Glühkriek - Brouwerij Liefmans

Jason

Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served hot from crock pot filled by a couple of 750 ml bottles.

Appearance: No head as this beer has no carbonation, clear burgundy brown in colour.

Smell: Dominant clove and sweet tart cherry juice aroma.

Taste: Tart up front with a ton of ripe cherry juice flavour, this is countered by spices … mainly clove but close to an all spice as well. Alcohol has not been burned off as it gives quick vapors after each sip.

Mouthfeel: Leaning to a wine like slickness in the mouth off of the medium body. No carbonation.

Drinkability & Notes: Just the experience alone got my vote and something I’d love to sip on occasion though not something I could drink more than one of a night.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2003 12:53:14 | More by Jason

Todd

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Notes from the 2002 Kerstbierfestival, Essen, Belgium.

** This beer was served hot. **

Dark ruby, near black, in colour with a still head. Aroma is 100% warm cloves -- like on a ham in the oven. Flavours freagin' nearly burst your mouth open! Mega juicy! Both sweet and tart characters, thick, notes of prune, black currant and grape.Coarse on the palate. With cloves rounding things off and running into the dry finish.

Based on the Liefmans Goudenband with the addition of North cherries. Very wine-like in many ways. Most impressive, especially when served warm -- the flavours increase ten-fold.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2003 03:55:09 | More by Todd

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +19%

05-20-2013 22:31:25 | More by Slatetank

BugattiRoo

Australia

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

04-21-2013 15:18:00 | More by BugattiRoo

saeh

France

4.5/5  rDev +12.8%

03-16-2013 18:12:08 | More by saeh

Hultkrantz

Sweden

3.5/5  rDev -12.3%

03-10-2013 00:40:17 | More by Hultkrantz

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.25/5  rDev -18.5%

01-10-2013 07:27:16 | More by ygtbsm94

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

3.95/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle shared by ygtbsm94. Thanks Brad.

The beer is brown with a small tan head. The aroma offers sweet cherry juice, like a Shirley Temple. Sugary cherry juice flavor, like a children’s drink. Fruit punch. Light bodied with moderately low carbonation. Very tasty, and better than I expected, though the sweetness becomes cloying quickly. Best in small doses.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2013 04:54:09 | More by Huhzubendah

donactive

Sweden

2.25/5  rDev -43.6%

11-26-2012 15:26:20 | More by donactive

aztraz

Sweden

3.5/5  rDev -12.3%

11-24-2012 17:16:35 | More by aztraz

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev +0.3%

09-08-2012 01:06:38 | More by t0rin0

UCLABrewN84

California

4.08/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Bottle purchased at Lucky Baldwin's in Pasadena, CA.

1997 vintage.

Pours a murky crimson brown with a foamy brown head that fades to nothing. No lacing on this one. There are some chunks of sediment floating around in the glass after the pour. Smell is of malt, spices, and some light sweet/sour cherry aromas. There is a fair amount of oxidation noticeable in the smell with hints of cardboard that come out as the beer warms. Taste is much the same as the smell (including the oxidation) with a spice finish that lingers on the palate. This beer has a low level of carbonation with an almost flat mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer for what it is and has held up pretty well for being ~ 15 years old. Definitely an interesting beer but the carbonation level is not helping this one out.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2012 07:04:40 | More by UCLABrewN84

Niklas

4.5/5  rDev +12.8%

04-22-2012 16:09:31 | More by Niklas

Asgeirr

Sweden

3.5/5  rDev -12.3%

02-05-2012 16:30:51 | More by Asgeirr

Sunnanek

Sweden

3.4/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: This beer pours red with hints of brown. Almost no head nor lacings.

S: Rich cherry smell, but also sweetness - very candylike. Reminds me of the cherry-flavored Pez.

T: Sweetness cobined with sourness. The cerries gives the taste more complexity compared with the smell. Some spices.

M: Aftertaste is rather short and sour. Body is medium and carbonation is moderate.

D: Rich in cherries, but not much else going on. Some spicies turns the taste up a notch. It was kind of interesting.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2010 18:13:32 | More by Sunnanek

bark

Sweden

3.13/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed at the suggested 70° C.

The smell got notes of caramel, some cherry jam and hints of sweet nuts. Some alcohol.

The colour is dark wine red (35 EBC), the liquid clear. The small head is off-white.

The taste is sweet with quite a lot of strong red wine, some mixed Christmas spices, grape juice. Some alcohol and passing sour-bitter hints of grape fruits and tea. The aftertaste is dry with some caramelized sugar, some vague spicy hints and some warming alcohol.

The carbonation is very gentle (most of it seems to have disappeared during the heating), the few remaining bubbles are mild. The liquid is sweet and somewhat sticky.

I drank it first at cellar temperature, and gave it 3.65. I don't think it gained much of the heating. An interesting winter brew that reminded me of their Gudenband brew.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2010 18:10:53 | More by bark

rarbring

Sweden

3.98/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer is clear red with a warm brown tone, the rather small pinkish head leaves a little lacing.

The smell is sweet, cherry candy, honey, faintly spicy.

The taste is also sweet, but compensated with sour cherry notes and bitter cherry seeds. There is also spices like anisette, cloves and cedar.

The carbonation is small, the fluid smooth, a bit sugary.

