Cantillon Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru

3/4L bottle. Tulip glass. I tried to have an open mind for this peculiar style. Appreciation was unmusterable and thus, I don’t really like this at all.

This is my first attempt at an unblended. I find it hard to enjoy due to the over strong presence of acetic sourness. With no head, no carbonation and no taste except sourness, Maybe one day, I’ll find this style drinkable.

The aroma is wild and funky with cheese and vinegar. The appearance is orange gold with no head but a small trace of carbonation. The flavor is like the aroma and is quite sour/tart. The palate is like water and the finish is dry. I just wanted to try the style but I don’t like it.

bottle. most of the first pours are very clear deep golden/orange, almost still with zero carbonation, and no head obviously. Aroma has a traditional characteristic "cantillon" unique quality to it- sour, tart, acidic, lemon juice, and moderately funky with hints of old musty wood. Nice grapefruit tart flavros with some moderate acidity and tartness throughout, so it doesnt get as sour as some of thier other lambics/guezes. Orangey flavors as well along with some funk, dust, wood, earth, fruits like peach and apricot, and plenty of lactic acid. Sharp finish and moderately easy to drink. This was a nice traditional unblended lambic.

Draft at O’Brien’s. Oragnge yellow with no head. Not much carbonation at all in fact. Very fruity of course, the tartness was almost overwhelming even in the aroma. Very very tart, very acidic on the finish. A very nice lambic if you are prepared for it.

2005 bottle. Translucent and buffed gold in color with some sulfite-esque matter making a light dusted coating on the top. Sour, woody submergence snares the nose. Applewood and lilac spring rain sods warped barn planks in a forgotten Franconia field. Musty ragweed meets unripened chardonnay grapes and pollinated, woolen picnic blankets grown crispy in a hot autumn sun. Quenching flavor rises with sour suggestions immediately at the onset. No carbonation to stand in the way of the tart, woody display. Seafaring coves never touched by the sun, with salt water’s sour acidity to complimentary careen the caramel over white grape pomegranate kernels. Ocean air hits dilapidated hostels and the wood shingles crumble down into vats of white cranberry marmalade to tartly coddle the oaken caramel display. Slick, smooth substance puckers the tongue to the very end.

Bottle from 2001 - Orange golden slightly hazy body, big bubbled white head; Great deep warm a little greasy nose, not as fresh as your usual Lambic, aroma: wet oak and horseblanket are the most predominant elements, sugared rotten apples and some fresh green fig peel behind, way back there is something fresh like green apples and orange juice and peel; The body has an almost oily texture, (almost) no carbonation, but lots of fresh fruity and lactic acids, it is actually a little bitter as well; It finishes very long, starting a bit slow almost thin, but soon evolving with a very balanced amount of lactic acids, again a small amount of bitterness, it has lots of aroma, more aged then fresh: overripe pear, overripe apple, cowshit, wet oak. Very special, I don’t think I have ever smelled the "classic" lambic/geuze (horseblanket, cowshit etc.) notes as clear as in this beer. I poured a glass from some hight, like with a Spanish cider, and it actually brought some freshness to the beer.

My favorite Cantillon so far (12 sampled as of January 2007). This is funk at its most mellow, at its most refined and certainly at the height of its glory. Pours a murky, oily looking beige/orange with not a hint of carbonation. Aroma is a knockout: gargantuan oak barrel, peaches, Vermentino grapes(awesome), grapefruit juice, lemon, pepper, leather and plenty of Brett. Barnyard funk of a lighter variety than as with typical Cantillon(or is this typical Cantillon?), I suspect because no carbonation is forcing it upward and out of the glass. The flavor is just as rich and outstanding. warmer now, more profound barnyard and sour notes arrive with a twisted fruit and noble hop character. Also detected are substantial lemon oils and a throttling oak taste that punishes and carresses my mouth all at once. Palate is as smooth as could be but for the funky bashing my taste buds are enduring. Finishes with a steady lingering sour ness that only subsides if I drink something else. This is definitely not a beer for the faint of heart or uninitiated of palate. Older versions have proven even more exciting and refined. Bad Ass.