A Beer As Fine As Any Wine: Cantillon Kriek Lambic
Jan 01 '04
The Bottom Line One of the best beers, I think, to match with food.
If you own a liquor store, or have ever worked in one, you know that a lot of champagne is sold for New Years Eve. That’s because lots of people like to ring in the New Year with a glass of bubbly. But not me. I like to do it with beer, and always have. It’s been an annual tradition to pop a bottle of special beer chez Bruguru every December 31st (along with Chinese food and Three Stooges marathons, but that’s another story).
To ring in 2004, I pried off the cap and pulled out the cork on a 750ml bottle of Cantillon Kriek Lambic. Brewed in Brussels, Belgium, Cantillon is a blended lambic, made from more than one batch. Kriek is Flemish for cherry, and this is in fact a fruit beer. Whole cherries are fermented in barrels of lambic, which I think imparts a superior flavor to beers made with fruit juice.
Lambics differ from ordinary beers in that rather than having yeast pitched into them they are allowed to spontaneously ferment. Yeast already present in the air do the job, and the resulting brew is somewhat different than what you may be used to. Bacteria also get in on the act, imparting characteristic sour notes. Lambics can also ferment from yeast on the skins of the fruit, too, in much the same way that wine does.
Cantillon Kriek is not an everyday beer, at least not here in the United States. At $11.99 for a 750 ml bottle, this may be a beer that is more expensive than many are used to paying. But it’s really not that extravagant when you think about it; wine enthusiasts often pay much, much more for a top of the line wine.
Cantillon is a traditional lambic, with a characteristic sourness that may in fact be too intense for those unfamiliar with the style. Other lambics imported into the United States, like Lindemans, are sweetened with sugar to make them more broadly palatable. I think Lindemans’ beers have their own charm, but I do prefer the beers of Cantillon to them.
Cantillon Kriek Lambic pours to a pinkish red color with a spritzy-bubbly, short lived head formation and a tart cherry nose. The beer is immediately very tart from the first sip with notes of unripe cherries and toasted almonds. The tart fruit notes intensify into the finish, which is very dry, acidic, and mouth-puckeringly sour.
This is an incredibly complex and delicious beer indeed. Again, beware, because it is an acquired taste. The refreshing sourness makes it compatible with a wide array of cuisines. The acidity will allow it to cut through the thickest of French or Belgian sauces. Mine was a perfect companion to the complexity of Shrimp in Lobster Sauce and ginger-rich Mongolian Chicken.
Truly a beer that begs to be served with food.
EPINIONS CRITERIA:
Overall Rating: Five Stars
Beer Rating: A must-sensational
Weight: Medium Body
Flavor: Extremely tart and sour
Complexity: Very complex
Price: $11.99 per 750ml bottle
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