Transatlantique Kriek
Presentation: Along with the 1554 Brussels Style Black Ale, I picked up this other 12 ounce New Belgium whilst in Phoenix on a recent beer trip. This Kriek intrigued me; its a blend of Brouwerij Boon Kriek with an offering from New Belgium. The obverse label has a very 1930s looking label with the picture of an Ocean Liner with the words Transatlantique Kriek and Ales from Two Continents. Best Before 19th May 2004, with a listed strength of 6.3%. Appearance: A fantastic looking presentation. A gorgeous cherry red body with a flamingo pink head that is effervescent at first, but which soon retreats to a thin pink halo-like head which is broken in the middle. Very light wispy lacing. A swirl easily induces a fizzing reformation of the pink head collar, but it is short lived. Nice levels of carbonation add to the many bubbles that cling to the Glass, lending a look of a Cherryade Soda at times once the head settles. Nose: Sweet cherry nose with some mild sour hints that ebb and flow. The sweetness always remains but is not disconcerting. Taste: Sweet start with some sugar laden fruit pie sour cherries that take over in the middle. A light acidity breaks into the proceedings in the back end with astringency that just battles the sweetness and gives a nice balance to the overall feel of this Kriek. Mouthfeel: The sweetness is overpowering in the mouth at first but the dry acidic flashes in the latter third lend a nice Sweet n Sour feel and balance to this Blend. Drinkability: I found this to be much better chilled, which takes the sticky sweet edge off of this Belgo-US Kriek. Its a decent drink though, but dont let it warm, youll end up with something that resembles a sticky Cherry Syrup. Overall: A nice refreshing Cherry Kriek Ale when served around 45F, my marks in fact are for this serving temperature. Still a tad too sweet for me to drink too much of in the long term though. This is mainly because Boon Kriek does tend to be fruity-sweet in its raw version (as opposed to Oude Boon Kriek which is the more traditional version). Dont let this warm though, its appeal falls off exponentially I found.