Cantillon Lou Pepe Gueuze

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Brussels, Belgium

Bottle. Golden on colour with a large head. Nice and fruity although kinda mild. Notes of citrus and vinegar. Refreshing.

750ml bottle 2002 vintage @ Gallaghers in Kalamazoo. Pours a dark orange color with a small white head. Nose is lightly sour with some yeasty dry notes and some light acidic sour citrus notes. Flavor is mostly fresh sour outdoorsy barnyard. A bit of a dry finish. Mouthfeel is lightly fizzy and playful with a sticky clinging palate.

2002 on the label 2004 bottling. Poured with a slight head with decent of CO2. Golden color with slight haze to it. Cellared four months horizontally. Good character, but more similar to many other brands, not as Cantillon funkiness. Good beer, would improve with aging.

750mL, bottled in 2002 and shared by Muzzlehatch on 3/10/06 at cellar temp.
Rusty copper, quite deep for a gueuze. Immense, off-white head, is quite frothy, not overly dense and is retained very well thanks in part to the large amount of bottle refermentation. Some light haziness and quite a layered appearance, with pencil-yellows and bright golds all swirling about. Lacing is quite prominent in strands, all down the glass.
The nose begins with a predictable Cantillon funkiness. Large helpings of raw, old cheese; complex lactobacillus bi-products and a lovely rustic "farmy" quality. But dusty...very dusty (dry, bland-like yeasts) and an emergent plant-like note (celery, broccoli and/or rhubarb stalks). Even forgiving that, what I find, as it warms is a large amount of "powderiness" that I find in poor examples of the style (though this can be anything but). Powderiness like you are smelling powdered sugar mixed in heavy mineral water. It really gets up front in the aroma, and though there is a delicious acidity and funky quality lying behind, I can not help but be turned off by this plant-like and powdery note. Due to this, the usual strikingly clear pedio/brett nose that I love from this brewer is not there, or at least, very interrupted.
The flavor follows suit, with a powdery/plant-like note that is disconcerting and really rears its ugly head. Behind this is the lovely, musty, oily/oaky and dry yeast note, both sour and refreshing. Invigorating carbonation, a bit too lively at first, but easily becoming appropriate and engaging upon breathing. Texture ranges from creamy to oily, and the malic acid and such is in full bloom. No alcohol, of course, and little wheat noticeable.

I am fairly convinced that the sugar addition to the bottle accounts for the flavor/aroma note of powder/plant. It is just seems like too much of a coincidence that ALL of the lambics I have had that have a sugar addition have this note. And though I understand that the sugar is fermented out, there still can be a residual flavor (though not sweet). That said, it is difficult to score the beer. As the beer is not "flawed" or "poorly brewed", I just don’t feel it is appropriate to add sugar to a gueuze in any shape or form. Other than this, it is a fully refreshing, funky, sour gueuze. I have also noted this powder/plant note in the Lou Pepe Kriek samples that I have had.

Bottle from 2002, brewed in 2000, purchased at Half Time in Poughkeepsie, NY (2004). Cellar temperature, shared with ClarkVV. When the foil is removed, there is a large amount of dirt on the bottle neck, and the cap is rusty...hmmm...the cork once uncovered looks a bit dirty/moldy and is slightly wet...I’m worried. But as it’s pulled there’s a satisfyingly loud POP and the liquid pours happily into our glasses, beautiful hazy orange-gold with light flecks of yeast and amazingly large and stable heads enhance the beauty of the scene....the nose is quite musty, with dried citrus and a curious wet prairie, right after a rainshower quality, and a surprisingly big sweetness, almost candy note as it warms....on the tongue, it’s quite refreshing, thirst-quenching, clean and only moderately sour with some citric sweetness towards the finish and very light dried thyme and other herbs apparent....somewhat oily mouthfeel, but only slightly low carbonation. Not a great Cantillon or perhaps not a great sample, though the bottle seemed upon opening in good shape; this is more an easy drinker than a complex masterpiece and as such it gets a nice rating, but isn’t something I necessarily feel like seeking out again.

"Bottled 2004. Poured light orange color, head was okay. Aroma was typical for this style. Flavor was different the other others i have had from this style. The had a sprite citrus flavor when it started not as sour until the aftertaste when the sour twisted my tounge. As it warmed the sourness was not quite as stong. "

2001 bottle. Pours a hazy golden/orange colour with a white head. Barnyard aroma with hints of citrus. Flavor is malty with a nice sourness. Hints of citrus with a long sour finish.

2001 bottle.Hazy, deep golden colour with almost no head. Lemony aroma with hints of wood and talc. Complex acidic flavours, very dry with lemons and citrus fruit. Some oakiness towards the finish. Rather flat for a geuze. My expectations were sky-high, and I am afraid the beer did not quite live up to them. It is still a great beer, though.