How to pour it
a kriek in
Rinse the goblet with cold water and shake it out without drying it. Grease from a tea towel breaks down the head, and with a kriek, that pink head is precisely the most beautiful part of the presentation.
Hold the glass at an angle of about forty-five degrees and let the kriek run down the side until the glass is two-thirds full. This keeps carbonation in the beer instead of in the head.
Set the glass upright and pour until just below the rim. The head turns pink because color from the kriek skins gets into the foam; the more smoothly you pour, the longer it remains.
Leave the last little bit with the yeast sediment in the bottle and place a sour cherry on the rim. Do not wipe it off: with a kriek, you simply leave the head in place.
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The story
Kriek is not a flavoring but a second fermentation. The brewer leaves mature lambic on whole sour cherries for months, pits and all, usually around two hundred grams of fruit per liter. The yeast finds new sugars there and starts working again, causing most of the fruit sugar to disappear. What remains is color, acidity, and the almond-like note from the pits. In this form, kriek is dry and sharp. The sweet krieks many people know were sweetened later, making them a different drink from this one.
The right glass
You drink kriek from a small stemmed goblet of approximately twenty-five centiliters, the size of a small bottle. The stem keeps your hand away from the beer, while the bowl shows the deep red color from the outside and leaves room for the pink head. The branded glass below is exactly that model. If you want a larger bowl that can also accommodate a bigger bottle, the second glass is the logical next step. More models can be found among the Belgian beer glasses.
Kriek Beer Glass 25 cl - Gift Box
Arcoroc Cervoise Beer Glass 32 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 36,90.
The right tools
For a kriek, you need little besides a bottle opener alongside the glass. For the cherry on the rim, use a cocktail pick, and if you want to measure a splash of spirits alongside it, use a jigger. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 48,85.
What do you pour alongside it?
Kriek itself takes center stage; these are the bottles that can be served alongside it. With the cherries and almond notes from the pit, liqueur is the best match. Well-known bottles include Amaretto and Limoncello. On each drink page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails pair well with it, and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
The difference between two bottles of kriek can be significant. Traditional lambic-aged kriek is dry and sharp, with acidity taking center stage. Sweetened krieks also exist, with sugar or juice added after aging; these taste rounder and are the version most people know. With raspberries instead of cherries, the same beer is called framboise. Read more? View all drinks and brands.
Serving tip
Serve between six and ten degrees. Ice-cold temperatures mute the fruit and almond notes, while above ten degrees the acidity becomes sharp. A sour cherry on the rim completes it, and with a dry kriek, a piece of aged cheese or dark chocolate pairs well.
Good to know
Is kriek a soft drink?
No. It is beer, with an average alcohol content of between four and six percent, so it is subject to the same rules as any other beer. The fact that it tastes of cherries and can be sweet does not change that. You will find the percentage on the label.
Why does kriek taste like almond?
Because of the stone. The cherries go into the beer whole, stones and all, and during the months the fruit spends in the lambic, an almond-like note is released. Together with the flesh, it creates the characteristic combination of sour fruit and marzipan.
What is the difference between a dry and a sweet kriek?
With traditional kriek, the fruit sugar ferments along with the beer, leaving a dry, sour beer. With sweetened kriek, sugar or juice is added after maturation, making the beer taste rounder and sweeter. Both are called kriek, but in practice they are two different drinks.
How many sour cherries go in it?
Usually around two hundred grams per litre of beer. That is a substantial amount of fruit, and it is also why the beer becomes such a dark red and the head turns pink.
How long does the beer rest on the fruit?
Months. The cherries go into the barrel with mature lambic and stay there until the yeast has absorbed the sugars from the fruit and the beer has taken on its colour and acidity.
Frequently asked questions
Which glass do you use for kriek?
A small stemmed goblet of about twenty-five centilitres, the size of a bottle. The stem keeps your hand away from the beer, while the bowl shows off the deep red colour and pink head. If a larger bottle fits in your glass, choose a roomier bowl of around thirty centilitres.
How much alcohol does kriek contain?
Usually between four and six percent. Sweetened kriek is often at the lower end of that range, while traditional kriek made with lambic is at the higher end. It is always stated on the label.
Why is the head pink?
Because pigment from the cherry skins gets into the foam. The foam itself is simply beer foam; the colour comes from the fruit, not from anything that has been added.
What is the difference between kriek and framboise?
The fruit. Kriek is lambic with sour cherries, while framboise is the same lambic with raspberries. The method is the same: the whole fruit spends months in the barrel with the beer.
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