Cantillon Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended
Brussels, Belgium

Cloudy golden with a foamy white head. Nice and sour but not all too funky--I like that in this case. Sour beers like this leave me at at a loss for rating sometimes, I prefer to sit back, enjoy and imagine I’m living in a time where everything tasted like this. Good beer.

Sampled form bomber at Wurstkuche tasting. Pours dark gold with almost zero head. Aroma has a bunch of funk, mixed in with a cedar-like wood aromas, and some acidity. Palate is near flat, with a slightly "fatty" mouthfeel that moves towards a dry finish. To me, the flavors of this beer were fairly straightforward. You got a substantial amount of the oak in there, blended nicely with funky brett and acidity, perhaps even some dried fruit (pear?). Didn’t like this one as much as Cantillon Gueze or Rose, though I lack the vocabulary to express how one Cantillon sour lambic can be truly “better” than another. Maybe ‘cause they are all quality.

750 ml. green champagne style bottle. Crowned & corked, with black foil overlay. 2006 on cork. Poured out a wildflower honey color, with no carbonation. Completely still. Aromas are of horse blanket, merlot barrels, slightly acidic also. Flavors are of Brettanomyces, Belgian funk, musty barn. Stinky cheese in the flavors as well. OK body, but needs some carbonation to bring out all the true flavors.

(2003 vintage purchased at the brewery in late 2006.) I’m with the wise guy on this one - completely flat plate effectively kills the beer for me. Strictly medium strength in terms of acid, sour fruits and intensity, particularly in the contex of a Cantillon offering. Orange apricot hue with no head. Sour and citrus fruits on the nose. Much more bitter and firm to taste; citrus and acid in abundance early, but the palate suffers from a chronic lack of fizz which flattens and dulls the palate. Flavours tail off as a result. Disappointing.

Draught baby! Clear Copper orange, no head. Aromais light fruits, grapes, pears, apples. Flavor is sourness all they way with a soapy aftertaste that is so damn dry it leaves your mouth with no saliva. This beer definitely needs to breathe for at least 30 minutes, that when the fruits started to shine, grapes first then apples, pears, and more sourness. This was less sour than the gueze by far, but it still covers up much of the taste with the big tart kick that hits you first. Let this one breathe.

750ml bottle. Pours a hazy yellow with no head. Aroma of citrus, funk, oak, and acidity. Flavor is lemony and tart with oak and a little bit of funk. Very thin smooth mouthfeel. An excellent Lambic.

Almost clear amber/orange with a few big bubbles that don’t really qualify as a head. Don’t know why they felt the need to cork the bottle. Aroma of grapes, lemons and extreme sourness. Vinous and dry taste. Very sour. Pretty good, but I’m not looking forward to the two or three glasses it will take to polish off the bottle.
On second thought, I’ll re-cork it. It’s not like it’ll lose carbonation.

Hazy yellow color with no head. Kind of flat. Sour aroma of vinegar, yeast, and oak. Flavor has yeast, oak, lemon, and oak. Tart and sour.