Author Topic: The great kriek taste test! (Read 5532 times)

Mrs Pingu · « **on:** 04 August, 2013, 07:08:07 pm »

So....as for the last few years, when we come back from holiday it will involve a stop at a Belgian beer emporium. I decided this year I needed to get a bit more scientific about what Krieks I buy this year....

Yes, tonight folks, Pingu and I will be doing the great kriek taste test. OK, he's more of a cruel and unusual gueze man but I need somebody to share with so I don't get completely plastered!

On test are:
Kriek Girardin, 5.0%
Mort Subite Oude Kriek, 6.5%
Hanssens Oude Kriek, 6.0%
Boon Oude Kriek, 6.5%
Cantillon Kriek Lou Pepe, 5.0% (I think)

Pingu will have a pic below shortly. Of my known other good 'uns we are missing Boon Kriek Marriage Parfait , 8.0% (couldn't find any in the ~~beer cellar~~ shed) and bog standard Cantillon, 5.0% (only had it the other week and I had to limit the number somehow).

Updates later....

nicknack · « **Reply #1 on:** 04 August, 2013, 07:17:55 pm »

Sounds like fun.

If you ever get stuck too far from a Belgian beer emporium I can thoroughly recommend this lot.

Pingu · « **Reply #2 on:** 04 August, 2013, 07:21:44 pm »

IMG_1780 by The Pingus, on Flickr

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #3 on:** 04 August, 2013, 07:28:04 pm »

Kriek Girardin.

This used to be my favourite, along with the standard Boon, before I got into the more sour stuff.
Mrs Pingu - soft, foamy mouth feel. Not sour. Very easy to quaff.
Pingu - it's not sweet and it's not sour either. 'S'ok.'

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #4 on:** 04 August, 2013, 07:29:54 pm »

Of course the glaring omission from this test is the Drie Fonteinen Kriek, but the shop seemed to have been rather depleted of that brasserie's offerings, so I never got any

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #5 on:** 04 August, 2013, 07:55:10 pm »

Mort Subite Oude Kriek:
Mrs Pingu - more cherry aroma, definitely more sour than the Girardin, but not mouth suckingly so.
Pingu - "yeah, it's alright, more to my taste than the Girardin but both perfectly acceptable"

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #6 on:** 04 August, 2013, 08:44:41 pm »

Boon Oude Kriek:
This was bottled in 2008 so may explain the relative lack of cherry flavour.
Mrs Pingu - faintly agricultural aroma, not much cherry taste. Soft, foamy mouth feel. Less sour than the Mort Subite. Very pink head.
Pingu - "lack of cherries"

Wonder how a more recent bottling would compare....

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #7 on:** 04 August, 2013, 09:36:39 pm »

Hanssens Oude Kriek.
Not unexpectedly the sourest one so far.
Mrs Pingu - the first mouthful was a bit of a shock! Looks like rose wine. Is pretty sour, but in a sweet sort of way. Weird. Couldn't drink it all night.
Pingu - "mmhmm! A bit more guezy than the others"

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #8 on:** 04 August, 2013, 10:34:46 pm »

And finally....

Cantillon Kriek Lou Pepe - made with more cherries than the std Kriek.
Mrs Pingu - nice, not very sour, less sour than the normal Cantillon. More cherries. Smells of cherries. Tastes quite nice. Not sure I would rush to buy hunners of bottles though.
Pingu - "quite cherry-ish, not very oude"

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #9 on:** 04 August, 2013, 10:38:11 pm »

So, what will I be seeking out in the beer shop?
Boon Oude & Marriage Parfait
Maybe the MS Oude Kriek
Drie Fonteinen - been a long time since I thought this tasted like vinegar, reckon it would be good now.
Cantillon.
Maybe some De Cam for a taste.

Clare · « **Reply #10 on:** 04 August, 2013, 10:52:21 pm »

Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 04 August, 2013, 07:08:07 pm

...he's more of a cruel and unusual gueze man...

There is no such thing as a cruel and unusual gueze, they are all perfectly drinkable.

