As was previously indicated, I started drinking by finding the sweetest alcoholic things possible. I found the sweetness to not only be refreshing, but also quite effective at masking the terrible alcohol flavor. Once remembering what genitalia I had, I left the wine coolers on the rack. This is not to deny that "sweet" drinks are necessarily bad - quite the contrary. Most of them are quite delicious. However, the key realization I had was the sweetness should not be the primary determinate of drink selection. It can certainly factor into the decision, but to ignore the multitudes of great beers would be quite foolish. I haven't completely lost my taste for fruity beer, so I thought I'd give Echt Kriekenbier a try. This, however, did not prove to be the same sort of fruit-infused beer for which I was hoping.Brewed by Verhaeghe brewery in Belgium, Echt Krienkenbier (a translation for which I could not determine) is a cherry flavored red-brown ale. This particular style is identified as a malt liquor, but clearly not in the typical American "pour one out for my hommie" sense. European matl liquors are typically higher in alcoholic content and brewed using non-traditional ingredients to enhance the alcohol. According to Speciality Beer.com, "This refreshing ale is based on Vichtenaar and has the aroma of Kirsch cherry brandy, smooth, vanilla-like oaky palate and late surge of passion-fruit flavors with some acidity. Local sour cherries are added during the maturation process to the wooden casks containing Vichtenaar." Definitely an interesting approach to the brewing process. Definitely also something I didn't taste at all. Passion fruit?! The bottle indicates that 150 grams of these cherries are added to the beer to create the sweet, fruity flavor.
In theory, this sounds great. In practice, it tastes like some weird purgatory between wine and beer. When I drink fruit flavored beer, first I expect to taste beer, and THEN to taste the additional flavor. In this case, it was more of a carbonated fruit drink, that vaguely resembled the taste of beer. For some, I could see that being a good thing, but I really doubt it, as it just doesn't have an identity. While inspecting the botte closer, I noticed the "Best before" date was November 23, 2007...so it doesn't appear a lot of people find it particularly tasty. I rate this one very low.
UPDATE: After talking briefly to my friend Pete, it seems obvious the name of this beer is "Geniune Cherry Beer." Echt means "real" or "genuine", and I guess I did think to connect that Kierken might be Belgian...oops
3 comments:
You are definately a newbie to the world of tart beer. This is a world class beer and very well made. Of course, to compare it to America's fruit beers (of which the sweeter versions are made using fruit syrup rather than real fruit)is a poor comparison. I suggest you begin to enter into the world of sour/tart beers by finding a locally made gose or a bottle of Monk's cafe.
While I do beleive that the enjoyment of a particular beer is subjective and individual, there is a difference between a beer not being to you liking or style and slamming a fabulously made beer that you don't quite understand.
I agree with the last post. This beer is very good. Obviously its not going to taste like your standard Wheat beer. It's a fantastic sour ale that is a cross between beer with a hint of champagne. Very delicious. Another great beer that is similar in taste is Petrus Age Oak Ale.
Ditto what the other two said. I bought a bottle of this in a pub in Camden the other day (hence the randomly googling it's name and coming across this article) and loved the stuff, I urged my stella-drinking pals to give it a try and they all hated it. I think beer, much like other fermented things like wine or cheese, is something that people often find quite unfamiliar at first, and so takes some getting used to before it can be enjoyed and as even complex beers go this one is pretty niche.
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