Cantillon FouFoune

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

Sampled this on tap at Capone’s recently. Pours a cloudy pale golden yellow color with light golden orange hues when held to a light source and a one finger creamy white head that slowly receeds into a lasting ring that leaves traces of spotty lacing behind. Slightly earthy barnyard funk aroma with lots of earthy oaky tannis, cobwebs, horseblanket and light lactic creaminess. Hints of honey and crisp light fruit, especially apricot as well as some apple and pear. Very funky intense mouth puckering funkiness up front that slowly mellows out mid palate into a nice crisp lactic funky sweet tart feel. Perfect bone dry sweetart finish that leaves me salivating for another sip. Funky tart sweetness with a nice touch of oaky tannis that is prominent up front but mellows toward the end of the swallow letting the lactic cremainess and light fruit notes shine through. Perfectly balanced and insanely drinkable once you get over the initial pucker shock. Lots of apricot as well as other light golden fruit, mostly apple and pear. Puckering dry finish but not acidic. Pretty much perfrect. Highly recommended. One of the best Cantillons I’ve had.

On draft at Capones. Pours a cloudy yellow honey with a small frosty white head. Aroma of funk, sourness, light peach and apricot. Taste of light peach, apricot, funk and sourness.

On tap at Capone’s in 2009 from a 2008 keg. From a snifter. Smells of light funk, and fruit. A light orange color with little to no head. Tastes sour up front with a very light apricots. Sourness is not overpowering and very, very smooth when combined with the sweetness of the apricots. A great sour which I would happily drink again.

Tap at Capones . 2008 keg. Pours a hazy golden orange with a smaller bubbly white head. Aroma of peaches and apricot, sourness and funk is there but restrained. Flavor of the same apricot and peach. I like how the sourness matched up with the fruit in this one.

There are excellent floral and citrus notes in this ’08 tap at capones. The translucent honey colors have a noticably bubbly appearance. The tart flavor is smooth with a rich gueze like flavor that settles beautifully.

Pours cloudy orange with a white head. The aroma is very tart with apricots showing through well. There is sharp citric acid, wild yeastiness, crispness yet smooth. Medium / light body that’s very crisp and has flowing prickly carbonation. The flavor starts with dried apricots, citric acid, lemoniness, spice and funky grainy bugs. The finish is sour and tart with less apricot and lots of lingering citrus and funky bugs. A great lambic.

750 ml bottle
I have one of this sittiing in the cellar but now that someone shared one I may trade it off. This is a great Cantillon as the scores indicate but for their level of quality not the best. Given the price tag I would rather have a bottle of any of the Lou Pepe lineup instead. If you like interesting experiments in different fruits however give it a try.

Aroma / Appearance - Cloudy orange as I expected it to be the body is flat and lifeless. The sour apricot aroma is nowhere near as intense as many other Cantillon lambics but still sharper than many from other breweries. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would put it around a 7. It still retains that classic Cantillon vinegar character just without the lingering intensity.

Flavor / Palate - Apricots, as expected, dominate the profile from start to finish. Not as sour as even the nose suggests this is relatively easy to drink for a classic lambic. The biggest difference is the lack of acidity in the finish. Perhaps this will come with time in the bottle but usually Cantillon beers have that kick from the start. From any other brewer this would be a great release. For Cantillon I would place this as "yet another average" lambic which is to say that if you find it on sale be sure to buy it ASAP. Just don’t expect the same experience as with many other beers in their lineup.

750ml bottle (best before 12/2018) from Nectar in Brisbane (recommended). A hazy dark orange pour with a very stable thin white head that laces well. Aroma is typical Brett yeasts, wheat, lemons, damp wood and subtle apricots. The tongue is rather harsh tart flavours of lemons, lactic acid and a hint of vinegar. The finish is sour and long lasting. It is medium bodied with a smooth oily texture. I often complain about the artificial sweetness of the more commercial fruit lambics but this is certainly not a problem with this beer. In fact it tastes more like an oude geuze than a fruit lambic in my opinion - more sour lemons than sweet apricots.