Hello everyone.  I hope all is well.  It’s time for another craft beer review and I’m glad that you’ve stopped by to join me.  For today’s tasting I’m going to be trying the Liefmans Cuvée Brut produced by Brouwerij Liefmans located in Oudenaarde, Belgium.

I haven’t had this beer in a very, very long time, so when I saw it on the shelf the other day I decided to reintroduce it to my taste buds.

From the website, leifmans.be, this bit of information was provided.

This Kriek is made with a completely different method from Kriek Lambic.  It starts with old brown beer which is macerated with fresh whole cherries in shallow, horizontal tanks (every 100 liter brown beer holds 13 kg cherries).  Then it matures for about 1 year, afterwards it is blended with both Oud Bruin and Goudenband of different ages.  The result is a well balanced sour and sweet Kriek of great complexity. 

Let’s give it a try.  Shall we?

This brew came in a 25.4 oz. bottle and it possessed an ABV of 6.0%.

It appeared a ruby red to cranberry juice color.  The head was off white with only the most faint pink tint to it.  It was sized fairly well and the texture was just a tad bit fizzy.  The retention time was solid and the lacing looked “ok”.  It was a little thin, but worthy enough.

The nose divulged tones of ripe cherries and raspberry.  Neither were overly sour or tart smelling.  Rather mild to tell the truth.  A firm hint of wood and earthiness really gave it a “round” smell.  It was almost “soft” smelling. Deeper into the aroma I began to pick up on a fragrance of freshly baked pie crust.  I thought that was very, very nice.

The flavor was also quite mellow.  Well balanced.  Lightly soured and delicately tart cherries showed themselves first.  The woodiness came through next and it appeared to really pull the sourness back and helped balanced the overall profile.  More of those earthy tones were noted and toward the end I began to decipher some sugary sweetness.  Not bad.

The mouthfeel was medium bodied.  Mostly dry and just a wee bit sharp.  It was kind of refreshing too I thought. The carbonation was of medium strength and just a very light touch of warmth was felt after the swallow.  A nice shot of flavor was left behind for me to enjoy between sips as well.

Well, I feel that this is a pretty good beer.  It wasn’t as sour, acidic or tart as I remember it being, but it still provided enough of those characteristics to keep me interested for the duration.  Not to mention the drinkability was very good.  I just kept turning up the snifter for another gulp.  I’d say give the Liefmans Cuvée Brut a try if you have yet to do so.  It’s a staple in the beer world and one that every beer geek should try at least once.  I’m sure that I’ll pick it up again sometime.  It’s one of those beers that always seems to be available, yet I tend to walk by.  I really should quit doing that.  I need to make myself grab a bottle from time to time because it truly is a solid and enjoyable drink.  Either way, if you guys try it be sure to let me know what you think in the comments.  I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading and commenting everyone.  I really appreciate it.

Until next time.  Cheers.

Score:  3.95 out of 5

Grade:  B+