From the label: Possibly the most unique beer we've made to-date! It was brewed in the traditional Belgian style using spontaneous fermentation. We did this by pumping hot wort into our open-top vessel (coolship) located on our roof in order to cool and capture wild yeast and bacteria overnight. This method along with using all North Dakota ingredients (including locally grown cherries from Oddfellows Orchard) gives us a true ND Terroir in a glass. This refreshing barrel-aged brew drinks like a funky cherry spritzer! 7.3% ABV - Bottled on 12/16/20
Appearance: Seeing Kriek on the label, I was expecting very bright, almost radioactive red body to this beer. This has a rosé wine kind of appearance to it - a moderate bright pink-peach hue to it with a light amount of carbonation in the body and a moderate white head on the top that fizzes away with a hiss in mere seconds.
Aroma: Fairly dry with a bit of a woodiness presence up front, a sharp tartness that tickles the nostrils, a slight floral presence. There's a bit of a classic Belgian vibe in here.. fairly dry and oh.. one thing I'm forgetting to even mention is that this is a very cherry forward beer - it's sweet, cherry-licious and incredibly tart. The wild yeast collected for this beer really pops out giving off a serious funk to it, a bit of a butteriness to it and a hint of wild flower aroma to it.. but that may just be me.
Taste: Sours are not for everyone and I complain a lot about them but this one is a delicate treat - it's sweet the moment it hits my tongue. There's a bit of a melted butter mouthfeel to it to an extent, a good amount of tartness and a mild funkiness from the wild yeast. It's floral, has a Belgian vibe that gives off notes of bubble gum, a hint of breadiness and even notes of wildflower and possibly honey. At certain points, Spon Von Kriek is very sharp on the palate, while other times it's like a sweet cherryful dessert. There's other notes that pop out to me but I can't really register in my mind - a slight pepperiness? A slight booziness? Almost a faint hint of raspberries at the end?
Overall Thoughts: I may be wrong but I think this is the beer that Eric expected to place over at World Beer Cup a few months ago but didn't.. but their Gin & Spruce did and won gold in Experimental Wood Aged Beer. This was great - it wasn't overly sour/tart so I wasn't cringing but the 750mL bottle is definitely something I highly recommend sharing with a couple people. It's moderately sweet, definitely tart, has a nice Belgian presence to it, a hint of butteriness and a nice wild flower/wild yeast presence here and there.
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