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A Kriek is a type of fruit lambic made with sour cherries. In Flemish, the word "Kriek" means sour cherry. While some non-lambic beers also use the word Kriek in their names, this page will refer only to Krieks which are lambics.

[[File:Schaerbeek_cherries.jpg |right|300px|Schaerbeek Cherries]]Modern krieks are generally produced by macerating whole fresh or frozen cherries with lambic, though some less traditional producers use cherry-flavored syrups. Fermentation and aging of krieks often takes place in stainless steel tanks, though sometimes some producers use barrels or foeders for Kriek is produced in oak barrelskriek production. Fruiting rates, maceration times and the ages of lambic used varies between producers and specific products. For example, [[Brasserie_Cantillon|Brasserie Cantillon]] reports using 2 year old lambic and a maceration time of 1-2 months to produce [[Cantillon_Kriek_100%25_Lambic|Cantillon Kriek]], which is blended back with young lambic for carbonation and to reach a final fruiting rate of 200 g/L before bottling<ref name = CantillonBrochure> Brasserie Cantillon - Tour Brochure (English) </ref>. Cantillon's [[Cantillon_Lou_Pepe_-_Kriek|Lou Pepe Kriek]] also uses 2 year old lambic, but has a fruiting ratio of 300 g/L and is not blended back with young lambic,ref name = CantillonBrochure/>. [[Brouwerij_3_Fonteinen|Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen]] uses a maceration time of roughly 6 months <ref>[[3_Fonteinen_Oude_Kriek#Bottle_Log|3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek labels]]</ref>and lambic of roughly 1 year old. [[Brouwerij Boon]] macerates young lambic with cherries in oak vats for 6-8 months to produce [[Oude_Kriek_Mariage_Parfait|Oude Kriek Mariage Parfait]] and macerates 1 year old lambic with cherries in steel tanks to produce [[Oude_Kriek_Boon|Oude Kriek]], both of which have a fruiting ratio of 400 g/L<ref>[https://www.boon.be/nl/content/kriek-mariage-parfait| Boon Oude Kriek Mariage Parfait]</ref><ref>[https://www.boon.be/nl/content/oude-kriek-boon| Oude Kriek Boon]</ref>. Oud Beersel also reports a fruit ratio of 400 g/L<ref>[http://www.oudbeersel.com/en/products/oude-kriek/| Oud Beersel Oude Kriek]</ref>.[[Hanssens_Artisanaal_bvba| Hanssens]] uses one year old lambic and steeps cherries for nearly one year for their [[Hanssens_Oude_Kriek|Oude Kriek]]<ref name = "Lambicland"> Webb, Pollard & McGuinn, 2010. Lambicland: A journey round the most unusual beers in the world </ref>

Cherry types and cherry origin origins also varies vary between different brewers and blenders and between different products. For example, Boon uses frozen cherries from Poland, which are have also been supplied to smaller blenders<ref name = "Lambicland"/><Ref name = "Geuze & Kriek"> Van den Steen, 2011. Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic </ref>. Due to the limited availability of traditional Belgian sour cherries, such as Schaerbeek cherries, many producers are now sourcing other varieties of cherries from abroad. However, with a growing interest in traditional Schaerbeek cherries, some breweries are involved in projects to expand local production of this variety<ref>[http://vertdiris.net/cherry/?fbclid=IwAR3L-L2ivSMGJ2sha_kdftYBvaeZbVIkVguIzsVZKl1CUJ9uETwUmWE4WFo| Schaerbeek Cherry orchards from Cantillon & Vert d'Iris] </ref>.