Beer Review: Lindemans Kriek Lambic
January 3, 2008
I’ve been wanting to try Young’s Double Chocolate Stout mixed with this Lindemans Kriek Lambic for some time now. For New Year’s Eve, I gave it a shot. But I did a tasting of the lambic itself first. Here are my thoughts.
The Pour
I poured this into a lager glass and it poured to a small head that created minimal lacing. The head was really just nothing to write home about. This brew is a definite cherry red color with just a hint of brown.
The Nose
This smelled to me like a cherry lifesaver or cherry cough syrup, but without the pungent smell of the medicine. Not a good way to start off. There were faint hints of hops in the nose, but the cherry was quite overpowering.
The Taste
This tastes just like it smells: cherry lifesaver in liquid form or cherry Vicks 44 but without medicine. You can taste the tart and juicy cherries, and it is light bodied with a clean finish. Carbonation and fruit make it champagne-like.
Overall
I am a beer snob, and I know people who love lambics, but I am not a fan of this at all. I like my beers to have a lot of flavor profiles going on, but I like these flavors tastefully layered over a good beer foundation. This simply overpowers you with one flavor and any foundation it may have is lost in the gush of tart cherry flavor. I won’t purchase it again.
Oh, and as for the pairing of it with Young’s Double Chocolate Stout? I mixed 2/3 Young’s with 1/3 Lambic, and the Lambic was too much. All it did, in my opinion, was take away the good characteristics of Young’s and replace them with tartness.
Recommended: I’ve never tried another lambic so I don’t know how this compares to others, but no, I don’t recommend it
Price: Not sure (bought it with others and didn’t get the receipt)
ABV: Unknown
The Beer Snob's Beer Reviews 
Hi there, Beersnob!
My name is Shannon and I’m the editorial assistant at Foodbuzz.com. I am very impressed with the quality of your posts and to that end, I’d like to invite you to be a part of our newly launched Foodbuzz Featured Publisher program. I would love to send you more details about the program, so if you are interested, please email me at Shannon@foodbuzz.com.
And thanks for reviewing this one. It would have been an unfortunate purchase, and a certainly pricey Vicks 44!
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Beer critics are just like movie critics.
I am always surprised that most comedies critics have a hard time giving the movie a good review because its different from the norm. This is the same for lambic beers. These beers have been brewed this way for hundreds of years and they know what they are doing.
Lambics are not for everyone just like stouts are not for everyone. I can truly appreciate the time and amount of effort that goes in to making a lambic. Its not my beer of choice but I can appreciate it. Out of the lindemans series I like the peche the best. Tast like a peach jolly rancher.
If you ever get the chance to try a Framboise Lambic, do so. It’s a great quality sour/sweet raspberry beer. It’s truly different and not the beer you would expect.
I just had it and I like it. I am a Lambic fan though. Peche is still my favorite though.
Well- its a shame, when I had this brew in Brussels on a humid July evening it was fantastic and hit the spot. Granted the wife tasted this beer and drank most of the second and third rounds; while I sat back and just enjoyed the surroundings and the beer. Sure, this isn’t a Duvel or Rochefort but I am a firm believer in food pairing and even seasonality in terms of beer taste. So maybe give it another go on a hot evening in a comfortable chair.
I’ll try it again…or maybe another brewery’s lambic or a different kind of lambic. Maybe do another review