Cantillon Rosé De Gambrinus

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

Pours a pale pink tending to orange. Aromas are dominated by raspberry vinegar with a touch of mustiness, leather perhaps. Palate is uncomplicated, bright sweet/sour raspberries present before trademark lambic tartness comes to the fore. Its good, but i much prefer the complexity of a gueze. No doubt with a bit of patience, this will develop greater complexity.

I really wanted to like this--"lambic for the big boys" is how the bottle shop owner put it--but just couldn’t. Too sour, more like a dry red wine than a beer. I like to be adventurous with my beer tasting, but this one was just a little too far out there for me.

38cl, from De Hopduvel Gent, not complex, cloudy, small head, nice sour fruit brew

2006 version in the 12 oz corked green bottle with the 21 mm cap from Beertopia. Pours a bright orange copper color if you decant carefully, but a hazy putty-like pinkish amber if you do not. Strawberries and raspberries are big in the nose, but if you swirl it, you get a surprising blast of acetone. Most of the fruit flavor is absent from this leaving a huge sour tongue buster to your taste buds. Intensesly vinegar-like, this lambic sourness simply overpowers anything else but the sour receptors. Battery acid wishes it could grow up to be this strong. It is actually a bit more drinkable if you swirl the yeast into it, as opposed to the careful pour. The nail polish remover aroma is a real trip, however. For folks who like this style, my guess is that this is an exceptional beer. I want to believe...

Bottle. Hazy reddish orange. Sourish aroma of yeast and raspberry. Flavour of early red fruit, very sour. Yeast is not too dominant. Fruity finish. Decent, for being a lambic.

On Tap at Monks in Philly. Pours a hazy bright red body with small lacing. Great aroma of raspberries and some tartness. The flavor is tart with some fruit notes. Dry finish. Liked this one.

Taste: 7/8 Bottle 2007. Looks: Pink body with small white head. Aroma: Wet leather and must. Stout yeast sour. Nice dry fruit. Taste: Strong tart. Mouthwatering dry. Begs to be drunk.

Bottle @ Stone Sour Fest 2008. Light red-pink colored, small and diminishing white head, lots of carbonation. Sour fruity aroma, with some wooden cask touches. Full palate. Finish is little astringent, bitter fruity with a light peppery wooden touch. Dry bitter near the end.