Cantillon FouFoune

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

On tap! at the Belmont Station Puckerfest 2007. Beautiful beer, sour and acidic as all cantillon beer, dry and earthy/dusty flavors with a lingering dry apricot finish. Pours cloudy orange with a soft white head that falls quickly. The apricot in this beer gave the impression of sweetness even though the beer is still very dry.

Bottle. Amber color with no head. You get more out of the apricots in the aroma than in the flavor, which was a small disappointment to me. But nevertheless it’s quite close to a gueuze with a hint of apricots. A bit special in the palate because of the very dry and at the same time sticky feeling you get in your mouth.

Tasted at the brewery - this was my favorite of the Cantillon lambics I had the chance to try. Tart, sour, hints of apricots, and a dry finish... nevertheless, the style is so different to my palate that it would take more than a couple tastes to become accustomed to - but this pretty good.

Bottled - Swan & Rushes - Leicester. A vibrant orange coloured beer, still as a snail. The aroma is acidic with sweaty socks. The taste is all you would expect. Sournes, acidity, puckering. Lovely to drink. Only mildly fruity and not obviously brewed with apricots. Again, lovely.

Cloudy peach/amber body. A small head forms and diminishes quickly, nearly fully. Aromas of light fruits that include apricots, peach, kiwi and unripe bananas are all notable but deeply buried under heavy funk. Notes of barnyard, sourness, leather, grain all combine to create a robust if not somewhat muddled, crazy nose. Light vinegar, even in fresh samples. Flavors of huge funk, dried fruits, sweet toasted malts and looming sourness. Medium acidity. Everything seems muddled together, but it really has a great overall taste. It’s definitely a strange one. The finish is musty, fruity and very dry, huge funk and biting tartness lingering. The mouthfeel is lively even though carbonation isn’t high, very tannic at times and sour throughout. Very good, very strange. I guess that means it’s right up my alley.

Bottle (Apteekki, Turku) Very light cloudy orangy yellow. Aroma largely scrumpy (that’s a big complement). Tastes very sharp and bit peachy, with only a later hint of apricot.

Forgot to rate this on the first go-round and its better (fresher) now. Slightly cloudy gold, thin head. Nose is a sizable apricot hit, then cantillon funk & wheat. Flavor is probably the driest cantillion I’ve ever had. Super dry & acidic, lemon & apricot. Some wheat but damn is this dry. Fruit sweetness is semi-present in the finish. Wonderful but a slow drinker to be sure.

Bottle sampled. Pours hazy copper/orange with no head at all. Aroma of fruit, funk, and acidic. the flavor is sweet apricots to start and finishes sour. I wasn’t crazy about this one.