Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Stem glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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I can describe this in one word...sharp. The aroma is very cutting in the nose, tart and sour, with raspberry flavoring as an afterthought. Damp wood and cardboard in the aftertaste.

2001 Vintage. Pours a rich amber red color with a foamy pinkish head. Aroma is slightly woodsy with the sharp tartness of raspberries blended with it. Flavor is slightly sour, but mostly reminiscent of raspberries with some woodsy underflavors. Gets sweeter as it warms, full of yummy raspberries.

2001 bottle. Head is initially small, fizzy, pink, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy medium red, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain), lightly yeasty (barnyard), with notes of raspberry and cask wood. Flavor is moderately sweet, heavily acidic. Finish is lightly sweet, heavily acidic. Light to medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, moderately astringent. Nice for a fruit lambic, good flavor balance, although raspberry dominates the aroma. Would expect more yeast character in a traditional lambic, but as with most other Cantillons I've reviewed, the base aroma is fairly mild/meek/light. But the raspberry aroma is delightful and genuine here, so it was enjoyable.

2001. Shocking pinkish red color, amazing they got this without food coloring. Pink head fades. Sour, horse blanket lambic nose, hints of rotting fruit. Sour in the mouth, horse blanket, funk, then moving smoothly into a greenish raspberry flavor with a touch of sweetness. Just great stuff. Super Bowl beer!

2001 vintage. Red-pink body which is quite clear, especially for a lambic-based product. There was a pink head when I poured it out, but it disappeared almost instantly. The aroma combines the sourness from the lambic whit the sweet fruitiness from the rasp-berries. The flavour is almost what the aroma predicts. Sourness combined with rasp-berries. Although, I find the lambic has a dominant role in the flavour in contrast of the Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus. The initial flavour is moderate sweet - sour, and it finishes stronger sweet and sour. Quite long-lasting finish. The beer is accompagnied by a fizzy mouthfeel.

Bottle of the 2001 vintage. Reddish grapefruit color with a pinkish laced head. A strong viney rasberry aroma. Extremely dry.

2003 bottle. Initially I didn't get much head, but I did when I had the yeast of the last pour from the bottle. Opaque hazy, beautiful red (matched in quality only by New Glarus Belgian Red). Good aroma, it leaps from the glass driven by a propellant of some stripe (not the alcohol). Good fruitiness, though I'm in love with the particular qualities of raspberry in beer. Still, enjoyable. The sourness is muted, not jawdropping as in some Cantillon beers. The yeast acts nicely to give some underlying barnyard qualities.

2001: Slighty hazy reddish hue with large fizzy pink head and good lace. Aroma displays the tart raspberry, barnyard yeast esters, oaken barrel, and aromatic hops I was fully expecting. Sour, mouth puckering, raspberry taste is very much on the front line of this beer. A nice undertone of creamy/sweet malt, fiesty yeast, and bitter hops round out what would have been a one-diminsional beer without them. The mouthfeel is lively yet soft and very dry upon the finish. While this beer style isn't for everyone, those who do enjoy a fruit lambic will surely enjoy this. YUMMY! Rating #900!

My second cantillon offering and this brewery is quickly becoming a favorite. What a fabulous beer, slightly hazy, pink/rasberry with a filmy head. The beer has similar characteristics of the gueze, musty, tart, with the rasberry coming in towards the finish, adding fruit wallop and subtle sweetness that balances and lingers. Great beer.

Sticker on the bottle says 2001, but the cork says 2002. Pours a pale copper ruby with a 1" thick white head. Good carbonation throughout. Aroma of soft tart raspberries. Flavors include cider vinegar, dry oak, and a light bitterness from the raspberries. Also a faint sweetness, nowhere near as sweet as Lindemans. Finishes dry and tart. I liked this much better than the Lou Pepe Pure Kriek.