Samuel Adams (Barrel Room Collection) American Kriek

Samuel Adams American Kriek: The intense black cherry character in this beer comes from Balaton cherries, which were discovered in Hungary and are now grown in Michigan. These special cherries are prized for their depth of flavor. The tartness from the cherries is balanced by a rich, malty character with toasted oak notes added from the barrel aging.

3.4

196 reviews

Boston, United States

Community reviews

1.2 Very attractive bottle at DC’s first tasting of 2010. Bright pink with a 3-bubble head. Little to no aroma. Flavor of Hawaiian punch, but less complex. I’d like to taste the cherries some day, but you can keep the beer.

3.4 Shared 1 pint 9.4 oz. bottle poured to snifters, displaying a cloudy, copper color, with a fleeting layer of froth & bubbles, and some dots & dashes as lacing. The nose was cherry liqueur/kijafa, touches of sweetness & tartness, with light oak hints. The taste was similar notes, with a more pronounced dark cherry impression, stronger sweet & tart, medium body, and soft carbonation. A tasty, dessert-like change of pace for the sampling session.

3.7 Bottle. Red amber colour with a beige head. Aroma is cherries, malt, caramel. Flavour is cherries, malt, caramel, dried fruits. Nice beer.

3.4 Bottle 750ml. corked @ [ Fastelavn Smagning - Carnival Tasting, Ulfborg ]. [ As Samuel Adams American Kriek (Barrel Room Collection) ]. [ Courtesy of my Secret Winter Santa ]. Clear medium amber - orange red color with a average, frothy - creamy, good lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, oxidide, marzipan, cherry, wood. Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet and light light acidic with a long duration, marzipan, cherry, artificial cherries. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20140301]

3.6 Special 500ml bottle served in a Belgian snifter. A: Brownish black cherry juice. Feel: near medium body. Aroma: Fairly strong cherry character. A bit more oak than I prefer. Flavor: excellent sweet/tart balance ness from the cherries is balanced by a rich, malty character with toasted oak notes added from the barrel aging.

2.9 Bottle at Fastelavn Smagning 2014 @ J&C’s beer palace, Jutland Saturday Session 1 - 01/03/14 bottle #0531. Lightly hazed reddish amber with a moderate light beige covering. Nose is cherry forward, oaky twang, straw, pretty simple. Taste comprises cherry drops, sweet pangs mixed with semi tartened cherry skins, fruit syrup, sugars. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, sweet close. Ok for style but this beer offered me little else than a cherrified tick.

3.4 Bottle 750ml @ Hotel room, Weber’s, Ann Arbor, MI Pours hazy amber with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, biscuit, caramel and hint of cherries. Taste is medium sweet and light bitter with a long malty, caramel and cherry finish. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. Bottle 750ml @ fonefan Pours hazy amber with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, caramel and cherries. Taste is medium sweet and light bitter. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [6 3 7 4 14 - 3.4 3/1/2014]

3.5 Bottle, 75cl, corked. It pours a clear, reddish dark golden to amber body and a small, light beige head. The aroma has some cherry hints, but it’s too malty I think. Some caramel and toffee. There’s some dark dried fruits too. The flavor is less caramel malty, but with the same dried fruits and cherry hints. Full to medium body with a nice carbonation level. Lasting malty finish with a little cherry touch. Pretty decent this one, but not impressive. 140301

3.9 Bottle @ fonefan tasting. Nice head with good duration. Color is amber. Aroma and taste are cherries, wood, malt, flowers, fruits and hops. Sweet complex finish.

3.4 75 cL bottle. Pours clear and golden orange with a fully gone head. Aroma is spiced and toasted malty. Sweet, fruity and light toasted malty. Mild citric and fruity. Mellow fruity finish.

3.3 Bottle @ fonefan tasting. Hazy red with an off-white head. Aroma is sweet, malty and cherries. Flavor is quite sweet and light bitter. Sweet finish. 010314

3.7 Bottle shared at Craft. Poured hazy mahogany...more toward dark muddy brown, with tan head Black cherry in the nose, earthy lactic notes, and a tart and complex finish. This one was very good.

3.5 Bottle: Pale ruby in color, thin to moderate pale sandy head, somewhat nice lacing. Sweet yet tart cherries on the nose, a bit woody, a little barnish. Soft sweet cherry aspect on the tongue. Not as tart or dry as others, but decent. For a Fruit beer it seems authentic. Moderate body and mouthfeel. Finishes a little tart, yet sweet cherries linger. A bit of woodiness as well. &nsp Soft example, but flavorful. Not too tart, but not artificial. Fairly enjoyable! Wished it were a bit drier tho, perhaps a bit more tart.

