Belgian beer kriek. Belgian beer scream

The intoxicating drink is loved all over the world. Scientists suggest that its components cause an increase in happiness hormones in the body. But some people don’t like the bitter taste of bread. Experts advise such people to try cherry beer.

Description of cherry beer

The dark red, low-alcohol drink belongs to one of the types of beer, but is not quite similar to its traditional types. It is believed that this beer was first brewed in Belgium. European country is famous for its non-standard approach to the process of producing intoxicating drinks.

There is even a legend about the invention. Along it, the Belgian brewer returned home from the campaign to liberate Jerusalem from the Gentiles. He wanted to give the valuable drink the color of divine blood and added cherry berries. it turned out rich and aromatic and was to the taste of his compatriots. Subsequently, this drink was called Kriek beer (in West Flemish Kriek is sour cherry).

In Belgium, the homeland of the special lambic beer variety, traditional ingredients - malt and hops - are used to produce the drink. But after cooking, all components ferment in wooden wine barrels with the help of “wild” yeast. Then, fruits or berries that give a special taste are added to the lambic, which are also fermented. The process is lengthy and takes up to 2 years.

Belgian Creek is brewed using dark cherries. Moreover, each brewery has its own technological features preparations, differing in the choice of berry variety, the percentage of fruit and lambic, the peculiarities of making the extract, etc. Therefore, each manufacturer will have its own taste of Krik, although sometimes only connoisseurs distinguish it.

Basically, cherry lambic has a characteristic berry aroma, a rich garnet color and a sweet and sour taste with notes of cherry and almond. Despite the use of hops, the bitterness is weak, and the strength of the drink is from 3.5° to 5.5°; stronger options are less common. The foam that is important for beer is present and has a distinct berry aroma, a dense texture and a slight pink color.

Types of cherry beer

Belgian cherry beer is a prominent representative of fruity intoxicating drinks. Since berry beer does not belong to a separate variety, the classification of types will be conditional. According to the method of imparting cherry taste and aroma to the future drink, the following options can be distinguished:

Beer drinks with the addition of cherry syrup, flavorings, and less often juice or extract.
Beer in which overripe or dried berries, as well as their juice or extract, are added during the preparation of the drink and participate in fermentation processes.

The basis for future cherry beer can also be not only Belgian lambic, but also light or dark lager, stout and other ale types of alcohol.

In terms of territory of origin, the most interesting types of cherry beer are from Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Japan, and Great Britain. They are engaged in the production of similar drinks in Russia, Poland, Belarus and other countries.

Famous brands

There are many breweries in Belgium producing Kriek fruit lambics. Frequently discussed ones include the following:

Timmermans - brew traditional Krik (4% vol.), adding 4 kg of cherries per 10 liters of lambic;
Oud Beersel - Reviver this brewery (6.5% vol.) consists of 40% cherries, and uses a mixture of young and aged lambic for the base;
3 Fonteinen - they offer an old Krik aged for about 1 year and a strength of 5°;
Lindemans - their light Krik (3.5% vol.) has a pleasant balance of flavor with a sweet and sour cherry note and a slight bitterness of hops;
Bockor - they produce beer under the name Kriek Max (3.2% vol.), which has been repeatedly recognized as one of the best;
Alken-Maes - produces cherry lambic under the Mort Subite brand (4.3% vol.).

Cherry beer from Belgium can be tasted in brasseries. And if such an establishment does not exist, then specialized alcohol stores offer Creek.

In addition to the classic lambic, there are other brands of intoxicating drink with the addition of cherries:

Budweiser Budvar Dark Cherry is a bottom-fermented dark lager from a Czech manufacturer that consists of 13% cherry juice, has a strength of 4.4° and a rich sour cherry taste with notes of almonds and hops.
Dry Cherry Stout is a strong beer (6% vol.) from an English brewery with the addition of dried cherries and concentrated juice.
Sankt Gallen Sakura is a Japanese beer, which, in addition to hops and malt, includes rice, cherry blossom petals and leaves. In Russia, its analogues are actively produced under the name “Sakura”, but in reality they turn out to be only beer cocktails with the addition of flavorings.
Karmi Cherry Sensual is a Polish beer cocktail with a strength of 5° intended for women, but brewed according to classical technologies brewing with the addition of cherry juice.

How to cook at home

The brewing process is labor-intensive but fun. If desired, you can master this art and prepare an intoxicating drink at home. Beer with cherries, prepared independently, will delight both the owner and his guests.

