#whatbeerwednesdays: Episode 2

What You Should Be Drinking Wednesdays: Episode 2

Kriek (Belgian lambic ale brewed with cherries)

Let us begin this episode by pondering why Belgian lambics, particularly fruited lambics, are solely the preserve of beer geeks. Even those within Belgium scarcely knew of their existence. It took beer writer Michael Jackson to introduce Belgian beer to Belgians, hence why he was the only non-brewer to be inducted into the Belgian Brewers Guild.


Today, every time I pick up a bottle of Boon Kriek or Oud Beersel Kriek I ponderously run two fingers around the Champagne-like bottle’s punt (the concave indent at the base) and wonder, in spite of Jackson’s best efforts, why this beer style is still so under appreciated.

To put it bluntly, every wine cellar should have at least one bottle of kriek therein, especially as pet nats and natural wines take over the world. Every self respecting restaurant with a cutting edge wine program ought to have kriek on its menu. And every Homer Simpson beer guzzler who knows only beer to be akin to a singular cigarette brand he or she rigidly sticks to their whole life should at the very least sample a glass of kriek to witness what beer can be. 

Heck, it may even impress a love prospect.

Younger kriek is likely to have more fresh fruit character from cherries that have yet to be fully developed through the process of fermentation.
Image shows a pair of Boon Kriek bottles with bright red labels with corks still unopened.

Kriek: What You Need to Know
 
Origin: The village of Lambeek, located just outside of Brussels, Belgium.
Etymology: “Kriek” is the Flemish word for cherry.
Where to find them: Specialty bars and bottleshops.
ABV: 5.0-7.0%. Some modern interpretations may be higher.
Approachability: Unsweetened kriek may be quite bracing at first, like having red wine for the first time. Complexities and nuances become more apparent before too long.
Glassware: Stemmed goblet with inward taper. The Spiegelau Barrel-aged style glass is my go to for the job. Otherwise for a real touch of class and elegance, serve in a Champagne flute.
Seasonality: Year round.
Serving temperature: Around 7°C.

Kriek: A (not so) brief history

One only has to look at the history and geography of Europe to deduce there is a “grape and grain” divide. On either side of the divide climate and other forces helped determine the suitability for production of grains for beer or grapes for wine.

This dividing line cuts right through Belgium, which might not only explain why fruited beer has been made there for centuries, but also why the Belgians treat their beer like wine more than anywhere else on Earth. Perhaps most crucially, in the days before hops, beers were flavoured with gruits (a catch all term describing any combination of herbs, botanicals, spices and fruits), the Belgians added fruit to their beers almost exclusively. They have maintained this tradition more than anyone else over the ages.


Indeed the fruit used in Belgian beer was that which grew wild and was left over from each growing season. The resident yeast in the fruit (and it may surprise you to learn all brewer’s yeast originally derives from fruit) provided further fermentation as the fruit was added to barrels of beer. The resultant beverage transcends the worlds of wine and beer perhaps more than aficionados from either side would like to admit.

It bears mentioning that krieks and other fruited lambics differ from gueuzes in that although both are a blend of older and newer beer, fermentation begins anew with the addition of fruit in krieks, while gueuze’s fermentation continues with the blending of one year old lambic that is itself still fermenting out.

During the 1980s krieks and other spontaneously fermented lambic beers were often sweetened and fermented in stainless steel vats instead of wood to increase their appeal at a time when pale lagers dominated.

Kriek... What processed cherries should taste like

It is no small wonder why lambic brewers have any scalp left on their head with the amount of noggin scratching they do. The decision over which beer is destined for the local cafes of Brussels as a single lambic, which will be blended with two- and three-year old lambic to make gueuze, or that which will have locally sourced dried, sour Schaarbeek cherries added is as complex as the resultant beers themselves.

When a kriek is being produced, the cherries (which in the boldest form of krieks are added by the pound for every few litres of beer) ferment right down to the pits. That’s right, yeast is literally flesh eating, and the pits themselves add a touch of nuttiness and bitterness to the beer as well.

In younger versions, there is more fresh fruit flavour as one can well imagine. Older versions, known as oud kriek, tend to be brighter (more acidic) and a touch more astringent as the fruit develops into more complex, intriguing characteristics.

As krieks continue undergoing fermentation in the bottle, why not grab two of the same vintage? Drink one now. Take notes. Cellar the other for later. Compare.

Why kriek is so awesome

The fermentation process itself is only the beginning of the endless fascination that kriek lambic beers offer. The fruit does its thing, the wood and its bugs impart their flavour and the brewer selects the blend. What we’re left with is a true object of desire, one that will surely delight and surprise with every sip.

Forget Champagne, Kriek is sure to to win over your next date.

 
Kriek is better than wine with...


A date.

No, really. I encourage you to have your partner over for dinner, and having purchased a couple of bottles of Kriek Mariage Parfait, pour it into a pair of Champagne flutes before or after dinner. The pop of the cork only helps to complete the picture. Then you may thank me later as you melt into each other’s eyes.


Kriek Mariage Parfait is a more delicate, nuanced and subtle example of the style. It is perfect for those not used to sour beer but with an already sophisticated palate. And would you look at its blushy claret colour against the candlelight...? It looks almost wine-like, yes?

