Cantillon Faro

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Faro
Brussels, Belgium

Pours a headless orange-amber color. Aroma is burnt sugar cane sweetness. Not much there to separate this from other common faros. Taste reduces that nasty sweetness. Its still there but the base beer is felt in a slight wild/barnyard flavor breaking through the muck creating a nice drinkable sweet mild lambic. The flavor really grew on me as I kept at it and it became more drying as I kept drinking. By the end a good amount of tartness began to be felt at the end of the flavor. By this point this was the best faro I had had.
Cask @ Cantillon Brewery, poured out of a faro ceramic jug, on 5/17/08.

(Poured from jug at the brewery on 2008-03-22) Orange colour. Hazy. Sweet nose. Sugary taste lacking almost completly the normal lambic sourness. But some sourness remains. Good.

From a plastic jug at the brewery. Hazy orange colour with a very thin head. Sweet sugary aroma and taste with some sour notes. A faro on the sweet side.

Re-rate 9/7/09: Tap sample at the brewery in Brussels. Deep reddish brown color. Aroma of brown sugar, some demerara is in there as well, and some funky, slightly vinegar-like, acidity. Sweet sugary flavor (candy-like) with a very faded sourness and a bit of barnyard tones. Finishes a bit drier. Medium-bodied. Too restrained but decent. 7/4/6/3/14=3.4 <BR
[3/12/08] On tap at Chez Moeder Lambic in Brussels. Hazy dark orange with no head. Aroma of citrus, some barnyard and candy sugar. Sweetish sugary flavor with sour touches of citrus and some brett. Medium-bodied. Quite good. 7/4/7/3/14=3.5

From a plastic jug at "Chez Moeder Lambic". Cloudy red/amber - white edges. Grape, candy sugar, light sourness, nice medium sweetness, light vinegrapes, light berries. OK !!!

(At the brewery) On March 22, 2008. Slight shady golden color, small white head. A bit wood, floral, acidic smooth scent. Sweet, citrus, acidic taste. A bit lactic and metallic aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel, low bitterness.

2008-03-05. Dark headless amber body is mostly still. Aroma is mild, hints at the juicy fruitiness of the flavour, overall it is a bit to subtle to dissect right now. Flavour has an interesting fruit character, tangy apple juice, light sourness. Interestingly the sourness becomes the most sharp in the aftertaste and the finish. Lightly musty malts make occasional interjections. Fairly well balanced, it has few flavours that stick out but what is there is well blended and balanced. Juicy apples return, somewhat sweeter this time. Different somehow than the other faros that I ahve had on this trip,better blended, less of the musty lambic character. Surprisingly not sour for Cantillon! But of course as soon as I wrote that down I got a brief sharp lemon seed sour note that mellows quickly. (7+) The sourness seems to increase with the speed of consumption, particularly near the end of the glass. A slow sipper would this find it much milder than a faster drinker. Average palate is still, and suits the beer nicely. Greater carbonation might lighten the palate to its detriment. Rather nice even if it does not score particularly highly.
On tap at Moeder Lambic, Brussels

Bottle (Cantillon, Brussels)
Hazy orange, no head. Raw woody and sour aroma. Burnt sugar in the taste. Sticky heavy sourness, slightly grapefruity bitterness, and a bitter sticky finish. My worst ever Cantillon, despite being in the best surroundings ever for drinking it. Just didn’t have the lifting lightness that I expect from Cantillon, alas. A dour beer.