Brewery Mort Subite processes 90,000 kilograms of sour cherries to produce ‘kriek’ beer

In July it is traditionally all hands-on deck at Mort Subite, the biggest buyer of fresh Belgian sour cherries among the country’s breweries. Earlier this month, the brewery in Kobbegem, a borough of Asse, received a new delivery of freshly picked sour cherries early each morning.  In total 90,000 kilograms of sour cherries were delivered.

Upon arrival the sour cherries that still have their stones are immediately processed. The fermentation process takes several months. In October, Kriek Lambic is ready to be bottled and the sour cherry beer heads for supermarkets and the hospitality sector.

Sour cherries from Limburg

For its best-known beers Kriek Lambic and Oude Kriek Lambic, the brewery uses only Belgian cherries from the area around Gingelom and Sint-Truiden (Limburg). "This year's harvest is excellent thanks to the dry, warm spring. The sour cherries got a lot of sunshine and are very tasty," says master brewer Bruno Reinders.

Jorien Neuteleers and her husband from Gingelom delivered no fewer than 60,000 kilos of cherries to the brewery.

"The quality of the sour cherries is better than in previous years. Especially the Gorsem cherries, an old variety mainly used for brewing cherry beers, look very nice," says Jorien. ‘The taste is also good, although the cherries are a bit smaller than usual due to the hot days and little rainfall.’

"We harvest up to about 150,000 kilos of cherries in a week. We start every day at 6am and continue all day, regardless of the weather. If it rains like today, we give our workers some extra breaks and we provide dry clothes and raincoats. But we keep on shaking the trees because the cherries have to be harvested. In this way we should be ready for the next heat wave."