Description
A flagship beer, Cantillon Kriek is one of the most common bottlings to find. Over the years its label has changed several times, and there are generally two labels for Kriek used at a time. The versions imported to the U.S by Shelton Brothers currently do not use the terms 100% Bio/Organic, while the European bottling does.
It should be pointed out that there is no difference between the U.S and European versions. The labeling differences stem from different requirements by the United States versus the European Union in declaring a product organic. Cantillon ingredients are not currently classified as organic in the U.S, but Cantillon notes on its website that it has used 100% organically grown grain for its lambics since 1999. Additionally, Jean Van Roy stated in the May 2013 Basic Brewing Radio podcast that the cherries are also grown organically
Cantillon Kriek 100% Lambic is a traditional kriek lambic bottled regularly by Cantillon. The fruit is a Morello (variety: Kelleris) sour cherry imported from Turkey with 200g added per liter of lambic. The fruiting process for Kriek 100% Lambic consists of taking pre-frozen cherries and placing them whole in stainless steel tanks with two-year old lambic for a maceration period of 1-2 months. It is then transferred to a stainless steel bottling tank until it is ready to be bottled. A quantity of young lambic is added before bottling to obtain a secondary fermentation in the bottle.
