Lou Pepe Kriek is part of Cantillon's Lou Pepe series. The series also contains Lou Pepe Framboise and Lou Pepe Gueuze. Lou Pepe Kriek is made from two year old lambic that has been aged exclusively in used Bordeaux barrels. Whereas Cantillon's Kriek 100% Lambic and Rosé de Gambrinus lambics contain 200 g/L of frozen fruit, the Lou Pepe fruited beers contain about 300 g/L of fresh fruit.[1] The cherries used for Lou Pepe Kriek are often Belgian Schaerbeekse cherries, a local sour Morello cherry, but that is not always the case if the harvest is low. In 2015, Schaerbeekse cherries were sourced from a local organic grower, Pajottenlander in Pepingen, despite a low harvest. [2] To carbonate the beer, a small amount of sweet liquor is added at bottling causing the refermentation in the bottle.
According to Cantillon's official website, "the particular name of these beers comes from southwestern France, a region the Cantillon family is very fond of. In this beautiful region, the grandfather is called Lou Pepe." [1]
History / Other Notes
Lou Pepe Kriek, as with the other Lou Pepe bottlings, comes with two dates: a vintage date and a bottling/cork date. The dates are generally two years apart, with the vintage date shown as a sticker on the bottle above the label. The earliest known vintage of Lou Pepe Kriek is 1998.
During the Lambic Summit, 2010, Jean mentioned that because the fruit is so prevalent initially, the lambic flavors can be somewhat masked. He recommended aging it in a cellar for 2 to 3 years to allow the lambic to develop.[3]
Label
U.S. label approval application, 2001
Bottle Log
Bottle date
(mm/dd/yyyy)
Cork Date
Sticker Date
Bottle Size
Label / Notes
Image Link
N/A
2000
1998
750 mL
Japanese Import
N/A
2000
1998
750 mL
US Label. Back Shelton label is numbered "#xx of 120"
N/A
N/A
2001
1999
750 mL
Lot L 13/02
N/A
2003
2001
750 mL
N/A
N/A
N/A
2001
750 mL
Imported by Shelton Bros, back label has Jean-Pierre Van Roy's name and signature printed.
N/A
N/A
?
2002
750 mL
Black foil over cap.
N/A
N/A
2005
2003
750 mL
Gold cap
N/A
09/08/2006
2006
2004
750 mL
N/A
08/22/2007
2007
2005
750 mL
U.S. label, oval sticker has description below vintage year
N/A
10/10/2007
2007
2005
750 mL
Belgian label, oval sticker just has vintage year
N/A
09/21/2008
2008
2006
750 mL
U.S. label, oval sticker has description below vintage year
N/A
N/A
2008
2006
750 mL
U.S. label, oval sticker has description below vintage year
N/A
08/21/2009
2009
2007
750 mL
Non-Shelton Brothers label
N/A
09/04/2009
2009
2007
750 mL
U.S. label, oval sticker has description below vintage year
N/A
09/08/2010
2010
2008
750 mL
U.S. label, oval sticker has description below vintage year
N/A
09/14/2010
2010
2008
750 mL
Non-Shelton Brothers label
N/A
09/21/2010
2010
2008
750 mL
Non-Shelton Brothers label
N/A
09/29/2010
2010
2008
750 mL
Non-Shelton Brothers label
N/A
09/01/2011
2011
2009
750 mL
Non-Shelton Brothers label
N/A
09/01/2011
2011
2009
750 mL
U.S. label, oval sticker has description below vintage year
N/A
08/29/2012
2012
2010
750 mL
U.S. label, oval sticker has description below vintage year
N/A
09/05/2013
2013
2011
750 mL
Non-Shelton Brothers label
N/A
08/28/2014
2014
2012
750 mL
Non-Shelton Brothers label
N/A
09/10/2015
2015
2013
375 mL
Euro label, available or on-site consumption only. Likely similar bottling date to the 750 mL bottling.
N/A
09/10/2015
2015
2013
750 mL
Euro label, released in very small quantities at the brewery only
N/A
09/10/2015
2015
2013
1.5 L
Euro label, served on occasion but not for sale
N/A
xx/xx/2016
Season 16/17
2014
750 mL
Euro label, available for on-site consumption only.
N/A
09/18/2017
Season 17/18
2015
750 mL
Euro label, available for on-site consumption only. Some bottles sold during Quintessence 2017
09/18/2018
Season 18/19
2016
750 mL
Euro label, available for on-site consumption.
09/23/2019
Season 19/20
2017
750 mL
Euro label, available for on-site consumption, some sold to go.
09/14/2020
Season 20/21
2018
750 mL
Euro label, available for on-site consumption, some sold to go.