3.4 2012 Christmas tasting. Of course I bought it for the bottle at the GABF. Big cork pop. Big foam on red. Cherry scent with a hint of soap. Foamy light dry body. Hint of woodiness. OK. Less foam and some food to accompany the beverage would be nice.

3.4 750ml corked bottled shared by brew3crew. Mostly hazy red / brown color. Sort of bubbly, khaki head. Decent lace. Medium to bigger body. Smooth, soft moderate strength carbonation. Dry finish. Moderate sweet taste. Tart, and spice. Oak wood. Light cherry, some mustiness. OK for me, not too impressive.

3.4 750 ml bottle shared by brew3crew. Pours a hazy amber brown color witha m edium sized creamy off white head. The aroma and flavor have a tart cherry fruitiness, mild acidity, sweet caramel malt, black cherry juice. The flavor is less tart than the nose. I would hope for more sour character. OK, not great.

3.3 750 ml bottle to taster (shared by brew3crew). Looks decent; cloudy amberish brown with lively carbonation and ample foamy head somewhere between off-white and light beige. Smells solid; tart cherries and oak. Tastes like it smells, only not as robust. Average on the palate. Decent beer, but it smells better than it tastes.

2.8 Bottled 750ml@VWPBF bought from brewery Deep red color, tiny pinky head. Lagerish caramel and some cherry in the nose. Medium-bodied. "Kriek Lager". Cherryish flavor with some caramel, not much caramel. Quite easy.

2.8 Bottle 0962. Appearance: The body is murky with a reddish hue with hints of brown throughout. The head is short and quickly settles into a thin light tan coating with a foamy ring. Aroma: Musky cherries is the big aroma, semi-sweet with no hints of tart or sour. Not a huge fan of this. Taste: Ah again musky cherries, it’s like a basement with cherry flavor. There’s some toasted oak flavors, but no sourness. Not a fan. Palate: Medium bodied, a bit thin, with mild carbonation. Overall: This is the worst sour I can think of. There’s no sour, just musky sweet cherry. There’s nothing about this I enjoy, at least it’s not badly priced.

2.8 Tasted a small sample at a BeerThief gathering. Colour is an appropriate red-orange. Aroma is exactly like canned cherry pie filling, and once I had that impression in my head, it was difficult to enjoy this beer. Feel is not very full, not really tart enough. Tasted artificial to a degree.

3.5 from Mondial de la Bière 2013, Mulhouse - hazy dark amber beer; little foam left; earth, cherry and wood in the nose; some sweetness; light sourness and a good malt body; chewy cherryish aftertaste

3.6 Pours a two fingered white/pink head that quickly fades to a ring, leaving no lace. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Color is almost clear red/amber. Tart cherry nose. Flavor is tart cherry, some sweetness. Clean, dry finish

3.3 Good. Pours red with decent off-white head, no retention or lace. Aroma is full of sour cherries. This one is smooth in the mouth, with a dry / tart finish that made me pucker.

3.1 Ruby red color with a pinkish white head. Cherry nose with lots of sugar sweetness. This is a sweet beer with a strong tart cherry flavor. Sweet/tart with some oak and vanilla under all that cherry. Better than I expected.

4.0 Poured reddish brown with slightly off white head. Smells of cherries and some malt. Strong cherry flavors with a malty backbone. Sweet tatty finish. Very tasty.

3.4 750 mil bottle shared by Bruce at Mike’s, cool, tulip. Murky brown pink with a thin white rim. Lots of cherries, a little cough syrup, a bit of wood, sweet, maybe a touch estery, not bad. Medium body, gentle effervescence. Pretty strong sweet cherry, cherry pie, a touch medicinal and woodsy, sweet; sweet wish minimal bitterness and a strong cherry, slightly caramel finish.

4.1 Bottle #2010 aged 2.5 years. Poured reddish brown with a quickly dissipating light tan head. Sour cherry and spice aromas. As the light bubbles mingle, huge natural cherry taste with hints of oak. Very mellow. Glad I saved this thru my cancer treatments. ---Rated via Beer Buddy

3.5 Bottled. reddish copper colour, small beige head. Aroma is cherries, some wood and mild syrupy notes. Flavour is maple syrup, cherries, mild wood and some mild alcoholic sweetness to it. Palate is still quite thin palate. Good.

3.6 75 cl bottle @ wPBF’13. Pours clear red color with a small pink head. Aroma of berries, fruits and some mild grass. Flavor of berries and mild citrus fruits. 4314

2.8 75 cl bottle @ wPBF’13. Bottle #3352 Aroma has sweet cherry juice. Also some distabt woody notes. Flavour has sweet cherry notes, fruit sugar and grain. A fruit juice lambic in an expensive bottle.