I CAN remember the first time I tasted a Kriek beer. I was, fittingly, in Belgium – Bruges, to be precise – in one of those bars which sell a gazillion different types of beer and invariably flanked by a chocolate shop on one or both sides.
My mission to ‘taste as many different beers as possible’ was met with an endearing smile by the barman who went on to tell me that they had about 300 different types squeeze into that bar alone.
I spied the Kriek on tap and enthusiastically asked the bar man to pour me a pint. He shook his head and suggested I have a little sample first as it was quite sweet. He wasn’t wrong. I settled for a half glass and sipped away at the sweet cherry goodness.
Kriek is a lambic beer made with cherries and all those Belgian memories came flooding back when I decided to crack open a bottle of Timmermans Kriek this week. Timmermans are the oldest lambic brewery still brewing today, in their own word keeping ‘the true lambic alive for over 300 years now’.
Lambic beer is made using spontaneous fermentation, which involves laying the wort out in large vessels and allowing the micro-organisms in the air to do their magic. Because there can be an inconsistency in terms of strength and quality due to this method of fermentation, lambics are usually made by blending several different batches together to achieve consistency.
It’s such a specialised form of brewing that a beer can only be called lambic if is brewed within 15km of Brussels.
There are a few different kinds of lambic, such as the standard ones made with cherries, raspberries or strawberries, and then there are ‘oudes’, which are aged versions.
A Timmermans Kriek is a great gateway into lambics. It pours a vibrant red colour and, unsurprisingly, gives off sweet aromas of cherry. The taste be mostly cherry too, with very little bitterness. This is a sweet and smooth beer, which is quite refreshing and easy drinking, clocking in at 4 per cent abv.
An oude lambic has more of a sour and bitter flavour to it and is consider quite an exclusive and sought-after beer style. However, if you do manage to get your hands on a good quality oude, you’ll see what all the fuss is about.
