Kriek

[Mjx]

I love kriek, try all the various kinds I come across, and like most of them. Recently, a friend shared a bottle of Oude Kriek with me, and I found it remarkably, almost undrinkably vinegary (although I like most sour things, even extremely sour ones). Is this characteristic of this brand, or does it sound as though this was a bad bottle?

[FrogPrincesse]

Oude kriek is a type of beer (not a brand) which is an aged (oude means old) lambic beer made with sour cherries, and the traditional ones are quite tart with vinegar and cherry notes. Some lambics are a little less sour than others and resemble a very dry funky earthy cider. Some are more on the sweet side, although it’s not the majority. Since lambic is a beer made with wild yeasts, sometimes things evolve in an unexpected way, so it’s also possible that you ended up with a bad bottle. The only way to know would be to get a second bottle from a different batch and compare… but if this bottle wasn’t to your liking, I doubt you’d want to get another one!

Although if you don’t like the beer, you can always use it to make lapin a la kriek! The vinegar notes will mellow during cooking and it will likely be delicious at the end. 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

One more thought - a good way to know what your beer is “supposed” to taste like would be to check the various tasting notes on Untappd (it’s a beer app). Of course not everyone’s taste buds will be similar to yours, but it will give you a general idea.

Edited October 21 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Mjx]

Thanks, @FrogPrincesse. There isn't a large selection of kriek here (mostly Lindemans and Boon), and I hadn't seen 'oude' before, so thought it was something specific to the producer, Hanssens Artisanaal. The reviews on a number of sites have left me puzzled, as they range from 'mildly sweet with a pleasant tartness' and 'very tart but balanced', to variations on the theme of 'vinegary'. One thing that has leapt out at me is that the 'vinegary' assessments are overwhelmingly from Scandinavian countries (though the associated names suggest a variety of nationalities), so I'm wondering whether storage mightn't be a factor in the way it tastes (I'm in Denmark, where the storage of food and beverages is very, very, casual), especially as the summer was very warm, and air conditionaing is a rarity here.

 

This is one of the more expensive krieks, here, so I'm on the fence when it comes to trying another bottle.

[FrogPrincesse]

A couple of things. First, oude / aged lambics tend to be more sour than the unaged variety because they undergo a secondary fermentation which produces more complex flavors, but also more acidity (and reduces the sugar content). So I would generally stay away from aged krieks if you are not overly fond of these types of flavors.

I also feel that Lindemans and Boon are on the sweeter side compared to some other krieks or lambics I have tried. I have had plenty of sours that make Lindemans kriek almost taste like candy in comparison.

You are right that the tasting notes for your beer are all over the place. My guess is that this is mostly due to people's preferences -  some are used to (and even seek) a pronounced sour flavor profile (which is typical for that kind of beer; after all krieks are a type of "sour beer"), and for others it's a bit of a shock to the palate. 

[Mjx]

The oude kriek was not the tartest kriek I've had (there was an amazing one that was remarkably tart and intensely fruity, but I forgot to make a note of the name, and just keep hoping it will show up again; I'll recognize the label), but the vinegar/acetic acid note (especially on the nose) seemed to overwhelm the entire profile, and that was what left me wondering. It may be part of the profile, it's not something I've been able to determine from what I've read.