Cantillon Cuvée des Champions

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Brussels, Belgium

From a 750mL Bottle. Pours a transparent color of honey, topped with a thin head of wispy off-white. Moderately acidic nose, bringing out notes of mild vinegar, white grape skins, peach fruits, and hints of grapefruit. Beneath the fruit and brighter acid lies some funky oak dryness, peppery spice, and mild aged cheese. Light bodied, lightly carbonated mouthfeel with a bold acidity. Plenty sour, along with some more cheesy funk and peppery spice. A bright, fruity acidity dominates the flavor before leaving behind an exceptionally long, dry finish. Good, but not nearly as complex or deep as some of the other Cantillon goodies.

These sour beers aren’t generally my thing, but I like this one alright. It isn’t nearly as tart as some of the other Cantillon products or maybe it is the hop bitterness I like. It has a sweet(green apples) quality that I like, with some horse blanket type flavors. It is more over tart, and well carbonated. Moderately tart finish,especially different for a Cantillon Gueuze.

375ml Bottle as Pikkulintu from Pikkulintu, Helsinki- Hazy golden in colour. A surprisingly slightly hoppy but sour aroma. Tart and musty taste which is quite pleasant and refreshing.

Bottle at RLB’s YEHA ’05. Hazy golden color with a small white head. Starts off with the typical(awesome) Cantillon funky aroma of wet leather, straw, etc. but with a hint of hops that makes it unique. Flavor was quite tart, but I love tart. It was also somewhat bitter which sort of helped balance it, if that makes any sense. Overall an excellent beer.

Bottle from the Blue Max.Pours a cloudy color like Countrytime lemonade but this is not your daddy’s artificial sugarladen piss-tasting lawnmower riding on a hot summer afternoon beverage. Man, how can you describe a Gueuze? Seriously? The funk is strong here young Jedi.

Bottle: Light-medium amber/orange color with a medium white head. The body looks somewhat opaque to me, and remains hazy even when held directly up to the light. This has quite a bit of carbonation for an unblended lambic (due to the addition of candi sugar as mentioned). When too cold (about 45F) the aroma is more fruity than sour. At this point notes of lemon, peach, grapefruit, apple and orange really show - the sourness is there, but seems more in the background at first. As it warms to room temperature, the aroma becomes more citric, acidic, and sour. Unripened orange rind, sour orange, lemon, mild leather, light barnyard, and dust come out in a very musty scent. I even get some spicy pepper, fresh-cut grass, blue cheese, band-aid, marigolds at the tail end, and as Schroppfy has noted, apricots towards the end of the bottle. Interestingly, the hops really seem to come through in the aroma if you give it a vigorous pour, allowing a large head to form. Medium bodied, with spritzy carbonation and an almost creamy mouth feel. The first sip really overwhelms my palate with lemon rind. Though to be honest, it’s not as sour as I expected. After my palate gets beyond the initial shock, multiple flavors start to reveal themselves: sour grapefruit, orange rind, dandelions, leather, a hint of barnyard, fresh bitter grass, lemon grass, wet leaves, salt & pepper, xerox paper, sweet ruby grapefruit, celestial seasoning’s red zinger tea, rhubarb, cheese, and light wood. When the bottle nears the end it seems to get markedly sweeter. I’m not sure what accounts for this. Finishes quite bitter and acidic with notes of citrus and something else I just couldn’t place until I saw that rauchbier had it nailed - retronasel hops notes. Even further out in the finish some notes of sour grapes, cardboard and chardonnay come through. I was lucky to get my hands on this one.

Bottle. Yellow/orange appearance. Small white head. Champagne, coriander, citus in aroma. Flavor is light, fizzy, spicy, lemon, and sour. Well carbonated.

Shared by Sliffy at C-bus tasting #4. Huge thanks to Dan for sharing this incredible beer that I’ve really wanted to taste! This baby starts out with some Bootsy Collins Funk in the nose, sour and earthy as well. Hazy yellow appearance with a white head. Medium palate with good carbonation. Great light sour flavor with earthy notes mixed in. I love this style, and this is a great example of balance and drinkability.