Cantillon Crianza Helena

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

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

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Bottle as a massive present from mesandsim. Shared after diner at thier gaf. Id no idea what i was gettin into when i opened this bottle. The soft cantillon goodness grabs your nose and says stay here for a good few mins before you drink me, its bretty as fuck, woodness is interesting as theres two different types of wood playing with you, a subtle pineyness, tart and wonderful. The drink itself is amazingly carbonated, soft tiny bubbles tingle you just enough to know its therem, the wine barrels musty it up a good bit and the cognac adds a good seetness that make it probably the easiest to drink cantillon ever. My god, just knowing that iv had this makes me feel better.

bottle at DHVL. pours a bright creamy yellow with a frothy offwhite head. aroma of bright dry grassy lemons, wheat, dry cobweb basement funk. pleasant layer of white grape skins and old farm. reminds me of some of these 2010 girardin black bottles, though this was a bit drier, more white wine grape. taste is heavy lactic sourness with more dry unripened white grapes, grass, toasted bready malts, and lemon. bone dry. earthy, rustic. beautifully made. cognac very faint upon the nose as it warms. a joy to drink. right up my wheelhouse. awesome farmyardhouse funk note as well. worthy of big ups and props.

Aroma has notes of tropical fruit - starfruit in particular and nice cognac notes as well. Quite tart and dry, as Cantillons are wont to be. The elegance of this blend, however is almost unreal. Hints of tannin from the Bordeaux barrels plays off the acidity. Just superb.

(Bottle) Pours light hazy deep golden with an off-white head. The aroma is super bretty with notes of mouldy basement, barnyard, manure and light cheese. Citric with tones of grapefruit, lemon and unripe rhubarb. Spicy, medical and light phenol-ish undertones of white pepper, band aid and light smoked sausage. There is also some room for woody oak. A whisper of roses, clove, elder lemonade and fresh green herbs. Dry, cracker-like malt and wheat. The flavour is dry and heavily acidic. Really complex but well balanced brett and lacto. Citrus, mouldy basement and barnyard. The mouthfeel is fresh, tart and light oily with near medium carbonation. Bit numbing. Aggressive citrus finish. Light to medium bodied. A perfect Geuze.

Bottle @ DHVL. Easily THE beer of my Belgium trip. Pour orange with a light white head. Aroma is full of luscious oak, and grapes. You can really tease out the barrel elements of this one just from the aroma itself. Truly amazing and complex. Taste is lemon, more oak, wine/grapes. So much going on here, way more than any other gueuze I’ve tried previously. Lingering sourness in the finish. A wonderful beer and it’s scary to think hat this will probably close to 5.0 good in a year or two.

Another big thanks to yespr for sharing this at Woodshop 5.0 a Cantillion I’ve been dying to try for some time. Pours orange with a bubbly tan head. Nose is beyond tart, a beautiful nose, the kind of thing I’d smell for the rest of my life given the chance. Taste is so unbelievably perfect words fail me.

750 ml capped and corked bottle. Shared by mreusch. Marked 23 oktober 2008 on bottle, blend per the description. Pour is a very slight haze golden orange with a one inch white head the fizzles out noisily. Nice upward stream of carbonation bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. Aroma of funk, lemon citric and wet - but clean earthiness. Really soft, complex and engaging nose. Taste is the citric tart funkiness, very alive, earthy, mineral with layers of flavors and complexity. There is an element of the oak wood are present, as well as a nice bright acetic vinegar character. Just so much going on in this beer, and so beautifully balanced. Finish is quite clean, snappy with brisk sourness. Palate is really alive with natural carbonation, tingly on the tongue and just incredibly satisfying. Certainly a World class beer. Matt, not sure what to say, sharing this with me was just unreal generosity.

Pours a slightly hazy golden orange color with slight yelloish hues when held to a light source and a one finger frothy off-white head that slowly fades into a thin lasting ring. Very earthy funk aroma with lots of barnyard horseblanlet character in the nose along with hints of aged cheese, foot, bandaid, cobweb and subtle light fruit notes. Incredibly funky smelling with subtle lactic and vinegar notes as well as some light crisp fruit. Very tart puckering mouthfeel that is not at all acidic with lots of sour lactic creaminess and earthy oaky tannis. Very vinous with lots of crisp light fruit notes, especially apple and pear but the sour barnyard fink dominates creating am extremely refreshing quaffable sour that isn’t too overpowering in any area, letting all of the complex flavors shine through. This beer is extremely funky and incredibly complex. Very dry with a lingering mouth puckering finish that leaves me salivating for another dip.

Thanks Jason! The beer is one that I’ve wanted for a long time now. The beer pours to a deep glowing straw colored body with a clean starch white head. The aroma is lemony with white grapes and funky brett. There’s lots of complexity there. The flavor is tart and super funky with nice brett and sour kiwi and white grape with an alcoholic background that can likely only be the cognac. Super complex tangy gueuze. The beer is sour and tangy but not overly sour. Very complex gueuze. This is a real treat.

UPDATED: OCT 19, 2009 Bottle (750ml). At MesandSim’s, London May 10 2009). Shared by Mes. Of course. Rating #3600, by the way. JEEE ZUSSS this is a great beer! Hazy gold pour with a small creamy white head, swirls around lasciviously in the glass, like it knows something, the sour trollop. Big, big big ragged/jagged lanonlin/lemon funk nose-smash, really clears out the sinuses, unrecognizable raw green treefruit, incredibly yeasty - massive; MASSIVE. The taste - right on the heels of that aroma - even moreso, lemon, funk ... just brill, words failed me, I drooled on my notebook ... powerful, how the hell does a 5% ANYTHING smash a velvet-wrapped brick through your skull? This is even pretty thick-bodied, incredibly acidic, only mildly carbonated - it finishes in its own sweet (okay, sour) time, and leaves you wanting to weep that the glass and bottle are empty. Stunningly good. Really. I licked my glass.