Cantillon Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended
Brussels, Belgium

[bottle from beers of europe] Surprisingly delicate aroma or white grapes, lemon peel, apples, sweaty musk, acidity. smooth, drinkable body, tart finish.

Hazy dark golden color with a fully diminishing very thin white head. Very tart aroma. Somewhat thin flavor but a nice sour flavor somewhat similar to lemonade without the sugar.

Bottle (750ml). Shared with blankboy, GregClow and tupalev - my bottle. Poured hazy orange with virtualy no head. Aroma .. ah, I’m really getting to love these funky, sour beers - this one had sour cider, tart fruit, burned rubber, funky cheese ... mmm. Taste was a bit too mild, but still nice - to much tart non-hoppy citrus, not quite sour enough, still tasted of cheese, sour fruit, old sneakers - mouthfeel very acidic, but pretty flat, I assume that’s the style, this is my first unblended lambic - overall it grew on me, but I still prefer the geuze style with its carbonation to this on - tupalev is right, it would make a good summer patio sipping beer.

Great coloring of nice gold with some minimal white head. Good sour apple aroma, some pickle or other tart aromas. Excellent tartness, some cheese tasting at the start, ending in a clean apple leading again back to chedder. Very nice and smooth end, very little puckering in the mouth.

4 oz sample

I had the chance to try this at the Buckeye Beer Engine during a special sour ale sampling. It was worth every penny of the $3 I paid. Given the cost for a full 750ml I probably won’t be springing for one any time soon even if I could find it. Even so if I happen to run across this again I will certainly not pass it up.

Aroma / Appearance - The honey colored body was flat and lifeless. The scent of dry white wine tickled the nose along with an orange base, white grapes and an oaky base. For a lambic it was very gentle.

Flavor / Palate - The tartness was not nearly as strong as I thought it would be. Sour, dry and a little woody it was chewy and dense. As expected it did dry out the throat. Reminding me of a dry white wine it was excellent all the way to the final drop.

Bottle. Thanks to Slob and Solan for sending me a bottle. Pours a cloudy golden body with no head. Aroma is of citrus and light barnyard. Flavor is lightly sour - barnyard. Small amount of citrus, a little oak presence. Full bodied, a little syrupy. This is one calming beer. I really enjoyed this.

Cork says 2002. Clear gold with a smallish white head. Aroma is acidic, yeast, sour, apple, oak, and funky. Sour, musty, citrus, and earthy. Finish is musty and very tart. Mouth is a bit watery. Damn’d good. My enjoyment of lambics grows with each bottle.

2004 bottle at Kaisla, Helsinki. A bit hazy with no head. A fruity aroma, faint. The taste can best be described as a kick in your face! Fantastic - try this if you can.