Liefmans Kriek is a Belgian cherry beer brewed in Belgium, built on a soured Flanders red ale base and fruited properly with cherries rather than just flavoured.

The cherry is tart and genuine, more like cherry skin and stone than cherry syrup, sitting over a reddish-brown malt base with a gentle sourness and a dry, savoury edge. Body is medium, carbonation moderate, and bitterness is essentially absent - the tartness does that job instead.

Serve it cool rather than cold, in a tulip or wine glass so the colour and aroma get some room. The fruit is brightest in a young bottle, so there's little reason to hold onto it.