Thing2 · « **Reply #11 on:** 05 August, 2013, 04:33:35 am »

Quote from: Clare on 04 August, 2013, 10:52:21 pm

Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 04 August, 2013, 07:08:07 pm
...he's more of a cruel and unusual gueze man...

There is no such thing as a cruel and unusual gueze, they are all perfectly drinkable.

+1

I can recommended this place to get beer near Bruges if you pass that way. Open to the public and much cheaper than the normal beer places in the city.

It seemed to be where the local retailers got their supplies.

markcc · « **Reply #12 on:** 07 August, 2013, 11:41:08 am »

(Long-time lurker - first post!)

De Ranke make a decent Kriek. Slightly odd process in that they make a Flemish red/brown ale withcherries and then blend it with Girardin lambic.

Clare · « **Reply #13 on:** 08 August, 2013, 11:38:32 pm »

Oh my giddy aunt (and she would be) can you buy that over here or do we need another Belgian tour?

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #14 on:** 09 August, 2013, 07:09:32 am »

I forgot about De Ranke. Must have finished it earlier in the year.

Pingu · « **Reply #15 on:** 09 August, 2013, 10:30:44 am »

I'm not sure we had any De Ranke.

It's not a kriek in the classic sense. It sounds like a cherry version of Rodenbach Grand Cru.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #16 on:** 09 August, 2013, 12:08:28 pm »

Quote from: Pingu on 09 August, 2013, 10:30:44 am

I'm not sure we had any De Ranke.

*google image search*
No, you're right, it was Kriek de Koninick I was thinking of

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #17 on:** 25 December, 2016, 06:29:37 pm »

Didn't do very well recording my thoughts last year, hopefully this will go better!
Pingu will be along in a minute with a picture of this year's hopefuls.
We also have a bottle of Cantillon Kriek and a Boon Mariage Parfait, but there's a limit to how much we can get through in 1 night!
(The kriek sauce for the Xmas duck is being made from a reduced bottle of Cantillon).

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #18 on:** 25 December, 2016, 06:38:21 pm »

Quote from: Thing2 on 05 August, 2013, 04:33:35 am

Quote from: Clare on 04 August, 2013, 10:52:21 pm
Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 04 August, 2013, 07:08:07 pm
...he's more of a cruel and unusual gueze man...

There is no such thing as a cruel and unusual gueze, they are all perfectly drinkable.

+1

I can recommended this place to get beer near Bruges if you pass that way. Open to the public and much cheaper than the normal beer places in the city. It seemed to be where the local retailers got their supplies.

We finally made it to this place this year. A nice change from the place we've been going for the past few years and a really good selection of the less traditional stuff

Pingu · « **Reply #19 on:** 25 December, 2016, 06:41:08 pm »

The Scale of Kriek Evil.

IMG_7967_01 by The Pingus, on Flickr

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #20 on:** 25 December, 2016, 06:44:23 pm »

^ so here is this year's line up. We'll be working from right to left if you wanna drink along at home folks

Oude Kriek Boon - plenty cherries, slightly Cremola Foam mouth feel. Not tremendously sour, for my values of sour, but not too sweet either.

Pingu · « **Reply #21 on:** 25 December, 2016, 06:46:10 pm »

Nice starter.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #22 on:** 25 December, 2016, 07:17:02 pm »

Next up, 3 Fontainen Intense Red Oude Kriek.

Wasn't really expecting too much from this based on the label. More sour than the Boon but the cherry flavour is quite fake - it's got that almondy taste that I associate with fake cherry.
It's not horrible and at least it's not too sweet, but I won't be buying it again. It's in last place so far.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #23 on:** 25 December, 2016, 07:55:12 pm »

Et maintenant, 3 Fontainen Oude Kriek (the proper original stuff).
Looking at the label it says it was bottled in 2011 so it will have lost some of the fruit and some of the sourness of the Iambic.
It's a bit more sour than the Intense Red but the cherry flavour is more real. Nose is a bit farmyardy.
Probably the best one so far, would be interesting to compare with a more recent bottling though. I expect better of the rest of the panel though...

Pingu · « **Reply #24 on:** 25 December, 2016, 07:56:58 pm »

Defo the sourest so far.