Cantillon 50ºN-4ºE

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Brussels, Belgium

Bottle, 75cl. A hazy, a bit pale orange-golden beer with a small, off-white head. The aroma has the most obvious and expected scents like barnyard, horseblanket and yeast, and of course citrusy acidity, but it’s not amongst the most complex gueuzes. Really pleasant though, just like the flavor, which is almost sweetish, but of course more on the acidic side. Low on carbonation, astringent, with barnyard and citrusy sourness. Mostly lemonish sourness. Some green apples too. The supposed imprint from the cognac barrels isn’t something I detect. Surprisingly easy to drink. (081220)

750ml bottle, thanks Brad! Cork slides off without any sound, which was odd. Pours a very slightly hazy honey orange with a fine soapy head. Awesome lacing. Aroma is really heavy on lemons, green apples, and hay, with a bit of metal or blood that isn’t really appealing. Really nice in the mouth - soft and puckering, the tart lemons and green apples shine, the finish is round and short. Strange. I don’t taste any cognac, but that round finish could be the effect of the cognac barrel. Not quite as harsh and bone-dry as some Cantillon. Really sour, but graceful and very tasty. Such a falvorful and well integrated sour component on this one.

Bottle. Pours sparkling and hazy orange with a small, rocky, white head, somewhat lasting with fair lacing. Aroma is average malt (hay, straw), average hops (grass, grapefruit, lemon), heavy yeast (horse blanket, barnyard, soap, earth) with notes of grape, plum, wood, and wine. Light bodied, mineral texture, average carbonation, and a sour finish. Average duration, light sweetness, heavy acidity and sourness.

Pours a murky but glowing orange/yellow with a creamy white froth that fades into some clump fine bubbles. Sweet tart and sour aroma with notes of pepper and a cognac roundness. Sweet sugary, tart, lightly sour, lots of barrel, some funky cheesiness, really nice cognac notes. Strong flavors yet still quite balanced.

rbsg 08 thanks toncatcher....not a huge brandy presence...actually one of the weaker ones I have had from cantillion....actually tame compared to the rest?

rbesg08 grand tasting, bottled. hazy golden, lightly spritzy, typical cantillon aromas, plenty of lemon sherbet, some tomato vine, the expected tartness, tasty

Bottle 2007 pours a hazy yellow-orange with a thin white head, aroma is funky, fruity, taste is sour, fruity, some funkiness, I am trying to find the cognac taste but I do not really notice it, thin mouthfeel, with a dry finish.

Great lambic.. Only real downside of this bottle was that it tasted slightly less good than a glass of lambic served straight from a cognac cask I happened to be permitted to taste at the cantillon brewery. I presume that barrel must be somewhere in the 50N-4E, but as a single cask brew it was even better.