What a good day. I had a great ride to and from work on the fixie today, and was all jazzed about going for a mountain bike ride when I got home.

Fortunately for me, Grant had other ideas. I was just pulling into the house when I heard a knock on the door, and saw a familiar figure standing outside, holding what appeared to be two bombers.

That only meant one thing. The beer fairy was making a drop.

The mountain bike ride was postponed and I immediately welcomed the bringer of this delectable nectar to my house.

What he brought with him was two bottles of Transatlantique Kriek.

We chatted and enjoyed our way to the bottom of the first bottle and followed it up with a bomber of Chimay that I had sitting in the fridge for just such an occasion.

I made it out for a ride after that (which was a bit interesting while I burned off the two glasses of 8% alcohol), and am just now sitting down with the second bomber to put a little night cap on the evening. So, with nothing to do but sit and enjoy this beer, I thought I would share some insight into what I’m consuming, since I’ve heard this is not yet available (but will be soon!) in arizona.

So, here goes nothing.

In order to set the stage, it is necessary to describe the pedigree of this beer. At it’s most basic level, it’s a blend of a cherry lambic beer straight from belgium in the Lambeek region and a golden ale from New Belgium. The lambic is brewed in Belgium and then shipped over, where it is blended and bottled at the new belgium facilities.

I apologize for this picture. I swear I took 5 or 6 of them, and none really captured what I was seeing as I poured this beer. The beer is a beautiful ruby red color when you pour it. It has very little to no head and is crystal clear. The bubbles streaming up from the bottom of the beer are reminiscent of champagne bubbles, as they are very small and active. This allows what little head it has to dissipate immediately.

The aroma has a very sour note to it, but is still very light. It has a very distinct ‘belgian sour’ smell to it, with just a hint of cherries.

This is in stark contrast to the taste which still has an element of a belgian sour beer to it, but is overwhelmed by the cherry flavor. The tastes are incredibly strong, but not necessarily sweet, and the cherry seems to overpower whatever flavors are being added by the golden ale.

The mouthfeel is light, with no stickiness in the mouth after drinking it (which can be pronounced in sweeter fruit beers), and the tiny champagne-like bubbles really set off the tartness of the cherries. The lingering taste is almost that of a dry, sour champagne with a cherry in it rather than a beer, although the initial flavor has a bit more of the malty overtones that remind you of it’s origins.

This is definitely a sipping beer. I don’t think there is any way to drink it fast, and I don’t think you would want to, since the tastes seem to change as you work your way through the sip and even the bottle. The cherry flavor remains, but as your palatte gets more used to the sour tartness of the beer you start to get more of the malty golden ale overtones.

The alcohol is 8% ABV, but except for the overall physical effect after a bomber of the stuff, you don’t notice it. The alcohol taste is well masked by the sour tartness of the cherry lambic.

Personally, I enjoyed this beer, but for the price, my preferences still would be for the La Folie as the cherries are a bit overwhelming.

Thanks again to Grant for constantly hooking me up with some delicious new beers, and thanks to New Belgium for putting together another delicious beer in their “Lips of Faith” program (which is their small-batch ‘experimental’ or ‘special occasion’ beers).

If you see a bomber in the store anytime soon, it’s definitely worth picking one up and trying it out. Let me know what you think if you do.

Peace Out.