Cantillon Gueuze (Classic/Organic/Bio)

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Brussels, Belgium

[rated 7.12.07] My first non-flavored lambic. Bengal orange pour with minimal frothy white head. Smells like dusty rubber or something... very unique. Never tasted anything like this... very very sour I don’t even know what else to say... wow. Like battery acid. I’m not even sure how to rate this... 3.4.7.4.14 [rerate 07 cork 4.17.09] Well... it has been quite a journey since my first misguided rating of this beer. 375ml bottle labeled Classic Gueuze. Pours a slightly hazy orange with a small fine white dense froth on top. I find it funny that I gave the aroma a 3 the first go around. Strong gueze aroma, dusty, moldy, smells quite potent, sour and fairly sweet, some lemon. Flavor is much more mild than I expected. FUCK... I remember not even being able to swallow this 2 years ago... now its extremely tame. Actually fairly sweet, tangy... maybe my last bottle was a more mature vintage for the time. This is delicious, such a treat and widely available. Supremely blended, very sour, could use some more acidity though, not extremely sharp, definitely needs to dry out a bit, light bitterness, faintly metallic, just a hint of stomach bile, fairly grainy actually. Great body, medium mouthful, very soft fine carbonation, dry feeling. 8.4.8.4.16

I uncorked this and realized I may have it a little cold. It pours bright orange with a cloudy covering of yeasty head. The aroma, exquisite ... I’d describe it as "Mediterranean" -- very acidic, almost olive oily. This is definitely a sipper ... sharply vinegary, lemony, bready, juicy, sour, oily. Finishes dry. (#3014, 7/11/2007)

cloudy dark gold with a small fizzy white head. olive, brett, sour, musty aroma. makes my mouth pucker without even tasting it. not a fan of this style but i try to be fair. flavor is mainly peach and apricot with some brett and olive notes and maybe some lemon. palate is sour(as hell) but smooth somehow. highly acidic(stings my teeth). i can tell it’s made well and a lot of care has been taken here. after the acid and sourness bombard the palate it becomes sweeter, juicier, and easier to drink.

spettacolare, a quanto ne so un vero classico della gueuze, sicuramente tra le cose più curiose e preziose (curioso dirlo di una miscela di lambic) che io abbia mai assaggiato. La prima impressione fu piuttosto brusca, ma c’è voluto poco per innamorarmi. Assaggiata per la prima volta all’Irish di Quinto (6), poi comprate due bottiglie da 33cl per un aperitivo da Ciobì (6.50 - !! - per ognuna) e poi ribevuto al pub del Duca (6) in una splendida serata iniziata con una titanica pizza ai peperoni a Campomorone. Ribevuta di recente con la mia ragazza a cui è piaciuta (!!!).

[Sampled at DØE-festival, Valby, 2007 with svoger.] After a heavy tour passing stouts and IIPA’s this was a wonder. Sourness of grapefruits made me ready for further investigation at the festival. It cleaned my mouth in the best way, you can imagine. I’ll never forget it. Maybe I should sample it neutral one day, but I think I’ll give it the same rating. From now on I’m lost in Cantillon!!!

Original notes lost.
Smells soapy, citrusy and bretty. Nice and complex aroma with hints of green apple peel. Slightly leathery.
The flavour is not as sour as I prefer, but it’s adequate. There’s a vague saltiness which gives it a little more body.
Hazy, warm yellow with some pale foam. It’s quite soapy and light, yet slightly viscous to the palate. Nice carbonation. All in all a nice but pretty light gueuze.

750ml corked and capped bottle, recommending I drink it before 2030. On this evidence, I could have waited. Pours a dull, faintly misty gold with a creamy white head receding to a halo. Nose is sherbety and sharp, with notes of lemon rind and sodden barrelwood. Pungent, shuddering, sour apple gobstopper sourness beyond the cheapest, nastiest, bone-driest champagne or white wine I’ve ever encountered. But none of the wood-tinged dankness or fustiness needed to make the acidity interesting. Once the glass has stood for 10mins, the acidity becomes almost unbearable...but still I keep lifting the glass. No choice really as the g/f has just tipped hers into mine. There is a fruitbowl of sour apple, lemon and tangerine flavours swirling around somewhere in there, but overwhelmed by a burning, gastric acidity. The reason why a beer this dominated by one-dimensional sourness is hailed as a complex classic continues to elude me. A beer that challenged my senses from first swig until last, but not a beer I enjoyed.

From a 375mL Bottle, 2006 Bottling Date. Pours a transparent honey gold color with shades of naval orange skins and a finger of rocky, brilliant white head. Crisp, tart, brilliantly acidic, funky aroma of fermented lemon peels and under-ripe mango flesh. A wave of pineapple skins, granny smith apples, and anjou pear served on a cracked wheat cracker with a healthy spread of chevre cheese. Lovely balance of natural fruit aromas and funky acidity in that the funkiness adds complexity without completely dominating the fruity characters from the wild fermentation. Light bodied, moderately carbonated mouthfeel with a crisp acidity. The palate starts out with some crisp lemon and husky rhubarb stalks. White oak and dusty leather pile on, fruits remaining. A dusting of cracked white pepper and lactic fermentation cheese finish off the flavor brilliance. Fantastic example of the style; I like my gueuze to have a prickling carbonation to enhance the biting acidity of the beer - this particular bottle doesn’t have this quality although it’s not flat by any means. Everything else is rock solid and absolutely gorgeous, leading me to expect sheer beauty from a bottle with a well conditioned sizzle. I will certainly keep searching eagerly for that bottle...