Cantillon Blåbær Lambik

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

2009 bottle. A rich, gorgeous velvet purple pour and a pillowy crown of pink. Blasts of blueberries and funk in the nose; beneath, vanilla, gritty fruit sugars, and minerals are just little accents on this massive, jammy juiciness, so rich and compelling atop the intimidating funk of cantillon.

Taut, punchy flavor of lemons and blueberries, tannins and oranges; the blueberries are so palpable that much like the freshest fruit they bring out hints of other fruits buried inside; the funk is way underneath this and plays a perfect complimenting role, which is much better to me than the confronting role it plays in foufone or saint lamvinus, for this purpose at least. Its detailed, not complicated, and the blueberries shine; lightly salty afterward.

Tight, full palate, brisk and puckering, giving an almost rich chocolate like blueberry flavor in the finish; intricate and impressively harmonious. Ty knew how bad i wanted this, thanks a ton buddy!

2007 375ml A - Wow, I’ve never seen a beer this color... As I pour this deep purple lambic almost 2 fingers of pink stained tan head rises and settles after a few seconds. S - The second I started pouring this I could smell the blueberries. When you’re nose deep in the glass there is a strong acidity and a nice healthy funk, lovely barnyard and cheese. T - Frickin’ awesome. Not the sourest Cantillon I’ve had, but definitely packs a punch. It blend very well with the funk going on as well. The blueberries are also the most present out of Cantillon fruit lambic that I’ve had. It might just be in my head but I swear the blueberries also add to the sourness, as if they were picked early. This one was carbonated pretty well and probably one of the only things I could find I didn’t like about, and I was trying pretty hard. Rarity and price aside, I could drink this any day of the year, I would just need 30 minutes to lose myself in it.

I was lucky enough to get me a couple of bottles of the ’09 2nd batch. The aroma is unmistakably blue berry and a lot! After half a bottle, I somehow loose the track of the berry flavor. Still, a climax of a lambic.

An aroma of vinegar, funk, wood and cassis. Taste is of blueberries and cassis. Acidic at first, then fruity and dry in the finish. It’s elegant and drinkable - the fruity character of those blueberries are really suitable for a fruit lambic!

Aroma of funk, oak, black currant and fruit. Appearance is dark red with almost no head. Flavor is sour and sweet with taste of blueberries, tart and black currant. Thickles in the mouth. Almost no carbonation. Overall an amazing beer with complex taste and interesting mouth feel.

Bottle shared kindly by fodog. Pours a gorgeous purple/magenta with a pink head. Stunning. Nose start soft fruity, currents, light tartness and a wash of honey tinged funk. Flavor start tart, a soft sour, fruity, berries, then the tannins come in. Bretty funk towards the finish with more berry, a touch acetic and finally a solid tartness. Soft, lush, dry without loosing the soft berry flavors. Fantastic!

I finally got a chance to try this beer, thanks Jeppe! The beer poured a hazy, deep amber almost crimson body, dense. Vigorour head formed, vibrant pint color that receeded quickly and left a full ring on the edge. The nose was very tart, earthy and a bit of exotic fruit. The taste...tart, tart, tart! Don’t get me wrong, the taste is excellent. The blueberry notes are strong, fresh and wonderful. There is also some citrus and pepper on the tongue. If you take a look at the label, the face tells you the story of this beer. Tart yet wonderful. Well worth the effort to get it.

Sample from batch 4. In all honesty I thought it would both smell and taste more blueberries than it did. The beer was still good with a nice balance between the sourness and sweetness from the fruits.