Cantillon 50°N-4°E

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Brussels, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

Cloudy golden pour with a thin white head. Solid aroma of fruits with funk and acidity, quite appealing. Good flavor of funk and acidity with a musty feel and mild sweetness. The body is light with an oily texture and soft carbonation. This is a very interesting lambic, but I still prefer Cantillon’s regular stuff like the gueuze or the kriek.

750 ml bottle generously shared by mreusch - bottled in 2007 per the cork. Pour is slight haze golden with a 1/2 inch white head that falls quick. Aroma is funky wet basement, farmyard, some citrus, some light vinegar. Pretty subdued nose. Taste is the woodiness up front,followed by vinegar citrus funkiness, and then some barnyard unclean earthiness. As it opens, it softens up, and a lot more of the lemon and vinegar come out. Palate is medium to light bodied, with a nice spritzy carbonation. Nice one, thanks for sharing this with us Matt.

750ml bottle, with thanks to largiari for the major hookup! Pours a clear light golden with a moderate white head. Aroma has some interesting woodiness mingled with more traditional lambic notes, lemon zest, only slight notes of barnyard, and a little BO-like funk. Flavor has gentle carbonation, more oak, funk, barnyard, and some general fruit. I’m not getting any cognac on this one, but found it quite enjoyable regardless. Thanks again Larry, you rock!

A: The pour is a nice light golden-orange color with a few small bubbles around the edge of the glass (but not much in the way of head). S: The nose has a very nice lemony tartness to it which pairs well with the moderate oak presence. There is a fair amount of funk, primarily of the wet hay variety. T: Like with the nose, the combination of tartness and oak goes very well together. There is a touch of vinegar, but nothing to ruin the experience. The lemon (lactic) flavors are strong, but there are also some mild peach flavors. M: A smooth, somewhat slick mouthfeel, like many lambics. The body is medium. D: The cognac barrels really do provide a bit of something different, even if there is not necessarily a lot of cognac flavor in the beer. A very interesting (and good0 lambic, and you’d expect nothing less from Cantillon.

My notes from Max’s read as follows: Sour, funky, brett nose, accidic, honey, strong bret flavor, amazing!

20100213 Sampled from 750ml bottle at Max’s BBF10, shared by Ryan. Not quite the woody stunner I expected, however it was quite nice. Lots of vanilla and some mild vinous notes on nose. Mild tartness, bright, unripe pear at the finish. Light, coating middle, astringent wood at finish. Pleasant, but I guess the congnac treatment made for a milder lambic overall.

UPDATED: FEB 2, 2010 Crystal clear pale gold, with just a skiff of rapidly fading white head. Lovely fruity aroma fills the room as soon as the cork is popped, cherry, peach, bret. The main body of the flavor is an everlasting cherry-tinged tartness. A creamy bret element is there, but subdued, as are the vanilla oak flavors, barely peeking above the main tart flavor. Becomes bitter in the linger, the harmony of the grapefruit pulp bitterness with the vanilla oak is amazing. Thin to medium body, lightly astringent palate.

Straw-like yellowish orange color, rather hazy. A 2 cm white head with decent retention. Some lacings. Orange-like fruitiness with hints of grapes in the nose. Some vinegar and tart apples. Plenty of funky notes - horse blanket, barn and wet hay. Some interesting notes of phenolic alcohol tickles the nose, might this be the cognac barrels revealing their presence? All in all, a very nice smell. It’s very easy to drink, considering that this is a beer from Cantillon. Tart citric notes and a nice wheat character up front in the mouth. Earth, yeast and grass are present, but rather restrained. Plenty of funky notes - horse blanket, wet dog and a hint of aged cheese. Some vinegar and some tart notes. In the mouth, there is really nothing extraordinary about this beer, but upon swallowing it truly excels. A wonderful mix of cognac and green apples appear, and it is really a fantastic taste. The taste of cognac is subtle but distinct, slightly phenolic with notes of oak barrel, raisins and butterscotch. Slightly boozy for just a hint of a second, and this is actually a pleasant experience during these circumstances. Then comes the apples with their wonderfully tart character. The finish is really long. Medium carbonation, medium body with a smooth texture. Semi-dry finish. I really like this one. A fantastic lambic with a rather unique character due to the cognac flavor. The cognac delivers a very sophisticated edge to the beer. Among the best beer I’ve had from this fantastic brewery. Serving type: bottle