Cantillon Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended
Brussels, Belgium

Shared a 75cl from Dranken Geers with Mes and Sim a little while back but this rate’s straight from a 37.5cl I picked up in Italy of all places. Ended the night before my trip with a bottle of Lou Pepe Geueze and proceeded to have no access to decent beer for a whole week. I managed to escape my overprotective relatives for a 2 hour walk and found a beer shop, I was so excited to see a lambic I just had to buy it. Pours a hazy gold with a thin whispy white head that takes some encouragement to form. Lovely aroma, I almost loved it more than the taste, a Blåbær moment indeed. Viinous and sour, with apricot, lemon, yeast, straw, vinegar and a subtle woody note. Flavour is much the same, quite soft and dry with a salty tartness in the back of your throat. Great stuff, well worth the prison break!

Pours a hazed gold with a funky nose (surprise, surprise). Flavor is a load of tangy oranges. The liquid feel is thicker than I usually expect lambics to be. It’s good. Not my favorite lambic really, but still pretty decent. Just a bit too tangy for my likes is all.

Dry light colored wine smell. A few things going on with the aroma I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s such a pretty orangy yellow color. Light orangy yellow. No head. Sour, dry wine like taste. Tangy as all hell. Lemony and wild. Some mild bitterness. Very tart. Makes you smile. This would be perfect with a champagne esque amount of carbonation. Shouldn’t have poured a whole 12 ounces though.

750ml corked bottle. Lambic Bio 2006. BB September 2028. Didn’t occur to me until I read the label a bit more thoroughly that this was an unblended lambic. I was a bit suprised to see no carbonation on the body, but that explained alot! Anyway, body is a flat shiny gold, only the slightest haze. Plenty of tart apple straightup on the nose, unripe stonefruit and lemon rind in there, bit of hay, integrated oak and cheesy funk. No carbonation which somehow brings a smile to my face, whereas the champagne-like carb of most lambics kind of makes drinking quite an effort. Lengthy palate, nice tongue-coating acid and tannin, with a balancing sweetness. Lemons, unripe peach, sour apple all seem to emerge nicely on the body. Oak is smooth, lending a hint of vanilla and spice, bitter citrus peel seems to be a constant driving force throughout. Slight cheesy funk towards the finish. Finish is not nearly as brutal as other Cantillons, certainly not as vinegary, still quite tart yet balanced by a nice fruity sweetness. I found this to be personally the most enjoyable Cantillon to date simply just because of its approachable nature. It still has the traits of a Gueuze, without the brutal carbonation and acid. One would argue its less complex, yes, but I can actually see myself sitting down and enjoying a bottle of this.

Hazy honey yellow with a thin splash of bubbles but essentially flat. Lots of tart acidity and oak in the aroma. Feels flat on the tongue with a big oak note before the drying finish of acidity that draws the saliva out of your mouth. Nice citrus and apple cider undertones as well.

January 2007 vintage 750 ml. into wine glass. Hazy orange no head (no carbonation) but some white froth swirling on surface. Aroma is nice and champagne like - white grapes, yeast, natural alcohol, sourness - not that complex to my nose, but nice and tempting. Flavor is good and way more balanced and smooth than my previous (and first) sour - Marriage parfait. Sweet on front with nice sour follow through that lingers but not in a puckering way but a unique way I cant really explain (kind of takes over your mouth). Thin to medium body - great on palate for me since I am not a huge carbonation fan... this thing is nearly flat. Overall: great style when done like this.

First unblended lambic! This is the final style I need to try as listed on RateBeer, so I guess I’ll just stop drinking beer now. Just kidding, that will never happen. Bought it at the Cantillon Brewery in Brussels and shared it at a BeerAdvocate tasting. Brewed in 2006 and bottled in 2009. Clear golden color, mostly still, but some large bubbles form after an aggressive pour. Looks almost like a cask ale in a way. Some lacing is present as the beer is swirled around in the glass. Aroma is tart, funky, and bretty. Green apples and other light fruit notes as well as wood are noticeable. Flavor is bretty and woody with some funk. Some apple juice notes. Very tasty beer with a hint of sweetness to balance the sourness. The beer is pretty flat, as intended, and this works very well. Really don’t miss the carbonation on this one. Dry and sour on the palate with tartness lasting. Drinkability is high. I could down this much more easily than your typical sour beer.

Pale golden beer with no head. Sour aroma, woody and herbal, floral, this is a strange bird, reminding me slightly of some white wines but still being quite its own thing entirely. Despite some brett characteristics that remind me that this is indeed a lambic I have never tasted anything like this. A challenging offer from Cantillon.