Cantillon Blåbær Lambik

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

Shared this in Belgian Beer Tasting evening with Loz, Casey and Traci’ 04-01-08 Poured quite a dark red colour, hazy and with pink head. I’m not really that familiar with bluberries and so i likened the aroma to that of brambles, it reminded me of one of those warm late summer early autumn days when out picking blackberries. The first sip just sucks every last bit of moisture out of your mouth almost like inserting a vacuum cleaner in their really quite a Wow never had a beer with such amazing tannin level. I sip again and the blueberries and sourness are there but there is a refreshing taste and dryness to this as well. tart and wonderfully fruity and another amazing beer from Cantillon. Many thanks Casey for sharing this

A Mes & Sim rate: 37.5cl bottle at my sister’s house in Manchester.
First a little story. In May we went to the amazing Ølbutikken with Chris_O and David Rastacouere. Chris and David had already let Jeppe know they were coming so he had bottles of Blåbær waiting when they arrived. As I was unannounced there was none for me but I left with a promise from Jeppe that he would make sure I got a bottle at some point. A couple of months later I get a beermail from him saying he is sending me a bottle over with Jens Ungstrup who was attendding the excellent RBESG in Glasgow on the condition that we promised to drink it on a romantic night in with a fresh palate. Well it wasn’t quite a romantic night in but we supped it in Manchester to celebrate the birth of my sisters little boy. Seemed a fitting tribute. It also seemed fitting that as our 3K was not far away we should hold back on the entry until now. This little bottle went from Brussels to Copenhagen to Glasgow to London to Manchester. I love ratebeer. Ok, enough waffle. The beer. I’m a sucker for a nicely coloured beer and this one really hit the spot. A thick rich purple / pink colour with a really excellent lilac head. Mad looking but utterly gorgeous. Strange initial plastic note in the aroma quickly gives way to something that I can only descibe as a freshly bathed baby. Yes there is obviously some sweet / sour blueberry and light citric Cantillon wooden funk but it’s more restrained and delicate than most. I couldn’t help but smile the first time I took a sniff. The very second it hits your tongue you are left in no doubt that this is special. It has such amazing body for a lambic. Much fuller than normal, I guess down to the blueberries and so much smoother also but there is still that prickle around the edges reminding you what this is. Big tarty sour lambic funk balances perfectly with sweet sugary fruit. It’s like an ice dance routine carried out on your tongue with effortless grace and poise. Juicy and puckery with an amazing sherbert tartness. Elegant, almost mellow and incredibly refined. Outstanding length, it just goes on and on. The finish sends you on such a journey that you almost want to wait a while before taking another sip which is a really good thing as you don’t want to rush something so rare. My only slight critisism would be that I feel there is just a little too much fruit and not enough tartness showing. One day I may be lucky enough to try the 2005 vintage... It’s still bloody amazing beer however. The final journey the "Mes and Sim" labelled bottle made was to come home with us and take pride of place in the kitchen between the Aarmonnik and the Stille Nacht Reserva. A beer of noble charm and yet another thing for which we cannot thank Jeppe enough. You seriously kick ass mate.

Cloudy dark red pour with a medium, creamy, pink head. Superb aroma of blueberries with the assertive funky and acidic Cantillon signature. Amazing flavor of blueberries, mild cheese, it’s very acidic and wild, the Cantillon way, it’s also pleasantly dry. The body is light with a dusty texture and gentle carbonation. What an awesome fruit lambic, merci David!

2007 vintage, 37.5cl bottle, with appreciation to sunevdj, and also received a bottle from Storm - thanks guys! Pour is a thing of beauty, lively and aromatic, with a hazy ruby body and a beautiful bright pink foamy head that maintains a thin covering. Aroma gets your attention - funkdelicious, sour, tart, with a nice cherry/blueberry fruitiness. Flavor has a nice persistent sourness that is well placed yet not overdone, with a whisp of blueberry that seems to come out of nowhere. I am by no means a lambic expert, as this is my first formal introduction to a fruit lambic, but this is one amazing beer! Definitely a style deserving of further exploration...

Rating #3300 (bottle 2005), Cheesehead YeAH 2007, many many thanks Jason, this beer is truly worthy of it’s scores! Clean golden hue with small foamy head and spotty lace. The aroma is funky cheese and catty vapours along with a woody and mineral base with just a hint of blueberry and lemongrass. JUST WOW!

The taste is Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces laced, quite sweaty and salty with a herbal and grassy note in and about. Overall it is tart and even a tad flowery with just a hint of blueberry on the finish. The mouth feel is refreshing and sprite with a bone dry woody finish and a note of mineral on the aftertaste. <P> This ROCKS! I would hope to one day taste the 2007 version to see if the fruit is indeed more noticeable. SO CHOICE, U MUST TRY SOME

Many thanks to madsberg for sending this 2005 bottle my way!! Rating #2200! Poured a slightly hazy peachy-amber with just a little white headage. The aroma was sour as all hell with vinegar, lemon zest, and dusty blueberries accented by a solid dose of barnyard funkage.. sour and engaging.. can’t ask for any more! The flavor began with intense sour and tart notes on the tip of the tongue with very little blueberry present (except at the dry, sour finish).. complex and tasty! Sour on the palate throughout, leaving a bone dry, uber-refreshing finish. Most excellent!

Thanks to Mads for the bottle, 2007 vintage! Poured deep, murky garnet with a raspberry-tinted cream head. The aroma picked up brilliant deeper blueberries upfront with warm fruity backing.. vinegar and some herbal notes behind.. much juicier and fruitier than the ’05. The flavor had sour wheaty and blueberry notes with underlying tart malt vinegar.. a dry grassiness joined long, lingering berry skin tartness at the back.. quite nice. Sour overall on the palate with plenty of fruit presence.. lip-smacking and completely engaging. 8 4 8 4 17

Hell yes. Bottle from Theis. Pours a deeply beautiful blood red, with a wispy head that hardly lasts a minute. Succulent, blisteringly tart aroma, great bretty notes and a decent complexity. The greatness in the flavor, though. A huge tartness is accompanied by the lightest touch of sweetness from the blueberries, and all the wonderful fruity tastes they provide. A bit puckering in the finish, with a light butteriness that makes the beer just slide through the mouth. Tastes a lot like a blue warhead. None of the harsh mineraliness that I often get from Cantillon. Amazing stuff!

2007 vintage bottle sampled on 10/13/07: Pours a transparent brigh ruby red with almost purple hues and a nicely-lacing froth of airy pink head. Big, sweet fruity tart blueberry and cherry nose has a touch of oak. Body starts with some thinner, faint sweetness, but big acidic tartness and light fruity notes. Has very good sweet and tart balance throughout. Quite unique and enjoyable.