The Krik recipe from Belgian brewery Liefman's suggests the following ingredients:

3 varieties of malt: Pilsen - 4 kg, Crystal - 0.3 kg, chocolate - 0.135 kg;
drinking water - 28 l;
grain products in the form corn flakes and puffed barley - 700 g each;
Irish moss - 10 g;
hops 3 varieties: Whitbread Golding - 25 g, Tettnang - 20 g, Saaz - 10 g;
cherry fruits - 4.5 kg.

Mashing the wort is carried out at a temperature of +66°C, finishing after 90 minutes at +72°C. After straining, the wort is boiled for another 90 minutes, adding Whitbread Golding and Tettnang hops. Saaz is added 15 minutes before the end of cooking, followed by Irish moss 5 minutes after that. The future drink is cooled and poured into open barrels. After 4 months, cherry fruits are mixed in and left to ferment for 1.5-2 months, after which they are bottled.

How to drink Creek beer

Cherry flavored beer has a pleasant refreshing sour taste with a slight sweetness, so it goes well with sweet pastries And light desserts. Pairs perfectly with soft and hard cheeses, seafood and fish snacks, salads and vegetable appetizers.

In brasseries, cherry lambic is always served in wine glasses with a thin stem. It is recommended to drink beer slightly chilled to +4…+8°С. And on frosty evenings, the drink can be heated with spices and herbs. Alcohol will warm you up and give you strength.

Lambic is easy to drink, and the strength of the drink is almost not felt. Therefore, you should not get carried away with beer. Manufacturers produce it in small 330 ml bottles, and 750 ml bottles are suitable for a large company.

It so happened that the traditional is considered purely masculine. Representatives of the fair sex generally prefer to drink lighter and more refined alcoholic drinks. However, there is an exception to every rule, and in our case it is cherry beer.

Cherry-flavored beer has a refined and pronounced fruity taste and a low alcohol level. That is why low-alcohol cherry is usually considered a purely feminine drink. This is a common misconception, because true connoisseurs of foamy beer, including men, should at least once sip and feel the fullness of the flavors in it.

Reference. The most common brand is considered to be Scream. It got its name in honor of the Belgian cherry variety. By the way, Belgium is considered the birthplace of the drink.

Despite this, there are many analogues on the market that are produced, including in Russia.

Belgian Creek

The traditional Belgian creek cherry beer is brewed in a small geographical area in the Senne River valley. The location was not chosen by chance - only here a special type of brewer's yeast is common, which are used in the production of the drink.

The production of Belgian beer is a troublesome and lengthy process. Unlike traditional juice, juice is added to the wort, which gives the alcohol unusual taste. Some manufacturers, in addition to juice, add pieces of cherries or whole berries. It is customary to infuse it for 24 months after production and before use.

Important! The peculiarities of Krik include a low strength - from 3 to 5.5 degrees. In addition, traditionally it has been bottled in small 0.33-liter bottles.

Krik also has one significant drawback - its high cost. This is due to the complex production process and expensive ingredients.

Other brands

There are other brands on the market that are not only produced in Belgium. Domestic brewers did not master traditional production technology and limited themselves to adding juice. The taste is pleasant, but the analogues are inferior to the original.

Japanese low alcohol Sakura. In addition to traditional ingredients and juice, it also contains rice; this is a fairly popular and traditional move by Japanese brewing companies. You can buy it in supermarkets or try it on tap at catering establishments.
Cherry ale "Chekhov". Produced by domestic brewers for the last few years. It has a strength of 6.3 degrees and is sold in small glass bottles. Popular among young people due to its bright taste and fruity aroma.
Baltika "Karmi"- another product from domestic manufacturers. The drink has a distinct taste and lack of bitterness. Such indicators were achieved by adding cherry juice. Beer strength is 5%. Sold in glass bottles of 0.5 liters.

Let's sum it up

Real Krik is produced in Belgium. Like all dear ones alcoholic drinks, it infuses for a long time, manages to acquire a fruity taste and unique aroma. It is distinguished by its lightness and unusualness, but not everyone can try it - the price tag for the drink is significantly inflated.

There are many analogues of the famous Belgian beer on the market. Basically, it is a regular drink with juice added during the production process. Japanese Sakura is closer to the original, but the rest of the drinks are fakes, albeit of high quality.

Have you already tried cherry beer? Share your impressions of the drink in the comments.

In Belgium they love beer and know how to prepare it. There are more than 600 different brands of foamy drink in the country. From here they are transported all over the world, and anyone can visit to appreciate the skill of Belgian brewers.

