Brewery: Brouwerij Alvinne
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2018 Fellowship. Cuvée Sofie Schaarbeekse Kriek (2017). Fruit Flemish Sour Ale. Sweet 1/5, Sour 4/5 & Bitter 0/5

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Laurelin was one of Two Trees of Valinor. It was said to be some sort of cherry tree, her last fruit was made into the sun. In July we added 25kg of Schaarbeekse Kriek to a Domaine Harmand Geoffroy red wine (Bourgogne/Gevrey-Chambertin) barrel. This Cuvée Sofie aged for 16 months in this third time used French oak barrel.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.05
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle, with a best before date of January 2024. Poured into an Alvinne teku glass.
Appearance: A cloudy dark reddish purple colour with a thin white head, that left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, sour, cherry, cherry pie, acetone, nail polish, with hints of vinegar.
Taste: Sweet, sour, tart, tangy, cherry, jammy, cherry pie, cherry juice, oak, acetone, with notes of vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: I tried this side by side with the 2016 version, and I preferred this version a lot more. The cherry was much more prominent here and not overwhelmed by any barrel character like too much vanilla in the 2016 version. It’s still sweeter than I expected given the sweet and sour ratings on the label, and the carbonation was softer than I prefer, but this was still enjoyable as the acidity helped with the soft carbonation.