Liefmans Kriek-Brut

by Brouwerij Liefmans

Liefmans is famed among Belgian breweries although it really isn’t that common to find their beers about the place.  It was the first Belgian brewery to have a female brewmaster (a former ballet dancer) in 1946.  It was also the first brewery to wrap their beers in tissue wrap, which still isn’t that common but was definitely copied.

The brewery officially started in 1780, although there are records of the brewery dating back to 1679.  It was called Leifmans Brewery, and operated by the Leifman’s family for nearly two centuries before it was sold in 1974.  It then had a turbulent period where it was bought and sold multiple times before bankrupty in 2007.  Thankfully the Duvel-Moortgat family purchased the brewery name in 2008 and have revived brewing in Oudenaarde and the Leifmans beers.

Our beer is a mixed fermentation beer, and something of a mega blend.  The beer is a blend of between 15 to 20 different vintages of Oud Bruin and Goudenband which is then matured for 18 months on around 13 kilos of fresh black Morello cherries per 100 litres of beer.

The result is a reddish-brown coloured beer with a delightful aroma of tart cherries, lactic acidity, woody notes and a hint of marzipan. 

The flavour is at once sweet and tart, though not really that sour.  The cherries are front and centre, supported by a good malty backbone with those hints of nuts and marzipan.  There is a wonderful balance to this beer, that is not as sweet as some of the more commercial cherry beers, drying out as it finishes with those woody notes.

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