Almost all varieties of this drink in Belgium are prepared using two techniques - top and bottom fermentation. However, the most interesting thing in the beer scene of this country is the special types obtained using natural fermentation technology. The most popular is lambic with the addition of cherries - Kriek.

What is Kriek?

Cherry beer "Crick" is a naturally fermented beer, to which is added fresh cherries, and it is whole berries that are taken, and not juice or puree. In this case, not just any cherry is suitable, but only of a certain variety - “Charbec”, it grows in the area of the same name near Brussels. Its berries have a pronounced aroma and slightly sour taste. According to legend, Kriek originated as the Belgian equivalent of red wine. One young crusader was returning home after a campaign and decided to recreate the “blood of Christ.” To do this, he brewed lambic and put in it cherries that grew in his home village. The population liked the taste of this beer so much that it quickly became popular.

How is Kriek made?

In order to brew the fruit beer “Krik”, only cherries that have already begun to ripen are used. It is believed that such berries have a richer taste and smell. Each berry is lightly cut and added to the almost finished lambic. This mixture is then poured into oak barrels, seal and leave to infuse until the cherries are completely dissolved. After this, the beer is filtered and allowed to rest again for a year.

Have you always dreamed of trying real Belgian cherry beer? Check out Brasserie Kriek. There you will find many beers from Belgium, including Krik and other special types of foamy drink.

While most European breweries strictly respected beer traditions dating back to the Middle Ages, the Belgians missed opportunities to take liberties with the beer recipe.

It was here that the famous fruit varieties beer, including the legendary Belgian beer Kriek, known far beyond the borders of Belgium. In addition to cherries, which are the key element of this drink, the Belgians love to throw into the vat everything that grows outside the window: peaches, raspberries, apricots, nuts and other ingredients unusual for brewing, but cherry beer, of course, has become the national treasure of the inhabitants of Belgium.

History of the name

Belgian creek beer gets its name from the cherry variety of the same name, grown only near Brussels. According to documents found in the Belgian capital, this beer was first brewed during the Crusades, when one of the crusaders living in the Flemish village of Sherbuque tried to give the drink the color of blood, symbolizing the blood of Christ, and added the darkest cherry he could to the composition. find. The taste of cherry beer came as a surprise to everyone who tried it, and his recipe is a success to this day.

The secret of making beer scream

Classic Krik is a lambic to which fresh crushed Krik cherries are added at the rate of 100 kg of berries per 650 liters of drink. Cherries are added to beer when they are almost ripe. After this, they wait until the berries are completely dissolved (usually this takes from six months to 9 months), filter and clarify the resulting cry and bottle it, where it infuses for another year.

Perhaps the most famous Belgian beer is Timmermans Creek, which is famous for its characteristic cherry flavor, pleasant sourness of sherry, almond flavor and light hop aroma. It is drunk very cold: this way it perfectly quenches thirst and reveals its taste in the best way. Each of them considers it their duty to offer guests traditional Belgian creek, brewed according to an ancient recipe.

Want to go to beer heaven? In this case, you need to go to Belgium! There is a real cult of this foamy drink in this country. It is for the Belgians what wine is for the French. More than 600 are produced here in a variety of styles. Moreover, each Belgian language described in this article has unique taste and unique in its own way.

Germany, in comparison with Belgium, has large quantity breweries, the same Czechs drink more than liters per person annually, while the centuries-old love of the Belgians for the art of brewing is multifaceted and deep, like culture and National cuisine, ingrained customs, which for another person may seem surprising and strange.

It is difficult to explain why such a festive and diverse culture has developed here. Probably the reason for this was dirty water the Middle Ages, instead of which they often drank this church-made drink. Abbeys promoted the artisanal methods, purity and locality that have become fashionable concepts in the food world today.

Little Belgium is a country of regions, each proud of its own individuality. The special taste, style and recipes of Belgian beer are valued here. Thoroughly exploring all its diversity is a lifelong job, but now we will look at the most popular varieties.

Floris Kriek (Belgian cherry beer)

Cherry exotic, refreshing, light top-fermented beer that has the aroma of just picked cherries. It is moderately sweet and has a slight bitterness in the aftertaste. This Belgian cherry beer is made from water, hops, wheat and barley malt. IN ready drink fresh is added

This beer contains 30% juice. Enjoy slightly chilled, like its fruity cousins Huyghe Belgian Floris, without the risk of getting drunk due to the low alcohol level (3.6%). The danger lies in excessive use of this amazing drink, because its taste is actually indescribable and requires frequent repetition. The cost of a glass of drink is about 180 rubles.

