Cantillon Blåbær Lambik

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Stem glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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2009-2012 vertical, all 375 ml bottles. The 2009 pours haziest, and the beer gets both clearer and deeper in color as it goes from 2009 to 2012. Small ruby-tinted head on each, with 2012 disappearing relatively quickly. Aroma of blueberry, yogurt, oak, and earth; 2009 is the most sour, 2010 is the cleanest and best, with some rose petal notes, 2011 is the most vegetal and weakest, and 2012 is the sweetest (with vanilla) and fruitiest. The flavor has blueberry, leather, yogurt, wine, vanilla, and lactic acid; 2009 and 2010 are the most tart, but ’10 is so, so clean. 11 is the least tart, most watery, and least carbonated, and 2012 is the sweetest and fruitiest and probably in the most need of age. 2010 is the clear winner and 2011 is the clear loser. I have averaged out the ratings. Great beer overall.

UPDATED: JAN 10, 2013 2011 vintage, generously provided by Rich. Thanks a bunch for sharing this treat Rich! No head on the pour, but it is a beautiful deep purple red in color. It is slightly hazy in clarity, it looks stunning. For being a year old at this point, there is still quite a bit of blueberry in the nose, much more than I remember when I originally tried this last year. Plump blueberries and some yogurt character. Blueberry is a little more subdued in the flavor, but is still quite present. There is also lemon rind, oak, and a generous amount of funk. Light mouthfeel, good acidity, lower carbonation, and a moderate lingering finish. One of the better fruit lambics Cantillon makes, but in term of fruit lambics I think I still prefer Fou Foune, Saint Lamnivus, and Lou Pepe Kriek.

750ml bottle shared by Matt when I was in Chicago, poured a violet reddish color with aromas of sweet blueberries, and some light tart berries. Flavors are feint blueberries with a sweet and tart berry mix. Nice blend of tart and sweetness, would’t mind trying this one again.

Bottle shared at Woodshop 7. Pours a lovely dark strawberry/raspberry color. Deep strawberry aroma with accents of blueberry and acai. Blueberry and acai come through a lot in the flavor with a soft acidity. A really nice sour.

UPDATED: AUG 16, 2012 August 5, 2012 bottle shared by Brett at his tasting event. Dark purple pour with pinkish head that looked awesome. Oh yeah and this was poured in Cantillon flutes for the group which made it even more bad ass. Sour berries in the aroma and taste. The balance on this was simply amazing, best lambic / sour I have had to date. HUGE thanks to Brett for sharing a beer I never thought I would get to try.

Bottle shared at Wood Shop 7 by Yespr, 2012. Beautiful deep purple with lace. Cloudy, deep, dark. Got a huge stinky-ass barnyard nose with dust and leather. Really stinky. The blueberries just come in a bit underneath to make it pleasant. A little shocking a first, it’s so stanky. Taste gives a little more blueberry, nice tartness, lemon, old leather, dust, books. Really dry and funky.

At a tasting thx Matthieu87 for sharing !

75cl bottle 2011
head: violet, beuatifful but dissapears fast
Colour: red wine / purple /blue /violet , again beautifful
Smell: wow what a sweet nose this has ! i’m a bit shocked actually ... Cuberdons ( look it up ), red fruits, sweet
Taste: start is a bit sour, with notes of creme de cassis, very creamy, quite sweet, very fruity, awesome ! but i do expected a little bit more of this ... Litte bit more work on the flavour rather than working on the appearance and it should be fine ...

Bottled. Pours deep purple with a huge pink head. Fair lacings. Nose of earth, wood and blueberries. Tart flavor with fruit and wood. Medium bodied, watery to oily texture and soft carbonation. Ends up dry. An awesome fruit lambic.

Batch 6 750. Pours a faint purple color. A 2 finger pink head that recedes to a thin ring. A very beautiful beer.  smells of funk and earth. The blueberries are coming through in a big way. It smells very tart!  tart blueberries that are followed up by more tart blueberries. With that lovely cantillon funk. No one does it better.

2012 vintage. 375 ml bottle at Olbutikken, into small Cantillon glass. Looks like one would expect, not quite opaque blueberry color, gushing head to start but fades quickly, tastes of lemon, blueberry, vinegar, hint of dill? Approachably sour, tart berry flavor, I would like even more berry. Carb and consistency are perfect. Very nice lambic.