Cantillon Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended
Brussels, Belgium

Light orange infused with some yellow with a white soft foam head. Sour aroma with a bit of fruit. Some wild funky yeast notes.

Its yellow alright but its laden with a thin finish, some grassiness, some sour fruit which to me is the highlight of a very fine beer. I can still feel the acidic quality in my mouth days after tasting it. Thank you Belgium Comes to Cooperstown 2005. Rerate on 11-30-08: I love that woodsy musty oak apple-laden tinge I detect and my rating stays the same!

Yellow color no head. Vinegar aroma and ofc vinegar flavour. A speciel beer type so wine-like, but this is one of the best of them.

Tasted 06/07/2005. 30th present to myself from Rumble’s, Wellington. 375ml 1999 vintage, bottled 2003 - NZ$15!!!! Pours a still, pale, rose-tinted, gold. Beautifully vibrant but not bright, slight haze as well as "bits" of something hanging in the glass (looks like gold dust). No head at all. A suds-like, powdery looking, film sits on top at first but clears away completely within a minute or so. Lime, pollen and apple peel on the nose initially, follwed by a musty "under stair" or "attic" aroma. No sweetness at all left in this liquid after 6 years fermenting and conditioning, a big sourness initially that is followed by a strong, citrus, bitterness through the middle and very complex, dry, leathery, finish. Suck a lime, swallow some grapefruit and chew your belt - you’ll get some impression. Soft, oily, mouthfeel. Some powdery residue the only real negative for myself (a self-confessed lover of sour and bitter!). Wow, an amazingly beer. One, however is enough. As Fritha said "It tastes like it’s good for you". Soon after she complained of stomach churning. If it tastes like vinegar you’ve eithr got a bad bottle or a problem with your palate.

Bottle at Stone Sourfest 09. Hazy golden pour. Aroma is tart and sour. Flavor is band aid, tart, plastic, and lemon zest.

1999 vintage: Brown-orange with a red tone. Sour aroma with blue-cheese notes. Woody, chemical taste with sourish finish.

Golden pour with a beautiful suspended carbonation. Tons on tiny bubbles slowly make their way to the top. Aroma is massively funky with very pronounced nectar fruits, lemon, citrus, slight oak, straw, and hay. Flavor is very acidic, rude, and tart. Acidic lemon, grapefruit, orange, and oaken cider. Palate is very slippery and almost wholly un-carbonated. Rude, lacerative, and delicious.

Bottle shared at Sean and Ryan’s tasting in May. I’ve waited some time to try this one, since bottles are quite expensive. As an unblended lambic, appearances can be deceiving. Pours dead still, with a hazy straw yellow color that looks like apple juice. Awesome aroma and flavor however; very smooth tones of lemon peel, barnyard, oak wood and subtle transitions in the flavor towards a perfect amount of tartness and funk. Ultra-velvety palate and the lactic sour finish is spot-on. Really an impressive lambic.