July 9, 2001 -- While in Belgium recently, I had the opportunity to tour the Pajottenland and visit a few of the traditional lambic brewers and blenders in the area. One of these stops was in Dworp, where I met up with John Matthys, who along with Jean Hanssens and his daughter Sidy (John's wife) runs Hanssens Artisanaal, a fabulous lambic blender.

The lambics John poured for me during the course of our meeting were impressive enough, but it was the bottle of Oude Kriek (traditional cherry lambic) I opened at home this past weekend that really knocked me out. To this point, I had always maintained that the best kriek to have crossed my lips was one I sampled a few years ago from Oude Beersel, which I tasted at the neighbouring cafe of the same name. Now I must reassess.

The Hanssens Kriek displays perfectly the very essence of the fruit without the sweet 'fruit syrup' character so common in many krieks. In fact, while I was initially tempted to use the word 'sweet ' in my notes, I recognized that it would be entirely inappropriate. This kriek is unarguably traditional in taste, which means that it has a dry, tart and intriguing character. What I at first perceived as sweetness I later recognized as fruit, pure and simple and unadulterated.

That the Hanssens Kriek can present the personality of the cherry - skin, flesh and pit - in a dry, elegant beer is a great achievement. That it also boasts a complex mix of other flavour notes such as tart apple, vanilla, wet straw and light tannins makes it extraordinary.

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