Cantillon Crianza Helena

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Brussels, Belgium

Bottle as a massive present from mesandsim. Shared after diner at thier gaf. Id no idea what i was gettin into when i opened this bottle. The soft cantillon goodness grabs your nose and says stay here for a good few mins before you drink me, its bretty as fuck, woodness is interesting as theres two different types of wood playing with you, a subtle pineyness, tart and wonderful. The drink itself is amazingly carbonated, soft tiny bubbles tingle you just enough to know its therem, the wine barrels musty it up a good bit and the cognac adds a good seetness that make it probably the easiest to drink cantillon ever. My god, just knowing that iv had this makes me feel better.

Aroma has notes of tropical fruit - starfruit in particular and nice cognac notes as well. Quite tart and dry, as Cantillons are wont to be. The elegance of this blend, however is almost unreal. Hints of tannin from the Bordeaux barrels plays off the acidity. Just superb.

Thanks once again to YGTBSM94. Another fantastic Gueuze made for J&J, and oddly enough, the Helena is very much in line with the excellent balance of both Blauw and Roze. Will peak in as little as another year or two. The Crianza Helena biggest notes are citrus, lemon, grapes, excessive wood, dry tart, and the overall sophisticated Gueuze flavor.

Bottle (750ml). At MesandSim’s, London May 10 2009). Shared by Mes. Of course. Rating #3600, by the way. JEEE ZUSSS this is a great beer! Hazy gold pour with a small creamy white head, swirls around lasciviously in the glass, like it knows something, the sour trollop. Big, big big ragged/jagged lanonlin/lemon funk nose-smash, really clears out the sinuses, unrecognizable raw green treefruit, incredibly yeasty - massive; MASSIVE. The taste - right on the heels of that aroma - even moreso, lemon, funk ... just brill, words failed me, I drooled on my notebook ... powerful, how the hell does a 5% ANYTHING smash a velvet-wrapped brick through your skull? This is even pretty thick-bodied, incredibly acidic, only mildly carbonated - it finishes in its own sweet (okay, sour) time, and leaves you wanting to weep that the glass and bottle are empty. Stunningly good. Really. I licked my glass.

Bottle @ DHVL. Easily THE beer of my Belgium trip. Pour orange with a light white head. Aroma is full of luscious oak, and grapes. You can really tease out the barrel elements of this one just from the aroma itself. Truly amazing and complex. Taste is lemon, more oak, wine/grapes. So much going on here, way more than any other gueuze I’ve tried previously. Lingering sourness in the finish. A wonderful beer and it’s scary to think hat this will probably close to 5.0 good in a year or two.

<i>A Mes rate: Bottle shared with Sim, Ian and Urbain at Noordhoek Farm.</i>
This is a special blend for Joost & Jessica to celebrate the birth of their new baby, Helena. Quite a major event and if there was a beer made in tribute to it then it would need to be something special. this little beauty fits the bill and then some. After supping some Rodenbach Alexander, a bottle of the incredible dubbele Kriek Wets and some perfectly aged Orval we decided to make a move back towards Bruges for the festival. As I’m standing at the cash register talking to Tomas, Jessica appears and gives me a bottle of this to take home. What a treat! Tomas tells me it’s not quite ready so I managed to wait two full days before I popped it open at the farm. Sorry guys... This is utterly incredible stuff. A blend of Cognac, Bordeaux and jonge lambic and what a blend it is. Typical Cantillon gueuze appearance giving away very little of the special delights within. Once it starts work on my other senses however it is clear as day that this stands out from the Jean’s already excellent produce. The Cognac and Bordeaux marry perfectly and yield something that is surprisingly soft and incredibly balanced. The damp wooden notes and the grapes complement each other perfectly and are encapsulated by some lightly sweet nutty notes and the faintest lick of spice and liquorice from the cognac. The mouthfeel is about as perfect as I have experienced and what it delivers is just so outlandishly drinkable, I could happily chug a whole bottle. The sourness is unusually restrained for a Cantillon beer but it’s certainly there. The end result is a staggeringly good session lambic and an impressive tribute. If this was supposed to be not quite ready, god only knows how good it will be in time to come. Joost & Jessica, a fantastic gift, thank you so much.

Dr. Bill Tasting - Falling Rock - GABF 2009: THank jesus for this. Orangish-yellow colors under a full sky of clouds. The nose...ha. The nose..this is cantillon...sour funky wood! with a bit of cheese and a whole hell load of jesus. Flavors were cheesey funk and bandage galore. A bit mellow on the sourness but who needs sourness when you have a brainload of funk. "jesus in a bottle"...sung like the Police.

Bottle. Ta Mesandsim!!! Very nice. Typical sharp Cantillon sourness, with some nice soft tart edges. Agree with the other rater about the cobweb dryness. Grapefruit, white grapes, earthy, dry and sour. Another superb gueuze from these guys.