Try?
In the United States, there has been from time to time an uproar over the use of an appellation controlée. The biggest uproar over this was created when Samuel Adams introduced their Cranberry Lambic some years ago. Lambic is a beer that is native to Belgium and brewed within the confines of the Zenne river valley with a spontaneous fermentation. Clearly, the Samuel Adams beer was not so produced, but they did explain on the label that this was their interpretation of such a beer and used a yeast that would give a similar effect to the Belgian wild yeasts. Rogue has produced a kriek, and the Union Station Brewery of Providence, Rhode Island produces one as a summer seasonal.
Union Station is part of the John Harvard's chain of brewpubs, and the chain
head brewer is Timothy Morse, formerly of Anchor Brewing and Rhode Island's
own Hope Brewing Company. Upon tasting Union Station's kriek, Tim was noted
to have exclaimed that the brew could have been presented to him as a
genuine Belgian kriek and he would have believed it. That's a sentiment with
which I wholeheartedly agree. The beer is reddish pink in color with a sour
cherry nose and a light, spritzy head formation. The palate is tart and
crisp with wheat, extremely refreshing and drinkable. The cherry flavor is
apparent from the first sip, but is not at all sweet and cloying, rather it
is sour and quenching. The bartender explained that the reactions so far had
been of a love/hate nature. I loved the beer. It would accompany a pork dish
nicely, but I enjoyed it with a pizza made with spent brew grains, broccoli,
spinach, and chunks of tomato.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
