Cantillon 50°N-4°E

Formerly brewed at Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Brussels, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

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Chilled 750 decanted without yeast or sediment and shared with friends. Pours a light gold with a thin white head. The nose is full of funk, raw fruit, wood and sweet grapes. The taste is acidic and funky as expected with a bit of sulfur too. Mouth feel is light with a medium carbonation to high carbonation, a dry finish and a warming finish in the throat--probably from the acidity. The finish includes waves of light fruit with brilliant tartness, subtle brandy, and woody vanilla. I did pick up some subtle vinous notes in the smell and taste, but the cognac clearly takes a backseat to all other characteristics of the Gueuze. With that said, it was still incredibly enjoyable.

Bottle via a trade. Pours hazy with a deep yellow body and a medium sized white head. Huge funk on the aroma. Lemon, wet leaves, florals, a hint of alcohol (cognac maybe?), damp oak, fruity, citrus, acidic. Light cereal notes, tannins and honeysuckle. Flavors exhibit a huge acidity, funky, tannin, cognac, wood, herbal, very complex. Good levels of acidity. Dry, acid, white wine grapes, fennel, spice and huge wood tannin notes. Lemon. Lively, dry, acidic, puckering mouthfeel with a complex and lasting finish. Quite tasty!

Shared bottle courtesy of tarjei. Clear golden with a white film. Apples, wood and vinegar in the aroma. Acidic and grapefruit bitter with notes of wood and a hint of Cognac. Dry, medium body, medium carbonation.

Huge thanks to Eric for opening this at the end of a monstrous night of tasting. Served in a Savor snifter. Pours a nice red-orange color with some bright highlights when held up to the light. A thin white head graces the top along with a few bubbles around the edges. The nose comes at you with an incredible amount of funk--horse blanket, barnyard, wet leather, diapers, hay--whatever you want to call it, it’s there in abundance. Along for the ride are nice lactic notes with a slight acetic undertow. The cognac contributes a nice subtlety along with the oak. In the end, though, this is all about the funk. The taste delivers at the same level with strong barnyard funk coming out strong straight out of the gate. There is a boozy cognac presence that really accentuates the sour components of this brew in what is just a fantastic job of blending and aging. I love the feel and the finish is superb. Thanks again to Eric for really going above and beyond, opening some world-class brews that I thought I would have to wait awhile to try, let alone having a single generous BA open them all in one night. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 12-07-2010

UPDATED: JAN 13, 2012 Split with the wife in February 2011. Poured into Cantillon tumblers.

A: Dark golden body with hints of orange. Slightly hazy. Centimeter thick head on first pour which quickly evaporated into a spotty skim. A stray wisp of foam here and there on the glass.

S: One of the more earthy-funky offerings I’ve had to date from Cantillon. Nice musty oak, wet straw, with some lemon cutting through the funk. The cognac barrels add a bit of their character to the aroma. Very nice.

T: The flavor profile carries the funk quite well. One can imagine what the corner of a barn might be like on a damp, cool morning. A bit of tartness comes in to complement the funk and must. Cognac also lends just a hint of sweetness to the mix.

M: Medium bodied with a nice smooth effervesence. Tartness and acidity are present but doesn’t reach the extremity that Cantillon can reach with age.

O: Drinking very well. The flavor and aroma were quite complex and pleasing, perhaps just lacking a little bit more assertiveness. With that said, I don’t see this improving much with age other than perhaps resolving a little bit of the balance between funk and tartness. That said, I also can’t see it going downhill either.

UPDATED: MAY 1, 2011 I had this from a 750ml bottle at dld. The beer looks like any lambic, cloudy hazy medium brown, nice light carbonation. The aroma is really nice, likes of sour funk horse blanket but nicely balanced with some sweetness, I think that’s the cognac, very similar to the taste. Has a little acidity and vinegar to it, very nice overall.

Bottle... Poured golden yellow/orange with a white head. Some decent booziness on this one for a Cantillon. Dark fruits and very wine-like. Vinous which mixed with brett funk and yeast tartness.

UPDATED: JAN 10, 2012 Bottle thanks to Papso. Pours a golden orange with smallish tan coloured head. Falls away super fast. Slightly spicy aromas with plenty of vinegar sourness. Subtle funky in the back ground. Good stuff. Flavours are dominated by vinegar sourness. A little wood, sugary sweetness and a little grassiness on the finish. Medium to thin mouthfeel. Not my favourite cantillon but still brilliant all the same.

25.4 oz bottle. Clear yellow orange with white froth. Nose is leather, lemon peel, rubber and dirty sneakers. Clean and crisp with soft carb getting juicy and mouth watering. Taste is tart chess pie, oak, earth, hay and mild cognac. Not much added from the barrel but more rustic and funky than other Cantillons i’ve sampled.

Bottle. Poured a clear gold with a slight amber hue with a white head that dissipated slowly to the edges. Aroma was a combination of strong funk, sour fruits a bit of acid and a hint of cognac. Flavor began with sour fruits and a growing acidity and cognac note and just a hint of backing funk. Finish was a bit cognac strong.