Cantillon Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended
Brussels, Belgium

On bottle) Semidark, golden and crisp, almost glowing abricotcolor, beautifull. NO head, I´ll get back to that. Fenomonal sour and snappy aroma. Vanilla, gooseberries, unripe plum, something flowerish too. Without the carbonation, the grapefruitpeel-bitterness become very dominat and warmining. Also the oxidaded hops is more present withut the bobbles, like an underlying, dark note. The finish just creeps up on you, at first it´s full and full of ochards, then it becomeslike sor grapes, more citruspeel and a lash of cassisleaves ends it all. BUT. The total lack of carbonation realy turned me off, something fundamental was missing in a big way. Beer has many values to me, the carbonation is a total trumph and the absense is a drag for me.

Black foil capped 750 ml. green bottle, my front label has the Pieter Brueghel painting called the "The Wedding Feast," serving recommendations on the back label, sampled at the temperature suggested in a wine glass. My cork has "Bottled in 2005" on it, so this is around three years old, purchased today at my favorite local wine shop. L: Clear reddish orange pale golden with a short fizzy head that quickly settled into a thin bubbly lacing. Swirling leaves a slick film along the sides of the glass, this looks exactly like how I expect a quality lambic to look, wine-like. S: Tart, acidic apple cider and honey, traces of oak and musty barnyard yeast, this is the nose of a well crafted lambic. F&T: Dry light body, mild acidity, has firm rounded feel in the palate, this is close to a non-carbonated cider in its mouth feel. Tastes of softly tart, but lip puckering, apple cider cut with a dash of refined honey, traces of woody oak and must. Towards the end a little sour green grape comes out. Astringent and aridly dry in finish, lingering tastes of sour green apples and grapes sprinkled with a pinch of white sugar. This went great with the baked whitefish, fingerling potatoes and green beans I had for dinner tonight. Another well made lambic from Cantillion, one of my favorites.

750 mL bottle. Pours an orangish amber color with a few bubbles on top that die down quickly and leave little trace. There’s a pretty good haze to the body. Aromas are sharp and tart. Maybe a bit of lemon juice, some white grapes that promise a little sweetness under it all, a little bit of apple cider vinegar is also detectable. The obvious comment on the flavor is that it is wonderfully tart. Still, it comes across as a little thin, but this makes it refreshing and I don’t think it detracts too much. The sour notes almost have acidic and bitter qualities to them, like lemon and grapefruit peels.

(2005 vintage, Draught at Tuulensuu, Tampere, on 2008-07-26) Gollden. Hazy. Tiny white head that disappeared quickly. Sour, fruity and lightly wooden nose. Acidy palate, dry, medium-bodied. Wood, sourness, fruitiness, vomit and bitterness in taste. Long balanced aftertaste. Nice.

On cask at Spuyten Duyvil Brett Fest, organic version. Pours a light orange with no head. Aroma is fruity, but I can’t tell which fruit. Flavor of sour funk, oak/wood, cheese. No carbonation. This beer had too much funk/sweat and I was not a fan. Seems that it’s better in bottle.

(3/12/08) Bottle at Chez Moeder Lambic in Brussels. Bottled 9/5/07. Dirty golden with no head. Funky sour oak aroma. The flavor is sour but not super-sour like a lot of other Cantillon beers, with soft bretty character, wood and a finish with some citrus. Medium body and a rounded mouthfeel. Maybe a bit too mild but great, I think it could be amazing in a few more years.

750ml bottle from Puzzl. Pours a beautiful orangish color, as if a mango imploded inside the glass, very minimal white foamy head. Nose is very fresh, nice hints of fruit, some grass and outdoorsy notes. Flavors of ripe fruit, nice and juicy, some yeast, hay, grass, and a smooth clean finish.

Bright orange color with no head. Sour funky aroma. Full body. Not flat like I expected. Complex. Quite enjoyable.