Schar'd for life

I mentioned that when I visited Lambiek Fabriek on this year's Toer de Geuze, I took a bottle of theirs away with me. And here it is: Schar-Elle, their Schaarbeekse kriek. I've quite enjoyed these lambics made with heirloom Belgian cherries, and I hoped that the fruit would offset the fact that I tend to not really enjoy Lambiek Fabriek beers in general.

This is 6.2% ABV and a muddy maroon colour. On first tasting it's sharp and more than a little vinegary, which was disappointing but not completely surprising. Luckily, the cherries do a lot to save it. The rich super-cherryness of the Schaarbeekse isn't as sweetly prominent as in other breweries' examples, but it's there, and has a pleasant softening effect on the acidity. The warmer the beer gets, the more pronounced the cherries become, and other complexities emerge too: a funky blue-cheese effect and other tart fruit: blueberries and raspberries.

My preference is for something more matured: fuller-bodied and less sharp, but this is pretty good, and could even age to brilliance. It's a ray of sunshine in the otherwise quite dismal Lambiek Fabriek collection.