What is the alcohol content of Lindemans Kriek cherry lambic beer?

January 11, 2026 •

2 min read

Clocking in at a modest 3.5% ABV, the Lindemans Kriek cherry lambic beer offers a delightfully fruity and refreshing experience. This Belgian fruit beer is well-known for its vibrant cherry flavor and balanced sweetness, making its relatively low alcohol content a key feature for easy drinking.

Quick Summary

The Lindemans Kriek is a Belgian fruit lambic with a 3.5% alcohol by volume (ABV), brewed in a unique style involving spontaneous fermentation and the addition of pure cherry juice. This article explores its specific ABV, signature taste, and unique production method.

Key Points

Specific ABV: Lindemans Kriek has an alcohol content of 3.5% ABV, making it a relatively low-alcohol beer.
Flavor Profile: The beer is characterized by a sweet-tart cherry flavor balanced with a subtle, funky lambic background.
Brewing Method: It uses the spontaneous fermentation method, common to lambics, relying on wild airborne yeasts.
Modern Interpretation: Unlike traditional 'oude' krieks, Lindemans uses fresh cherry juice and pasteurization to ensure a consistent, sweeter, and more accessible product.
Accessibility: Its lower ABV and pleasant fruit-forward taste make it an ideal introductory beer for those new to the sour beer style.
Food Pairing: The brew is a versatile companion for various foods, from cheeses and charcuterie to stews and desserts.

The Specific Alcohol Content of Lindemans Kriek

Lindemans Kriek consistently maintains an alcohol content of 3.5% ABV (alcohol by volume). This places it on the lighter side of the beer spectrum, making it a popular and accessible option. The brewery achieves this through its unique process involving adding fresh cherry filtrate to aged lambic.

What Makes a Lambic Beer Unique?

Lambic beer, originating near Brussels, is defined by its spontaneous fermentation method.

The Spontaneous Fermentation Process

Instead of adding specific yeast, brewers rely on airborne yeasts and bacteria. This involves:

Brewing wort with barley, wheat, and aged hops.
Cooling the wort in open vessels exposed to wild microorganisms.
Aging the beer in oak barrels for months to years.

Key Ingredients

Lindemans Kriek adds at least 25% fresh, unsweetened cherry juice to a one-year-old lambic. This, plus filtering and pasteurization, creates its consistently sweet and fruity flavor.

Flavor Profile: Beyond Just Cherries

Lindemans Kriek is known for its bright, sweet-tart cherry flavor with a subtle lambic funk, making it accessible even for those new to beer. This balance contributes to its global appeal.

A Tale of Two Krieks: Traditional vs. Lindemans

Lindemans Kriek differs from traditional 'oud' kriek styles.


Feature	Lindemans Kriek	Traditional 'Oude' Kriek
Alcohol Content (ABV)	3.5%	Typically 5-7%+
Sweetness	Sweeter, fruit-forward	Drier, intensely sour
Cherries	Unsweetened cherry juice added after aging	Whole sour cherries added for refermentation
Fermentation	Partially spontaneous, controlled, pasteurized	Completely spontaneous, refermentation on fruit and in bottle
Accessibility	Highly accessible	For experienced sour beer drinkers

The Conclusion: A Light and Flavorful Choice

Lindemans Kriek's 3.5% ABV and sweet-tart cherry flavor offer an approachable entry to fruit lambics. Its consistent profile, achieved through a controlled process, makes it popular worldwide. It's a versatile choice, perfect as a refreshing drink or paired with food. To learn more about the brewery, visit the Lindemans Brewery official website.

Frequently Asked Questions

The alcohol content of Lindemans Kriek cherry lambic beer is 3.5% ABV.

No, at 3.5% ABV, Lindemans Kriek is considered a lower-alcohol beer, especially when compared to many craft beers and traditional Krieks.

Lindemans Kriek is a Belgian fruit lambic, a style of beer known for spontaneous fermentation using wild yeasts.

It has a distinct sweet and tart cherry flavor, with a subtle funky undertone characteristic of lambic beers. Many describe it as tasting like sparkling cherry champagne.

Lindemans Kriek is a sweeter, more consistently fruity beer made with cherry juice, while an 'Oude' (old) Kriek is typically a drier, more intensely sour, and complex beer fermented on whole cherries.

The relatively low and consistent ABV is maintained by blending one-year-old lambic with fresh cherry juice, followed by filtration and pasteurization, which halts further fermentation.

Lindemans Kriek pairs well with a variety of dishes, including terrines, cheeses, mussels in white wine, and traditional Flemish carbonade.