Timmermans Kriek
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Tasting Notes
The aroma leads with tart cherry and a faint barnyard earthiness that's characteristic of spontaneously fermented base lambic. On the palate, sour cherry dominates — bright and acidic with a jammy undercurrent — balanced by the dry, funky backbone of aged lambic. The body is light to medium with fine carbonation, and the finish is dry and tart with lingering fruit acidity. Timmermans produces a version that skews slightly sweeter than traditional gueuze-style lambics, making the cherry character more forward and approachable.
About the Brewery
Timmermans is based in Itterbeek, in the Pajottenland region southwest of Brussels — the historic heartland of lambic brewing. Founded in 1702, they are one of the oldest continuously operating lambic breweries in Belgium. They are known for producing both traditional and more commercially accessible fruit lambics, and their lineup includes kriek, framboise, and peach variants alongside their traditional lambic and gueuze. Their broader reach into the approachable end of the market has made them one of the more widely distributed Belgian lambic producers internationally.
Food Pairings
Duck confit pairs naturally here because the beer's cherry acidity cuts through the richness of the fat without overpowering the meat. A cheese board built around aged goat cheese or soft rind cheeses like Brie works well because the tangy funk in both beer and cheese reinforce each other. Chocolate desserts — particularly dark chocolate torte or cherry clafoutis — mirror the fruit character while the beer's acidity keeps the sweetness from becoming cloying. Charcuterie, especially a cured pork terrine or pâté, benefits from the bright tartness acting as a palate cleanser between bites.
Style Guide
Fruit lambic is a Belgian style built on a base of spontaneously fermented lambic ale — brewed with a portion of unmalted wheat and aged in oak barrels — to which whole fruit or fruit juice is added during secondary fermentation. The result is a beer that's tart, funky, and fruit-forward, with little to no hop bitterness and a characteristically dry finish driven by wild Brettanomyces and Pediococcus fermentation. ABVs typically fall in the 4–6% range. It differs from flavored wheat beers or fruit ales in that the sourness is structural and wild-fermented, not added artificially, and the fruit complements rather than masks the underlying lambic complexity.