Cantillon Cuvée Saint-Gilloise

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Brussels, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

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In bottle at the 21st Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation. Pours a dark golden colour with a fair white head. Aroma of minty dry hops, lemon and oak. Similar flavours and nicely tart with a dry finish. Moderate carbonation and an oily mouth-feel. Quite different with the dry hop addition.

Pours orangy with a finger of white head. Smell is hoppy, pine and funk, saison style of funk and barn yard. Taste is earthy, tart, grape muck, complex. Good.

On draft pour. Amberish color with little to no head. Tart barnyard funk. Dry. Well rounded.

750ml, bottled October 04, 2010. I was surprised to find that at 1.5 years, and despite what I deem to be proper cellaring, the cork on this puppy was half way saturated and almost too soft to pull. Still, it came out clean. The pour yields a very slightly hazy, glowing, golden-tangerine amber body. Neverending streams of fine bubbles feed a fuller than usual (for Cantillon) head of lasting, eggshell tinted foam. Short, rounded flares and spots of lace slowly meander back towards the body.

As expected, the nose is drop dead gorgeous. Nobody captures that musty-sharp apricot perfume note like Cantillon, and this one is no exception. The Hallertau hops lend a perfectly restrained, grassy, hay-like bite. Of course, there’s the requisite buggy, woody farmhouse funk, but it too seems relatively soft thanks to fruity and cereal-like malts. It’s incredibly saison-like, and nods to a few exceptional American beers that I’ve had lately, most notably Upright Fantasia....only better. I guess the nod really goes the other way then, doesn’t it?

The flavor follows suit, tart and sharp, mouth-puckering at times, but also reasonably subdued thanks to the leftover malty sugars. Concentrated apricot sour is the most prominent element, followed by hints of lemon and dried pineapple (a brettanomyces signature). German hops again add just the right amount of grassy, leafy, bitter bite. Damn tasty.

The palate is a little bit creamier and heftier than most gueuze, but still exceptionally dry, with crisp, prickly carbonation. It is exceptionally drinkable. Overall, Cuvée Saint-Gilloise falls just a bit short of its masterful cousin, Cuvée des Champions, but I’m really splitting hairs here.

Lately, in my mind, Hill Farmstead has been in hot pursuit of the title "World’s Best Brewery." Every now and then you need to sample the masters to remind yourself what it is that the young guns are striving for.

Bottle into a Cantillon tumbler. Pours a nice, clear golden color with a slightly-foamy white head. Pretty good retention and a bit of lacing. The nose has a nice faint hop character from a fairly-fresh better. Barnyard and a bit of hay in the background along with a touch of lemon zest. Flavor is nice and acidic with a citric bite alongside some earth and funk. Body is light and crisp with a nice acidic dryness to the finish. Fantastic beer.

Another beauty by deftim13 shared at the Mikes. Hazy light orange amber with tiny head to scant lace. Warm sweet tart on the nose. Smooth. Big round fruity with just a bit of tartness. Opposite of sharp and dry. Round and wet in mouth. Tartness increases with warmth. Very little carbonation. Long lingering tart apple back. Nice.

750 ml bottle shared by lushawn- thanks a lot, Shawn! Bottle dated 10/10. Pours a hazy gold color with a big eggshell white head. Funky, earthy, corky, woody, and acidic. Lemony citrus, with some grass and dairy notes. High carbonation. Not my favorite from these guys, but yet another solid, complex gueuze.

Bottle. Notes of musty old cellar, bright lemon and acidic yogurt sourness, soft leather. Dry. Clean. Nice balance. Real nice.

My bottle [750ml] shared with HogTownHarry, JoeMcPhee, jerc & mabel -- c/o Glouglouburp. Feb. 11. Pours a hazy golden-orange with a small long-lasting frothy white head. Aroma: Oh yeah, love it! Quite herbal and yeasty along with light hops, light spices, a hint of tartness and some sugary sweetness. Flavour is yeasty and herbal along with spices and citrus fruit. Medium bodied. Simply fantastic!

Green bottle, 75 cl, bottled on November 2 2011, via Importations Privées Bièropholie (merci Hughes!), savoured March 31 2012; eye: copper, clear, no effervescence, no head, no lacing; nose: woody, Brettanomyces yeast, sourness, acidity, light candied sugar; mouth: woody, Brettanomyces yeast, sourness, acidity, light candied sugar, orange, finale in orange with sour presence, medium body, below-average carbonation ; overall: correct FRANÇAIS Bouteille verte, 75 cl, embouteillée le 2 novembre 2011, via Importations Privées Bièropholie (merci Hughes!), savourée le 31 mars 2012; œil : cuivrée, limpide, pas d’effervescence, pas de mousse, pas de dentelle; nez : boisé, levure Brettanomyces, aigreur, acidité, léger sucre candi; bouche : boisé, levure Brettanomyces, aigreur, acidité, léger sucre candi, orange, finale en orange avec présence aigre, corps moyen, carbonatation sous la moyenne; en résumé : correct