Kriek brewer launches appeal for Schaerbeek cherries

A brewery has launched an appeal for help from Schaerbeek residents who own cherry trees on their property.

Drie Fonteinen brewery in Beersel wants to return to making kriek from local cherries instead of importing them - and has posted a message on Facebook to try to do business with any local growers.

Schaerbeek cherries are known for their unique bitterness and possess a similar flavour to Pinot Noir, says Drie Fonteinen brewer Armand Debelde.

"Today, in our brewery, we use cherries from eastern countries, but they do not quite have the same finesse. Our dream would be to find enough Schaerbeek cherries to be able to make the kriek that my parents made when I was a child 40 years ago."

He said kriek still had an important role to play in the Belgian beer market: "It's not an old person's drink. The younger generation are very open to it and love the taste."