Trappiste (Trappist beer)

6 of the 8 Trappist are located in Belgium. Westmalle - Trappist brewery— released his first drink in 1836. Trappiste is a constant pursuit of purity, tradition and quality. This is produced in small quantity in monasteries, which gives it exclusivity.

Interestingly, the six existing brewing abbeys are located throughout the country, with each of them representing a different locality. Thus, Achel is located on a green, flat area near the border with Holland. Chimet is located near the French border among forests; Orval - far to the south; Rochefort - near the hills and Westmalle - in the east, near the once powerful state of Antwerp; Westvleteren is located near the North Sea.

The cost of a glass of this beer is around 250 rubles.

Lambic

Lambic is a traditional beer produced in Pajottenland, near Brussels. This Belgian beer is produced by natural fermentation using wild yeast. This makes it dry, like cider or wine, with a slightly bitter and sour aftertaste. The drink is aged for three years in sherry or port barrels.

Lambics are very often sweetened or blended. They are produced in a variety of styles, some of which have only recently been recognized by an international audience. The cost of a 0.5 liter bottle is 180 rubles.

Abbey (abbey beer)

Belgium owes its brewing culture to the monks, most of whom arrived in the country as refugees during the French Revolution, when violent anti-church uprisings broke out. Belgian Abbey beer can be used as a brand, as well as a connection with this historical event, while the production of a certified drink is associated specifically with monasteries. Some of its varieties still bear the names of famous abbeys.

Both abbey and Trappist drinks include several types of drinks that differ in composition and strength, for example, classic types Dubbel, Tripel and Enkels, which reflected the Holy Trinity and also represented the real strength of the drink. Some brewers today make Quadrupel beer, a particularly strong variety. A glass costs about 100 rubles.

Golden Ale (golden or light ale)

These Belgian beers can be rich and strong, with a golden hue, or lighter in strength and flavor. Golden ales are not very hoppy, nor are they flavored with spices. Pilsner malt is often used in their preparation.

It should be noted that Duvel beer is an example of Belgian golden ale. By the way, devilish images can be traced in all types of golden ales. The Belgians themselves adore them, and you will find them everywhere in Wallonia. The cost of a glass is about 300 rubles.

Belgian white beer

This beer almost disappeared in the 1970s, until a young enterprising farmer began to revive the local tradition.

Belgian brewers often add spices to their beer, coriander being the most popular. This is a reminder of the time when the drink was brewed without hops at all, seasoning it with a mixture of different spices and herbs. White weak beer is perfectly refreshing, especially in the summer. The average price of a glass of this drink is 130 rubles.

Red Ale (red ale)

This is the real pride of West Flanders. When making it, they use a special dark malt, which imparts. To improve its quality, young beer is mixed with already aged beer.

This ale has a slightly sour taste. It is prepared by natural fermentation and aged in oak barrels for up to 2 years. Typically, tasters detect slightly bitter and rich fruity notes. Interestingly, red ale tastes more like wine. A bottle of this ale will cost you 150 rubles.

Brown Ale (brown ale)

West Flanders, as we have already learned, is famous for its red ale. But its neighbor to the east is brown.

Oud Bruin is a blend of aged and young beer. It is close in taste qualities to lambic. Many varieties of this drink are softened and brightened by the addition of fruit flavors. A bottle of this beer will cost you an average of 280 rubles.

Saison (seasonal beer)

During the wet, cold winter months, farmers in remote Wallonia set up their brewing kettles to brew a mild, refreshing ale.

It is sometimes boiled with spices and also with wheat. The strength of this drink is at least 5%. Seasonal beer costs an average of 190 rubles.

Stout

Forget plain Guinness! Belgian is stronger, more complex and less sweet. Guinness, the drinks industry giant, even released a version of its Stout to market it to the Belgian beer connoisseur.

Gueuze is a fermented bottled lambic that is refined and aged for twenty years. Faro ("Faro") - a less strong version with sugar. Belgian beer Kriek (“Scream”) contains sour cherries, which give the drink a sour, dry taste. Fruit lambics are very popular in many countries today, although many of them are not genuine lambics.

The price of a glass of this beer is 300 rubles.

And this is just the beginning, just a brief introduction to the most popular varieties of local beer. There are many more amazing features though. For example, each brewer has special glasses made for his own brand of beer. Also interesting is the science and art of serving beer with various national dishes.

All that remains is to go to this amazing little country and arrange a real gastronomic tour, while trying all kinds of Belgian beer!