Cantillon Lambik Amarillo

Formerly brewed at Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended
Brussels, Belgium

Draught, 1 yr. Very slight, imation of B.C."H." over cloudy pineapple juice. Woody, hopp-y, grapefruit, woodstripper, and old, old pipes of excellent lambic. Hop without bitterness in the flavour, just a bit cheesy, very flowery. Very strong oily fime, like blue cheese heated, and hopiols. I beg to differ with the brewer on the character: he claims the hop and the lambic fight, I claim they lend each other balance.

Yesterday @ spontanious weekend ’08. Hazy yellow color, with no head. Aroma fruits, some wood, lambicmalts. Medium body. Taste lambic sourness, malts, fruits. Little bitterness. Dry.

Draught at the brewery. Clear golden coloured with a small head. Fruity aroma of brett and apricots with notes of hops and some acidic notes. Fruity aroma of brett and apricots with acidic notes and notes of hops. Tart and hoppy finish.

Draught @ 17th Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation 2008.
Clear medium orange color with a virtually none appearance, virtually none lancing head. Aroma is moderate to heavy hoppy, pine, grapefruit, distinct amarillo, wood, with some sour barnyard notes, I think their ordinary lambic smells much better. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and bitter with a average to long duration, and a dry dry finish. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is flat. (240508)

Straight from the barrel at the brewery (2 years old at that time)
Lightly yellow, hazy body. Without any head. Fresh nose of citrus, distinct amarillo, wood. Not as winey as ordinary lambic, the amarillo is definitely present. I do think their ordinary lambic smells way better, but still it smells nice. Lightly bitter, lightly sour initial flavour. Moderately bitter, moderately sour finish. Flavour of apples and a bit watery in the beginning. Well balanced, but not so complex. Nice experiment, but I think normal hops are better for great lambic.

Thanks for sharing this with us while we were visiting Boston, Travis (El_Duderino). From what I’ve heard this beer was brewed on open brew day in 2006. I was there that day which, for me, makes it even more special that I got to have some of this beer. It ours with a pale gold body with no head or lacing. The aroma is sweet yet tart and funky. The flavor is slightly sour and lemony with a slight piney hoppiness. Not as much funk as I expected in the flavor. Smooth and dry without much carbonation.

Zu Beginn relativ flacher Geschmack, der durch eine starke Säure geprägt ist, die die markante Hopfigkeit noch nicht so stark aufweist. In gewisser Weise handelt es sich dann aber schließlich um eine Art Kampf zwischen der exzentrischen Hopfigkeit und der ausgeprägten Säure. Keiner von beiden will den Kürzeren ziehen, sodass die Harmonie und gleichermaßen die Balance darunter leidet. Erst nach dem Mittelteil dann deutlich herber und bitterer wie man es von Amarillo-Hopfen kennt. Nachdem an dieser Stelle die Säure den Schwanz etwas eingezogen hat, stürmen beide Eigenschaften im Abgang wieder sehr stark aufeinander. Kein Kompromiss zu erkennen!

Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation 2008: Bright gold and only lightly hazy. No head to speak of. Some green hop character with pineapple and other summer fruits. Some tartness and horsey funk. On the tongue it seems watery for a split second then a flash of sharp sour wakes up the back of your tongue. But as quickly as the sharpness came, it vanishes. Leaves you with a nice smooth low sour and tart fruit. Touch of malt under the fruit and citrus. Ends nice and dry with a low metallic hop.