Cantillon Blåbær Lambik

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

Celebration rating #9000. Bottled. I’ve waited the longest time to rate this beer - first time I tried it was in January 2006 - thank Jeppe, but now the beer has been released and the occasion is right. I try the 2005 and 2007 vintages side by side.

First impression is how much color it has lost from 2005 till now. The 2005 version is pinkish-orange with a slight haze and next to no head (2), while the 2007 is deep red and very hazy wiht a huge pinkish head (4). The aroma is much more alike for the two vintages; it is acidic with notes of brettanomyces, wood, stables, and berries, I find the aroma of the 2007 vintage a bit more powerful, but this is probably because of the head retention. The flavor is somewhat different - I find the biggest difference in the tartness, where the 2005 vintage is way tarter than the 2007 - and much tarter than I remember my sample from January 2006, but besides the tartness it has notes of berries - can’t really tell that it is blueberries though, wood, vinegar, hay, and barnyard - in the 2005 also some notes of fruit vinegar and stronger in the wood. I think all in all I prefer the 2007 slightly over the 2005.

(Bottle 37,5 cl) Vintage 2007. Pours a very cloudy reddish colour with a small, reddish head. Very sour and delicious Brett aroma with a fruity touch. Medium body, notes of almond and marzipan while the fruitiness is rather downplayed. Lots of sour Brett accents. Acidic, astringent finish yet still amazingly well balanced. 220308

37.5 cL bottle, 2007. Pours hazy reddish and with a lacing pink head. Sulphor and berry aroma, dry. Dry woody and berry fruity flavour. Very classic Cantillon sour sulphorish at first. Adds a solid blueberry smooth flavour. Gains some classic dry brett flavour towards the finish and makes me shiver. Ends with a dry woody and sourish/citric. Lovely.

Bottled, thanks oh6gdx! Dark red, rich pink head. Citric Cantillon-style acidity dominates the nose, tart blueberries stay one step back. Unusually soft for a bottled Cantillon. Has an evident fruit component, but it would be hard to pinpoint that it was blueberries. Finishes with the regular Cantillon-style freshening acidity.

Bottle 75cl. @ home.
[ My Rating #4000 ].. After drinking so many bottles of this very very nice beer I manage also to make a rating of it ..
Light unclear medium to dark red color with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly diminishing, light red head. Aroma is blueberries - berry sour - tart, wood, horse blanket - barnyard, acdic. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and moderate acidic with a long duration, and a dry finish. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft - lively. It is awesome .. very very nice and complex and again easy to drink and very refreshing... ;o)) (050708)

2007 bottle, 5%. Beautiful, sour aroma, a little mold and berry. Hazy deep red colour. Small pink, almost bright red head. Good sour flavour, a little vinegar, but rounded off by the berries. Swelling mouthfeel. Berry aftertaste.

Bottled (rating #3000, 375ml big thanks to Jeppe for this one!). Nice bloodred colour without any bigger head. Aroma is very sour fruits, but not as much blueberries in this one as the 750ml Jeppe shared at Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation (which he said wasn’t rateable). Flavour is smooth sourness along with a lot of berryishness (but I couldn’t make out the blueberries...). Almost like more red berries... Still a pleasant thing though!

Bottle. 2007-edition. Hazy dark red coloured with a medium sized pink head. The aroma is dominated by berries with notes of brett and wood. Light acidic flavour of berries, wood and brett. Tart finish of berries and wood. Very drinkable Cantillon-lambic.