Probably because kriek is not that far removed from wine.

Kriek is also great with chocolate, cheesecake and soft ripened cheeses. Also highly date appropriate!

Six Pack o' Beer Facts: Episode 1

Quirky and cool things you might never have known about beer you can take home with you right now.

Before we get stuck into today’s post, there’s going to be a few changes around here. Henceforth the Blind Taste Test blog will be more geared towards resources, facts and all things beer knowledge. For beer, event and other reviews, head on over to my Blind Taste Test: Beer Reviews page. For almost everything else, head to @blindtastetestgf on Instagram. I will be exploring other platforms in future to get more content out there.

The Six Pack o’ Beer Facts will be a fortnightly series of, as the name suggests, easily digestible beer facts you can take anywhere.
 
So, without further ado…

Beer is an endlessly fascinating subject, but sometimes it can get a little boring when things get long winded. Just ask Conan O’Brien who interviewed Jim Koch of The Boston Brewing Co...

But there is no reason why beer knowledge can’t be fun and engaging. To that end, here are six quick fire beer facts you can fit in your backpack or share with friends.

1. Enterobacter and lambic

Lovers of sour might be intrigued - or put off - to know that enterobacter (think E. coli, think gut flora) is imperative in the very early stages of spontaneous fermentation.

Enterobacter is quickly crowded out by Saccharomyces, Brett and other bugs, hence it is totally benign long before the final beer is done fermenting. However, many homebrewers fail in their attempts to brew the style because of enterobacter’s absence.

2. B-complex vitamins and hefe weissbier

E. coli is regarded as anything but healthy, but precisely the opposite is true of German hefe weissbier yeast. It is choc full of B-complex vitamins, including B12. It follows a Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier with dinner might turn out to be healthy after all.

In fact vegans looking to bolster their B-vitamins may need look no further. It is a common misconception that B12 is present in animal flesh inherently. The truth of the matter is B12 is present in soil and dirt in which animals roll about and humans are no longer exposed to.

But you needn’t think about that. Just think of the health benefits and how awesomely hefe weissbier pairs with things like dahl, masala and all manner of other foods thanks to its higher than average acidity.

3. Saison Dupont: The most underground brewery ever?

Saison is another great table beer, but we mighn’t have one of the stalwarts of the style without a bit of quick thinking and a metric shit tonne of hard work! Belgium’s Brasserie Dupont, makers of the classic Saison Dupont, was directly in the firing line of enemy NAZI air strikes during the Second World War. 


In order to save the brewery, then on the cusp of celebrating 100 years in operation (albeit operating under different owners following Louis Dupont’s acquisition of the farmhouse brewery in 1920), the brewery’s tanks were buried deep underground.

The war never quite ended for Brasserie Dupont and other brewers of fine Belgian ale. As Pilsners and pale ales grew in popularity in Belgium other beer styles struggled to remain relevant. Until writer Michael Jackson introduced the world (and indeed Belgians!) to Saison Dupont it only represented 2% of the brewery’s sales, and it was considered for discontinuation.


4. Blue cheese and barleywine - and the aristocracy

The 1% of Britain during the 1800s sure had good taste! At a time when pesky wars with the French meant fine red wines from the continent were hard to come by, what were the aristocrats to do but enjoy barleywine instead.

Indeed stronger beers such as barleywines and imperial stouts were the preserve of the wealthy elite (so too pale ales for a time) until the wars, taxation and cultural shifts saw darker beers fade into relative obscurity during the middle of the 20th Century. But before that time, the aristocrats found the now famous pairing of blue cheese and barleywine to be so damn good they kept it secret from the common folk.

5. Keep it in the fridge!

Necessity is the mother of all invention. Just ask the military or those who worked with brewing during the 1700s and 1800s. The process of refrigeration, essentially moving a heat source from one point to another, was invented at the Spaten brewery of Bavaria by Carl von Linde in 1873.

Prior to the advent of modern refrigeration brewing was at the mercy of the seasons. Refrigeration ushered in the modern era of brewing in which brewers could brew and lager beer all year round.

What followed of course was the commoditisation and globalisation of beer, a highly perishable product, which could then be distributed over long distances by railcar. Anheuser-Busch established the St. Louis Refrigerator Car Company just five years following von Linde’s landmark invention. Small wonder the 39 breweries in Brooklyn servicing the local comunity all but disappeared while beer took marketshare from cheaper, then easier to produce spirits in the South.

6. The Be-Fuggled New World

Once again necessity is the mother of all invention. Prior to the advent of Cascade hops, Cluster hops made up to 80% of Oregon’s hop production (as overseen by the US Department of Agriculture - USDA’s breeding program) before the onset of Downy mildew which blighted crops. The Cascade hop was developed by the USDA and Oregon State University not only for its aromatic properties but also its strong resistance to disease.

The Cascade hop variety (first released in 1972) is a cross-pollenation between the English Fuggle variety, the little known Russian Serebrianker and an unknown native male hop with the allocated number USDA 56013. The Cascade hop, categorised as an aroma rather than a bittering variety, went on to redefine beer as we know it today with its citrus and piny aromatic profile.




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