Cantillon Soleil de Minuit

Formerly brewed at Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Stem glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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This was an unlabeled bottle with a cork from 1999 into a Narke tulip given to a friend by a really good friend not in the USA. A - Pours golden in color, fizzy white head, bubbles on top. S - Super funky tart nose, light fruit, some booze for only 5%. The fruits are sweet but I’m not exactly sure I can pick out cloudberries. Musk, hay, and light acidity. T - Super sour, tart, light booze burn on the finish, lightly oxidized, light fruit aspect....not sure if it’s cloudberries or not, but some fruit is there. For only 5%, I’m surprised how much alcohol there is on the way down. The finish is very tart, light fruit. M - Light body, light carbonation, dry finish. O - Sour...very sour. Not as much finesse as I thought there would be with this Lambic. I think the fruit has been overtaken by the tart funky notes, but still, there’s some complexity. I am grateful to have tried this beer, and I know I’ll never have it again. Thanks to my friend for making this happen because of some genuine beer karma....much deserved.

Wow, never thought I would have an opportunity to try this beer. This is without a doubt the pinnacle of my beer drinking career. I will try to do the beer justice with this review. The beer pours a hazy tangerine color with a small white head. Great carbonation still after so long. I’ve never smelled or tasted a cloudberry, so these next two categories will be hard to judge. The nose is incredibly musty with some pretty prominent urine notes, I don’t know why, but it’s incredibly appealing to me. Soleil is crazy sour, probably the most sour Cantillon I’ve ever had. Typical Cantillon funk and lemon rind. Light mouthfeel, gentle carbonation, good acidity, and a moderate finish. Fantastic beer and such a treat to enjoy, I would probably still rate Loerik above this, but that takes nothing away from this. An incredible experience that I’ll never forget. Thanks guys!

About as rare as it gets tick... Doesn't hold up as well as some other older cantillons, ie gooseberry and red currant... A bit oxidized, very sour but with a bit of alcohol and vinegar, touch of tart fruit, rind... Good not great but a very grateful ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle no.50, courtesy of and shared with Per, ENORMOUS THANKS! Hazy, almost misty amber body, small white head that went away fast. Full cloudberry blast in the nose mixing with some Cantillon funk. Very nice. Probably the most clearly pronounced fruitiness that I’ve tried in a Cantillon so far, strong hjorton definitely. The acidity isn’t excessive. Oh fuck yeah. Special stuff.

Murky orange-brown. The cloudberries are still very present after all these years and have aquired a very "ripe" and exclusive flavour. There is a light funkiness and stableness, a little tart. It is extremely dry in the end, with a very cheekdrying effect. It manages to be incredibly complex and very simple at the same time, a feature which few beers reach. A great beer, it’s sad that it will probably never be made again.

UPDATED: FEB 13, 2011 Tried it a second time, and it is totally spectacular. Probarbly the best in the world. Cantillon Soleil de Minuit (årg. 1999). Vilken fantastisk doft den hade. Fina aromer och en smak som trots sina 10 år fortfarande är mycket bärig. Ölen var ganska syrlig och hade en eftersmak som måste vara något av det bästa jag har känt någon gång. Det var lite vemodigt att tömma de absolut allra sista dropparna.

UPDATED: AUG 4, 2010 Soleil de Minuit is a simple lambic, really --

There are the cloudberries, slightly sweet, somewhat tart, but still fresh after eleven years in the bottle. Then comes the lambic, easily recognizable as Cantillon - ripe socks, yellow woodsorrel, and antique armoires. The whole thing goes down with a champagne consistency.

-- and since this was available only in magnums, that came in handy!

Bottle shared with Hirigalzkar, Gyllenbock and other Stockholm beer blog celebrities. Great brew with taste, aroma and mouthfeel of cloudberries. Sweet and fresh despite the age.

75 cl bottle at Akkurat in July 2010. (vintage 1999) In my youth I spent a lot of time in Lapland. Grandma’s cloudberry jam was fantastic, cloudberries are the gold of Lapland. Cantillon Soleil de Minuit was without doubt one of the best beers I have ever tasted, truly an amazing experience. Wonderful aroma and taste of cloudberries, It was difficult to understand that the beer could still taste so much cloudberry. Very sour despite its age, long aftertaste. It was propably the last bottle ever sold at Akkurat. Wow!

Bottle @ Akkurat. Pours orange, no head. I’m impressed with the fruitiness in the aroma, as I would have expected the agening to have taken some edge off it. Enormous sweet cloudberry aroma! Some sour blackcurrant seeds are there in the background. Taste is very sour, but also very fruity. A small bitterness in the end. Not the most complex fruit lambic, but very, very fruity and the sweetness balances the usual sourness in a perfect way. I just love cloudberries!