Cantillon Don Quijote

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

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

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UPDATED: NOV 23, 2011 HUGE thanks to Sean for this. Shared with Sean, Mike, and Alex on an awesome Sunday afternoon...375ml bottle into a Lost Abbey glass...Pours a light and bubly purple, kind of dark out but nothing special...The aroma is the best sour ever. It has the smoothest but deepest funk ever, almost manure like but in an appealing way. The first funk that actually really brings me back to the smell of visting my grandparents ranch in Texas. What makes this aroms even better is that its balanced nice with sweet smell of grapes a perfect combo to break up the depths of the funk...The taste thankfully picks up for the most part where the aroma left out. Funk is there but now the grapes come through more, a touch to much of the grapes. This is a top beer by far and must get for all Cantillon lovers, no matter the cost. I’d love to have this again side by side with blabaer just to see which of these is truly not only the best Cantillon but best sour in the world. Yeah, its that good. Re-rate as of 11/23/2011 this has lost all the great barnyard manute, mostly welch’s grape juice in aroma and taste, I’ll leave the rating from my first epic experience but this is now closed to 4.1

reviewed 01-08-2012. never ever thought i would be doing this.... pour was a faint red with some violet. head was white and frothy with a hint of faint color like light red in it. some retention and lacing. pour was from towards the top so it was fairly clear and clean. scent was interesting. lots of cheese, old sweat, musty, with this light sharpness and intense concord grape. very complex and interesting. starts out quite sour and intense, then starts to fade out with a just amazing combination of subtle oak, mustiness, and straight grape in the finish. the grape just sits on the tongue. nice and dry with some help from the oak. nice mild carbonation, slight sweetness. this was amazing, lots of interesting characteristics all over it.

Sampled at STLWill’s 30th b-day tasting. This was a beer where the nose and the taste were worlds apart for me. Pours clear copper with a small white head. The aroma has lots of unrefined wood, body odor, dirty grapes, light sourness and bugginess - this didn’t give me high hopes. The body is light/medium as is smooth by the breweries standards along with mild carbonation. The taste starts off with a husky/grainy quality that has a sweet/tart taste that’s very buggy and highly acidic. The grapes didn’t come out to me until the finish and they came out big there with the Concord flavor. Lots more acidity on the finish as well. A great beer, just didn’t care for the aroma.

750 ml bottle sampled at STLWill’s 30th birthday party- thanks, again! Pours a murky reddish gold color with a white ring for a head. Aroma has a big dose of red grapes, both tart and more sweet and juicy, with barnyard funk, oak, and cheese. Flavor of grapes, lemon juice, vinegar, oak, yogurt, and more farmhouse funk. Pretty damn sour and tart. Dry, with moderate carbonation. Pretty damn amazing.

So very fortunate to try this one. From notes, bottle share at CDC b4 release. From such a small sample I got so much. The palate was incredible, and followed a fruit forward but light nose, citrus, cherry, minimal funk. Cascading down my palate was a hodgepodge of fruits and acidity. Must have bottle.

750ml bottle pours a hazy amber with a creamy, white head. Nose is sweet, berries, earthy, wet fertilized soil, red grapes, funk, band aid, a little rotting vegetable, strawberry patch. Flavor is more straight forward, grassy, hay, funky like the Blauw we had earlier but with white grapes, strawberry, berry sweetness, a little horsey, some bandaid. Not as acetic as other Cantillons. Perfect level of carbonation, soft, medium bodied, lightly tart. Super smooth. Very drinkable.

Thanks Travlr and GT2! Hazy orange pour with pink hints. The aroma is pure bliss: ultra juicy grape skins and grape flesh with classic overbearing Cantillon acidity. So vibrant and juicy I can’t even believe it. Brett and farmy musty funk follow. The grapes completely dominate. Not overly nuanced or complex, but what we have here is certainly a masterpiece. Finish is dry and loaded with grapes.

UPDATED: DEC 13, 2011 Bottle shared by GT2. Pours lightly hazy copper/amber with a small, fizzy white head, short retention with good lacing. Aroma is complex earthy, barnyard, and horse blanket with grapes, straw and meal malt, huge phenols and spicy hops. Flavor is sour and tart grapes, spicy phenols, light Brettanomyces notes, oak, vinous, lactic sourness and a dry finish. Medium-light body, no warmth, medium carbonation.

fiery ruby grapefruit, thin white ring. Nose is light grape and strawberry, sweet fruit pulp grows with warmth, bit of stable in the back bit dusty, peppery. Pinot d’aunis has way more going on, laughable comparison though I had once thought it would be perfect side-side. Flavor is thinner, lightly sugary with white grape skins, very drying finish sourness lasting. No pepper or ultra dryness like Pinot daunis, grape skin appears sweet and thinner as a result, even softer body (how can anyone complain d’aunis dry tongue-rake is "still" compared to this?). Very nice, but as with most Cantillon, brett and acetic notes making it messy.

Giant thanks to travlr and GT2 for sharing this epic bottle!! Beautiful pour with tints of pink, purple, and gumwood orange, along with a roseate head that dissipates quickly. Nose and flavor are absolutely rife with white grape and deep sweet concord grapes, light pepper, strawberry, and beautifully nuanced fruity funk. The flavor brings more strawberry, grape, and citric funk. Honestly just an outrageously tasty fruit lambic. One of my favorite beers of all time.

bottle. poured a cloudy amberish type color with a white head. aroma was grapes, horse blanket? and cherries. flavor was grapes, cherry, funk, lemon, and orange. body was light dry and fizzy.