Cantillon Rosé De Gambrinus

World class lambic, with a blend of cherry and raspberry. Cantillon brews some of the most traditional lambics, and are not sweetend, to please a bigger audience. Rose De Gambrinus is a phenomenal beer, with complex aromas, and flavors. Pours to a beautiful light ruby color, with a pink head that fades, and a lively carbonation. The nose is complex ,with sour vinous notes, along with aromas of horse blanket, cherry, and raspberry. The palate is lively, as flavors zing on the tongue. Oaky flavors marry with vinous flavors, and flavors of tart cherry and raspberry. Rose De Gambrinus finshes with more complex flavors up front, then ends bone dry with flavors of oak, sourness, and cherry stone. Amazingly complex, vibrant, and flavorful, this beer has tremendous cutting power. It would slice right though a rich pate, buttery cheeses, roasted beef, turkey, or pork. An ultimate aperitif beer, and an ultimate desert beer.

Had high expectations of this that weren’t entirely sated. I guess I expected more bretty funkiness and found this surprisingly clean and simple. Cloudy peach colour with a nice perky head. Found the aroma to be sherbety and acidic, with some ice cream softness and raspberry sweetness, but missing the ’wildness’ that makes lambics so intriguing. On the tongue, it announced itself with an explosion of sherbety sour-sweetness but then vanished in the mid-palate before a late rush of raspberry sourness. Some oaky lambic notes crept in as it warmed, but overall I was disappointed. (Duff homecoming gathering)

12oz bottle that is both capped and corked. Bottled in 2004. Served at around 60° in a duvel tulip. Reddish gold/orange color with no head to speak of. Fragrant Cantillon aroma. Tart raspberry, barnyard funkiness, pepper, vanilla, lemony citrus aromas are released when the beer is vigorously swirled. The initial taste is tart raspberry, lemon, and horse blanket followed by a very tart, mildly funky, tart berry flavor. The finish is mouth puckering sour at first, but after a few sips it mellows, but not too much. The mouthfeel is pleasant, the finish is astringent. I really enjoy this. The beer doesn’t compromise the great Cantillon lambic flavor with the raspberry flavors.

2003 bottle shared with Poperinge. Very strong aroma with scents of salt, vinnegar, fruit and possibly cheese. No head. On sip raises goose bumps and the sourness sinks right into the cheeks and gums. Flavour is all lambic base. There is no fruit, malt or hop flavours. It is like sipping the sour coating for kids sour candies. An experience.

Bottled. Very reddish colour with some amber hints, almost no head. While pouring sweet strawberry/raspberry mixed aroma, with the Cantillonish-bitter-sour notes coming after it is in the glass. Strong Cantillonish lambicflavour. Aftertaste has some weak fruity and berryish hints, but as usual the sourness/bitterness covers it up pretty much. Some wineish hints also.

Bottle (from Bitter Virtue, Bottled 2004). Delicate pinky orange colour. Some raspberry aroma but more reminscent of the seeds and plants than the actual fruit. Restrained musty cellar aroma with a solid oaky component. Nicely sour but not overly so - provides enough acidity to produce a light zesty tingle along with the faint carbonation. Very little sweetness but all the same not out of kilter. As I drank some of the fruit aspects faded to a more vinous component. In many ways quite wine like, although as a wine would be overly acidic. Nice and interesting for a fruit lambic although I generally prefer gueuze.

Bottle. Reddish orange colour with a slim white head. Nice fresh, barnyardy and sour raspberry aroma. Nicely sour, strongly acidic taste; some raspberry and other fruit. Quite a strong woody element. Some sweetness but dominated by the sour. Light to medium bodied, moderate carbonation. Excellent.

Bottled. Pours an almost electric shade of reddish orange. Wispy white head. A very sour barnyard smell fills the room while the glass still sits on the table. When I bring the glass closer I can pick out some horse blanket aromas along with raspberries, lemons and grass. The flavor is predominantly sour and acidic with huge notes of lemon, soil and almost a slight smoke or roast note to it. It finishes very dry with raspberries very evident in the aftertaste. What a beer! This is one of the best Cantillons I’ve had!