Cantillon Faro

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Faro
Brussels, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

Cantillon faro. Draft at Chez Moeder Lambic Fonteinas... First faro . Pours a reddish plum brown hue, mostly opaque, with a huge fluffy soapy white head... Aroma of sweet sugar confection and a berry plumminess to coincide with it...Flavors have a plummy berry presence, semi-tart through the beginning and middle and finishes on a sweeter bent but not a total suger bomb like I was expecting. Body is soft as is the carbonation. A little sweet for my liking but that’s what I was coming to expect from a faro. 7/4/7/4/14

Pitcher @ the brewery. Pours dark orange. Aroma of candy sugars, caramel, caramel cloying the mouth. Not much going on because of the flatness.

On tap in Brussels at Moerder Lambic. The aroma is of burnt brown sugar, very potent. The dark caramel color has a creamy cappuccino head on top. There are big sweet notes in the flavor, that unlike of Cantillon! The notes probably come from the sugar and caramel added which are very potent on the palate, especially in the beginning. Then the noticeable tart flavor characteristic of Cantillon comes at the end and settles smoothly.

On draft at Moeder Lambic. Pours a dark copper almost brown color with a huge white head. On draft. The aroma is sweet sugars and fruit, some dry yeast. Unlike other Faros, a strong fruity lambic base only added to with sugars. Quite natural and earthy. Wonderful. I had two glasses.

It took a second visit to Belgium to finally get to sample Cantillon’s faro, I had it cask conditioned at Moeder Lambic Fontainas. Pours a cloudy amber color with a medium, bubbly, beige head. Nice aroma of white wine, acidity, mild funk and candi sugar. Very good flavor of candi sugar with some acidity to balance the sweetness, there’s also some funk and a lactic presence. The body is light with a creamy texture and soft carbonation. It’s definitely the best Faro I’ve had so far.

Has a nice subtle aroma, no hint of artificial sweetness. Appearance is a perfect dark amber colour, and brilliant head. Taste is lambic but sweet, caramel notes, and a dark syrup finish. Well blended, all articulate flavours, none lost. The folks at Cantillon get it right, yet again.

Rich mahogany pour with a creamy, frothy head. Aroma holds lots of cane sugar, a touch of plum, fig, and raisin, and a light tartness- really interesting nose to this brew. Flavor is far darker than expected, with increased dark fruit, candied sugars, and something that reminded me of the best Sour Patch Kids ever created, without the aggressive aftertaste. No carbonation, but a silky smooth mouthfeel. Really impressive stuff.

Lambic and candi sugar, what could possibly go wrong?

Irish whiskey with cream on top is what it looks like. Caramel and molasses is how it tastes. It finishes dry for the amount of sugar. And it has much sugar.

As I’ve had just one other Faro, I don’t have much to compare this to. This is easier to drink than Boon’s, hence the 3.5 ratings, but that’s not much of a recommendation.