San Diego Beer News singles out The Lost Abbey’s 'Duck Duck Kriek' as a cherry-sour standout

San Diego beer people love a rarity, but this one hits a little differently. Duck Duck Kriek is not just another fruited sour — it is The Lost Abbey reaching back into one of its most famous beers and remixing it for a 20-year milestone. That is why the latest local shoutout landed. San Diego Beer News singled it out this week, just as The Lost Abbey rolled into its May 9 anniversary celebration in Vista. ### What is Duck Duck Kriek? It is a limited cherry sour ale built from Duck Duck Gooze, the brewery’s long-running American gueuze-style beer. The Lost Abbey describes it as a kriek-style edition loaded with ripe cherries, bright acidity, and layered fruit character — basically a special-occasion offshoot of a beer that already has a serious reputation among sour fans. ### Why does Duck Duck Gooze matter so much? (sandiegobeer.news) Because Duck Duck Gooze is one of the beers that helped define The Lost Abbey’s identity. The brewery built a following on Belgian-inspired ales, barrel work, and patient sour production, and Duck Duck Gooze became a cult favorite inside that lineup. When you start with a beer like that, a cherry variant is not a casual experiment — it reads like an event. (lostabbey.com) ### What makes this version special? The fun part is the blend. San Diego Beer News says the beer uses stockpiled Duck Duck Gooze, not just a fresh batch, and the tasting note leans hard into tart cherry up front with softer oak in the finish. Another product description tied to the release points to multiple vintage components and New York sour cherries, which helps explain why the beer sounds more layered than a simple fruit addition. (sandiegobeer.news) ### Why tie it to the anniversary? Because anniversaries are when breweries remind drinkers what made them matter in the first place. The Lost Abbey’s 20-year celebration centered on rare pours, archive beers, and Duck Duck Kriek as the headline release. That framing matters — the brewery is not pitching this as a new year-round product, but as a commemorative bottle meant to honor two decades of cellar work and sour-beer credibility. (sandiegobeer.news) ### Is this just local hype? Not really — though local hype is definitely part of the story. San Diego Beer News gave the release a spotlight slot, 91X folded it into anniversary coverage, and The Lost Abbey pushed a direct bottle sale with purchase limits. That combination usually means the brewery expects real demand from collectors and longtime fans, not just casual taproom traffic. (lostabbey.com) ### Why are cherry sours such a big deal? Because they are harder to get right than they look. Kriek-inspired beers need acidity, fruit, oak, and funk to stay in balance. Too much cherry and the beer drinks like syrup. Too much sourness and the fruit disappears. The appeal here is that The Lost Abbey is working from a mature sour base first, then layering cherries onto something that already has structure. (sandiegobeer.news) ### So what is the real takeaway? This is a reputation release. The Lost Abbey took one of its signature sour beers, turned it into a cherry-driven anniversary edition, and got immediate local attention for it. For San Diego beer fans, that is the story — not just that Duck Duck Kriek tastes good, but that it turns a legacy beer into a marker of where the brewery has been for 20 years and what still makes people care. (sandiegobeer.news)