly funky and lightly oaky, which contributes a good bit of dryness to the beer. Light-bodied throughout.
I think the key to this beer is balance. It's both sweet and tart, but not in excess. I prefer sourer beers, but this was nice.
