Kriek lambic is a style of
Belgian beer
Beer in Belgium includes pale ales, lambics, Flanders red ale, Flemish red ales, sour Oud bruin, brown ales, strong ales and Stout (beer), stouts. In 2018, there were 304 active breweries in Belgium, including international companies, such as A ...
, made by fermenting
lambic with
sour Morello cherries. Traditionally "
Schaarbeekse krieken" (a rare Belgian Morello variety) from the area around
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
are used. As the Schaarbeek type cherries have become more difficult to find, some brewers have replaced these (partly or completely) with other varieties of sour cherries, sometimes imported.
Etymology
The name is derived from the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
word for this type of cherry (kriek).
Brewing
Traditionally, kriek is made by breweries in and around Brussels using lambic beer to which sour cherries (with the pits) are added. A lambic is a sour and dry Belgian beer, fermented spontaneously with airborne yeast said to be native to Brussels; the presence of cherries (or raspberries) predates the almost universal use of
hops as a flavoring in beer.
A traditional kriek made from a lambic base beer is sour and dry as well. The cherries are left in for a period of several months, causing a
refermentation
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...
of the additional sugar. Typically no sugar will be left so there will be a fruit flavour without sweetness. There will be a further maturation process after the cherries are removed.
More recently, some lambic brewers have added sugar to the final product of their fruit beers, in order to make them less intense and more approachable to a wider audience. They also use
cherry juice
Cherry juice is a fruit juice consisting of the juice of cherries. It is consumed as a beverage and used as an ingredient in various foods, processed foods and beverages. It is also marketed as a health supplement. It is produced by hot- or co ...
rather than whole cherries and are matured for much shorter periods.
[Oliver, Garrett. (2011). '' The Oxford Companion to Beer''. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p. 522. . Retrieved March 14, 2019.]
Framboise
Framboise () is a Belgian lambic beer fermented with raspberry (''framboise'' is the French word for raspberry).
Beer
In English, ''framboise'' is used primarily in reference to a Belgian lambic beer that is fermented using raspberries. It ...
is a related, less traditional
Belgian beer
Beer in Belgium includes pale ales, lambics, Flanders red ale, Flemish red ales, sour Oud bruin, brown ales, strong ales and Stout (beer), stouts. In 2018, there were 304 active breweries in Belgium, including international companies, such as A ...
, fermented with raspberries instead of sour cherries. Kriek is also related to
gueuze
Gueuze (Dutch ''geuze'', ; French ''gueuze'', ) is a type of lambic, a Belgian beer. It is made by blending young (1-year-old) and old (2- to 3-year-old) lambics, which is bottled for a second fermentation. Because the young lambics are no ...
, which is not a fruit beer but is also based on refermented lambic beer. Some breweries, like
Liefmans, make "kriek" beers based on
oud bruin beer instead of lambic.
Commercial examples
![Bottleskriek](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Bottleskriek.jpg)
Traditional krieks include:
*
Boon
Boon may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Boon (game), a trick-taking card game
* ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells
* ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick
* The Ultimate Boo ...
Kriek
*
Cantillon Kriek Lambic
*
3 Fonteinen
3 Fonteinen is a Belgian brewery, specialized in geuze and kriek. The brewery is situated in Beersel, near Brussels and produces classic versions of both kriek and geuze.
Geuzestekerij
3 Fonteinen was founded in 1887 as a café and ''geuzeste ...
Kriek
*
Girardin Kriek 1882
*Hanssens Kriek Lambic
*
Oud Beersel
Oud Beersel is a Belgian lambic brewery. It is a member of HORAL, whose main event is ''Toer De Geuze'' every two years.
History
Oud Beersel is an artisanal lambic brewery, based in Beersel and founded in 1882 by Henri Vandervelden. His so ...
Oude Kriek Vieille
*
Timmermans Traditional Kriek Lambic
Sweetened krieks include:
*
Belle-Vue Kriek Lambic
*
Chapeau
A chapeau is a flat-topped hat once worn by senior clerics.
In heraldry
In European ecclesiastical heraldry, it is used as a mark of ecclesiastical dignity, especially that of cardinals, where it is called the ''red chapeau''. It is worn over t ...
Kriek Lambic
*
Lindemans Kriek Lambic
*
Mort Subite
Alken-Maes is a Belgian brewery created out of the 1988 merger of two small breweries, Maes located at Kontich-Waarloos and Cristal-Alken located at Alken. It was bought by Scottish & Newcastle in 2000, who were taken over by Carlsberg and H ...
Kriek Lambic
*Timmermans Kriek Lambic
*
Van Honsebrouck
Van Honsebrouck is a Belgian brewery in Ingelmunster, Belgium. Founded in 1865 as Sint-Jozef Brewery, it was renamed to Brewery Van Honsebrouck in 1953. It is one of two breweries outside of Pajottenland to produce lambic beer.
History
The loca ...
St. Louis Kriek Lambic
*La Sultane Halal Kriek
Kriek based on Oud Bruin include:
*De Ryck Kriek Fantastiek
*Liefmans Kriek
*Kasteel Kriek
*Verhaeghe Echt Kriekenbier
References
External links
{{Beer Styles
Beer styles
Beer in Belgium
Traditional Speciality Guaranteed products from Belgium
Cherries