2013 Vintage Devil’s and Tahoma Kriek Ales Portland Release Party
Double Mountain Brewery is known for a wide array of beers but one of their more sought after beers are their Devil’s Kriek and Tahoma Kriek. These two Belgian-style sour Kriek ales were released last weekend at their Taproom in downtown Hood River and are now making their way in custom designed 375ml (12.7oz) split champagne bottles to better specialty bottle shops across the Pacific Northwest.
For those of you that cannot make it out the brewery in Hood River, Double Mountain will be bringing both beers on draft to Portland on Wednesday, August 6th to Bailey’s Taproom. With limited supplies of the 2013 Vintage Devil’s and Tahoma Kriek Ales, this beer will not be widely available on draft outside their Taproom. So for those that want to get this beer on draft make sure to arrive to Bailey’s for the release party form 6:00 to 9:00pm.
These Belgian-style sour ales combine the tart and funky flavors of Brettanomyces wild yeast with fresh fruit picked from the resplendent orchards here in the Hood River Valley. Devil’s Kriek combines dark-red Bing cherries with a Flanders Red Ale-style ale base, while Tahoma Kriek (the Native American name for Mt. Rainier) features the delicate Rainier cherry with a strong Belgian Blond ale. Over 5 lbs of cherries make their way into every keg. Double Mountain brews the Krieks once a year at harvest, and then let them spend a full year in their cellars to sweetly slumber.
The 2013 growing season for cherries was difficult for most orchardists in the Hood River Valley. Mid-summer rains are disaster for cherry growers, and a series of storms blew in right at harvest time last year. The rain causes the cherries to swell with moisture and split. Being brewers, we enjoy a good challenge. So again, we let the cherries ripen and split and develop more fruit intensity on the tree prior to adding them to the already fermenting the beer. The fruit was more raison like after it split, but was rich with sugary jammy goodness. The result drove the alcohol levels up quite a bit from prior years.
The 2013 Tahoma is dry and puckery with cherry overtones with a touch of fennel smokiness from the Brett. The Devil’s has more body and richness and touch of residual sweetness, and earthy black currant with a bit of almond nuttiness from the contact of the beer with the fruit pits. It is to be expected that both of these beers will continue to change with some age, the Devil’s in particular is believed that it will continue to dry out and become more tart in the next few months.
Beer Stats:
2013 Devil’s Kriek
9% ABV, 9 BU, 17.6 Plato
Brewed June 2013; released July 2014
2013 Tahoma Kriek
10.3% ABV, 10 BU, 178.5 Plato
Brewed June 2013; released July 2014
Bailey’s Taproom
231 Broadway
Portland, OR 97205
About The Author
DJ
D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based writer that spent his formative years in the Midwest. With over 25 years under his belt of drinking beer at festivals across America and the world, he has developed a strong appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the industry that surrounds it. He can be found in any of the great breweries or beer bars that make Portland the best beer city in the world. His writing can also be found in the archives of Northwest Brewing News and can be followed on Twitter and Instagram at @hopapalooza.