Boon Kriek Mariage Parfait 12.7 oz

Belgian Fruit Lambic

Brewed by: Boon Brewery
Country: Belgium
Style: Oude Kriek
Color: Deep Red

ABV: 8.0%
Cellaring: Yes
Ratebeer.com rating: 99
BeerAdvocate.com rating: 93

Boon Kriek Mariage Parfait (ABV 8%) is an "Old Style Kriek" ("Oude Kriek", a protected E.U. appellation) of exceptional quality, brewed in Lembeek, the village that gave Lambic its name.

Unsweetened, unfiltered, unpasteurized, with no artificial flavors, preservatives or colorings, Kriek Mariage Parfait is made with 400 g of wild cherries per liter, fermented together with a strong Lambic of spontaneous fermentation and aged on 6,200 liter oak foeders (large wooden casks) for 6 to 8 months. After 6 months in the bottle, where it referments, it's ready for tasting.

It has a clear deep reddish color and a large pink head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma has tart cherry notes with some mild lambic funk, winy, and well supported by its alcohol content. Taste is dominated by loads of fresh tart cherry notes with some mild barnyard and some vanilla notes, balanced against a backdrop of musky roasted oak. Body is full, with good carbonation. Kriek Mariage Parfait has a high aging potential and may be cellared for years in a cool and dark place (bottles currently in stock have a "best before" date of 03/01/2036!). Ratebeer.com rating: 99 (out of 100)! 12.7 oz corked bottle.

Food Pairings

This beer pairs well with magret of duck, roast goose, seared foie gras, foie gras terrine, gamy pâtés, and aged goat cheeses.

Brewery Information:

Boon Brewery was founded in 1975 when Frank Boon, seeking to revive interest in a flagging industry, purchased a lambic brewery in Lembeek, a village in the Senne region of Belgium from which, incidentally, the lambic brew style takes its name.

Lambics are a unique Belgian tradition: wheat beers wholly dependent on local, wild airborne yeasts for fermentation with an exceptionally long period of maturation (up to 3 years in oak barrels).

The brewery had been making and blending lambics under various owners before Frank Boon acquired it; cognizant of the weight of the past, he set about making improvements to expand operations for the future, and over the next decades, against the odds he would grow the business into one of the most respected lambic breweries in the world.