Cantillon Lou Pepe - Kriek - Brasserie Cantillon

Soonami

Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Lauren (ThoreauLikeAGirl) for sharing this bottle of 2004 Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek with me, Kaydogg, jeffcrowther, phillybeer7779, and BrewerDan23. This is the first bottle of Lou Pepe I've had--due partially to the cost (~$30 each), but mostly because finding people to share the bottle and talk about its contents isn't always easy. I am grateful to have friends that bring beers like this to share. Now to the review...

This beer is a beautiful garnet red with pinkish-red highlights when held up to the light. The carbonation is on the lower side and doesn't produce much head, not surprising. As soon as the beer is poured, you smell FUNK. Diaper-y, assertive brettanomyces acridity, along with bright cherry sweetness in the nose. This doesn't sound the most pleasing I know but to me it smells good in the way that you can't look away from a car wreck.

The beer is very sour and dry. The beer itself undoubtedly was sour, but the addition of the sour cherries furthers the acidity. The lambic has a lot of the funky flavors you'd expect, but what I didn't expect was the creamy smooth mouthfeel. The acidity and low carbonation, made this beer feel so full in my mouth probably because the acid draws water from my mouth without any astringency.

A very tasty treat shared with friends. I've heard that the 2005 LP Kriek was better, so I look forward to the opportunity to try that vintage to compare.
___
The 2008 was much less funky with a brighter acidity and a black cherry sparkle in the finish. It still has the complex interplay between barnyard and tart, but the balance is a bit more level and both are a little more refined letting the fruit shine through better.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2011 03:48:11 | More by Soonami

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