Bacchus Kriek Beer Review - Very berry, very Cherry.

November 26, 2022 Cameron Mackenzie

Bacchus Kriek is a Belgian cherry beer produced by the Kasteel brewery in Belgium. They produce a wide variety of beers and have been in operation for a long period now. Their large portfolio includes such brands as:

Kasteel
Bacchus
St-Loius
Brigand
BaristA
Filou
Trignac XII

The story of the brewery begins all the way back in 1811 one day in Werken. The brewing dynasty begins with it’s founder, Amandus Vanhonsebrouck. He was the mayor of the village of Werken and owned a farm that housed a brewery, distillery and dairy. Upon his sudden death, one of his many children, Emile, suceeded him as mayor of Werken. After a period, Emile and his wife left Werken to start their own brewery in Ingelmunster. The onset of World War 1 seen Emile’s wife, Louise, run the brewery in his absence. When Emile was in his 80’s and no longer able to run the brewery, the running of the business was left to their son Paul. Together with his brother Ernest, he managed to keep the brewery running despite the destruction caused by the war.

1930 seen the expansion of the brewery, the boys were ambitious. A new 4-storey building was completed. Comprised of maltings, water basins and storage facilities. The renovations were accompanied by the launch of an aged brown beer that rapidly seen success. Interestingly, the renovations were completed 9 years later with the addition of other facilities paid in kind through an agreement that half of the works would be paid in beer. After the second world war, the brothers switched to brewing pils, this change in approach proved to be very costly, but the duo made it work. In 1953, Paul fell seriously ill and the lineage was once again passed on. His son, Luc, studied to become a brewer and soon took over the business. The arrival of Luc seen a real turning point for the brewery. Luc realised that the business could not compete with the larger pilsner producers and decided to change the focus of the brewery. He focused on the production of of an aged brown beer called Bacchus. Eventually seising all production of pils.

The success of Bacchus gave Luc the idea to create a second speciality beer, Gueuze. This style of beer was only brewed in the Zenne valley previously but Luc managed to find a way to transport the wild yeasts over 100km to his brewery. The following year, Kriek and the St-louis Gueuze were officially launched. The story of the brewery continues into the modern day with many different beers being launched in that time. This period is also littered with intersting anecdotes. A royal visit in 1984 and approval from the king of pop, Michael Jackson, being the tip of the iceberg.

The beer itself, as expected, has many characteristics of the Kriek style of beer. A dark, berry like colour when it is poured is paired up with an airy and frothy head. The beer is presented in a bottle that is wrapped in paper, as if Papa Noel delivered it himself. But the flavour itself definitely makes one believe that Christmas has come early. Sour is the first thing that comes to the mind with a sweet and smooth undertone. Obviously, it tastes like cherry, it’s pretty unmistakable. The sourness is not overpowering though and makes for pleasurable drink. The drinker is also treated to other related dark berry notes like currant and blackberry.The sourness leaves the mouth salivating, craving more. Consumers will find a similar flavour in cherry flavoured sweet like tangfastics.

This beer is incredibly unique, from the story to the undeniable uniqueness of the tart taste. It has become a favourite of mine and in the UK it is readily available. It can be found in the main supermarkets like Tesco for a moderate price. Beers like this may have laid the groundwork for some of the emerging craft beers that have been popping up as the market is becoming more varied by the day. Similar to many of the sour and fruit beers being produced right now. This is a beer I would wholeheartedly reccomend to anyone wanting to broaden their horizons and try something that really does have a little bit of history attached to it.

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