A nice kriek, the glüh part could have been glühier maybe.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2010 19:18:11 | More by rarbring

seanyfo

United Kingdom (Scotland)

4.43/5  rDev +11%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

25cl bottle heated through and served in a chimay chalice

A- No head, dark ruby body.

S- Hot apple crumble/strudel. Nutmeg, dark fruit sweetness - cherries perhaps ;)

T- Lots of rich dark fruits, spice, nutmeg, stewed apples.

M- Minimal carbonation, light syrupy body.

D- Certainly a warming tasty brew on a cold winters evening. A nice alternative to say a mulled wine at Chrimas, but the only discernable difference between this and a mulled wine, is the lack of an alcohol kick in the gluhkriek. Enjoyable!

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2010 21:15:27 | More by seanyfo

drpimento

Wisconsin

4.65/5  rDev +16.5%
look: 3 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This is from a fairly (7 or 8 years?) old bottle. Poured into a clear glass mug and nuked it for almost a minute. Water vapors rising from it after and very aromatic of the tart cherries, mulling spices, and a little malt. Color is maybe suffering as it's got some brown in it - kind of a reddish brown. Flavor is BAM like the aroma but lots more of it. Finish is a little like having had some tinfoil on your fillings, kind of tingly tangy sweet. Too intense for more than a nice dose. Glad I had it and look forward to next year one night when it's cold as hell again.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2010 03:50:36 | More by drpimento

Suds

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I tried this beer both warm (quite warm, but not quite hot) and also at room temperature. It is interesting to note the differences. I actually preferred it served warm. The beer is an intense reddish color. Cherry ans spice are really notable int the aroma, but much more pronounced in the warm glass. There's maybe a slight pale malt smell as well, but it's far in the back, distantly behind the cherries. The taste is sweet, with a slight sour twang that provides the balance. Almost no bitterness. Spice flavors come out a lot more intensely in the warm glass, whereas the beer is almost too sweet in the room-temperature serving. Both are medium in body and very tasty, however. This would be great on a cold night. Wonderful stuff.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2009 18:27:31 | More by Suds

mdagnew

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

4.22/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

250ml bottle bought from Onlyfinebeer.co.uk... heated to 70%C in a bain-marie... drunk from a Gluhkriek glass...

Poured a nice deep mahogany red colour. A suprisingly thick head poured slightly off white and stayed throughout... lots of sticky lacing...

Aroma - Sweet dark cherries, lots of mouth tingling Christmas spices - nutmeg, strong clove, some cinnamon, allspice... some light anise coming through, fresh vanilla, light leathery traces, some sourness..

Taste - Pretty much as the aroma - lots of sweet dark cherries and strong clove spiciness, cough medicine notes, allspice and nutmeg also, some almond nuttiness, light vanilla, faint sourness..

Feel - Smooth and creamy... medium bodied... probably couldn't drink too many of these - a 250ml bottle was just about right..

Overall - My first mulled beer and i wasn't disappointed - i would take this over mulled wine any day. If only it was more readily available... recommended...

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2008 09:00:31 | More by mdagnew

emerge077

Illinois

4/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served at room temperature, ideally this would be best mulled at a warmer temp. Unknown vintage, wrapped in green paper touting a platinum medal at the World Beer Championships, Chicago, IL, 1997.

Arrived with a cloud of musty lambic-esque funk in the air. That was some first impression, but there was no funk to be found a moment later, once it had some time to breathe. Cherries, spice, and old leather, to sum it all up.

Flavor was sweet black cherry, with a strong underlying nutmeg/clove tongue-numbing feel. Zero carbonation, but it was intended to be mulled like Swedish Glögg or spiced wine. At a warmer temperature, I could see this being very welcome after coming in from the blustery cold.

Interesting stuff, gotta give mad propers to Small Bar for making this available.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2008 03:40:26 | More by emerge077

stcules

Italy

3.13/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Glühkriek. Tasted warm, at about 70*C.
Appearance: red cherry color, dark, intense. No foam, obviously. How to judge it? Well, the color is beautiful.
In the smell a strong cherry, then cloves, and cinnamon. Spicy, warm (oh, well... )
The taste is warm (ops... ), cherry again. Difficult to judge. My first glühkriek, my first warm beer. For sure it is interesting, but difficult to compare.
Something bitter in the taste, probably due to the cherry kernel.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2007 19:45:06 | More by stcules

thierrynantes

France

3.93/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Beer bottle (37,5cl), tasted in 2004.
Appearance: a dark red colour
Smell: pronounced nose of cherries, cloves
Taste and mouthfeel : sweet enough, flavors of cherry, spices and aromatic herbs, bitter finale
Drinkability: Do not forget that Glukriek is drunk hot (heat gently in a bain marie)

Review added 11-25-2007, translated from french 2-19-2008.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2007 09:01:22 | More by thierrynantes

Erdinger2003

Iowa

4.33/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 3 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Vintage 1997

Pours without much head, and a clear dark amber color. The smell is outta this world great! I can smell so many different things and spices. I can taste licorice and cinnamin. The taste starts out light and then has a giant kick of complex flavors that are just awsome. The mouthfeel is very smooth and great. Overall if there was more I would drink this at least once of month.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2007 03:53:33 | More by Erdinger2003