Cantillon Loerik

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

1998 bottle generously opened by Will Shelton, 2/25/05. The cork all but disintegrated and we ended up having to punch much of it down in to the beer, but it broke cleanly and there were no cork pieces left floating.
To be honest, I found this to be pretty on par with what I would expect from an aged bottle of Cantillon Gueuze. Sourness toned down, with a lower amount of carbonation (though the Loerik, of course, had much less than I would have expected) and a mellow yeastiness with light acidity. Aroma is mild and lightly brett-like, with dusty, old yeast and mild horse blanket. Some lightly sweet malt is still apparent in the aroma as well. Flavor begins with light citrus and plenty of funky, lightly cheesy yeast. Departs from a younger Cantillon Gueuze with less bold, sharp tones, but it also had a distinct flavor that I could best describe as juicy apples and woodiness. It was highly pleasant and brought forth visions of an ancient apple orchard. Finish dosent quit or water down, and there is a delicious, lip-smacking malt and woodiness with that wonderful aged, mellow yeastiness. Appearance wise, it was a lightly rusty orange-golden, with a small white head that rapidly recedes to a small ring of bubbles and then nothing.

Assuming 1998 vintage, bought bottle in 2004 at Cantillon. Floral hops aroma, gueuze sourness, dusty, with horse blanket. There is some mellow woody aroma that I can’t quite place, too. Hazy amber liquid, not dull but not warm, with thin off-white head which barely laced. Medium body with light-medium carbonaion. The bottle didn’t really pfft when opened and the cork was a bit wet and broke in two. I was worried that it might be infected or have corky taste, but it didn’t. Starts tangy and sour with typical Cantillon profile. Much more mellow than the other gueuzes, not at sharp in its bitterness or acidity. Nice tart bitter finish with tart chalky after. This was a really nice mellow gueuze, but still pretty bold compared to some others. I really enjoyed this.

Hazy orange colored beer. There is a nose of wood, sourness, tangerine, lemon and pepper. This Gueuze is softer, drier and rounder than the ordinary.

1998... Poured a hazy orange, yellow color with a small, white head that left very light lacing on the glass. Musty aroma of barnyard, horseblanket, citrus (orange peel), tangerine, and vanilla oak. Taste of lemon tartness, though very subtle. The years of aging has done this nice. