Judge’s Review: 88 Rating – Timmermans Kriek by Brouwerij Timmermans

Fruit Lambic | Year-Round | Belgium

By Nelson Crowle

Judges Rating: 88
Aroma: 21
Appearance: 6
Flavor: 36
Mouthfeel: 8
Overall Impression: 17

Timmermans Kriek by Brouwerij Timmermans was evaluated as a Fruit Lambic per the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines (23F).  
The beer pours a clear copper color with a fairly large tan head of tiny bubbles that persists and slowly falls leaving lots of Belgian lace. Moderate sweet cherry greets the nose along with medium-sweet caramel notes. The flavor starts off with caramel and toffee with medium-sweet cherry chiming in quickly to support. There is very little tart or sour character that is expected from a kriek – the sweet fruity and caramel notes tend to dominate the flavor. Also, the gueuze-like notes of some funky Belgian yeast character are very low. This is a very tasty cherry and caramel fruit beer. As the beer warms, more Luxardo-like cherry notes present themselves making for a very nice fruity character. Moderate carbonation presents the fruit nicely. Pair this beer with a scoop of plain vanilla ice cream and some flourless chocolate cake.