Call up your cherry lovin’ friends because today we’re setting you up with a side-by-side tasting of 2 of the highest-rated, barrel-aged Cherry Sours from the cherry-rich Pacific Northwest: Double Mountain’s Devil’s Kriek and Devil’s Cuvee Kriek!

Double Mountain are bonafide cherry beer experts -- they were called out as one of the Top 8 American Kriek Brewers by the Brewers Association for the elegantly tart, jammy punch of Bing and Vann cherries grown on their own farm in each Devil’s Kriek. The brewery brings these intricate Sours to life with extended maturation in oak and the added sour edge of wild cultures, for a brew that outclasses any fine red wine.

Devil’s Kriek 2016 Vintage -- Double Mountain loads 400 pounds of richly tart Bing and Vann cherries into oak barrels and ages the beer for 12 months to create this 9.2% ABV demon. Mmm, can you detect the oak influence on the juicy cherries? Do you taste the woody bite, a touch of raspberries, and even more cherries? It’s the cherry pie-like Brettanomyces Lambicus the brewery adds to their house cultures, doubling down on cherry richness. There’s so much depth to these flavors, it’s no surprise it holds a spot as the #51 Ranked of its style on BA.

Devil’s Cuvee Kriek 2015 Vintage -- At 9.5% ABV, this version is an older blend of 2 year and fresher beers, with nearly a year of bottle conditioning to deepen its vinous flavors. Notice the difference from the ‘16 Kriek? This isn’t cherry pie, this is more like tart, oaky cherry wine. The French Oak barrels lend dimensions of Cabernet, with warm woodiness and a hint of vanilla atop its sturdy tannic structure. Ask your accomplices, “wouldn’t you replace your dinner table vino with this 4.34 UT-rated cherry gem?”

So straighten your bowtie, set out some charcuterie, and challenge the palates of your drinking cohorts with this devilishly tasty flight. You’ll understand why these small-batch treasures are so coveted when you bask in their elegant expressions of tart cherries. Don’t let the angel on your shoulder win you over, go ahead, take another sip...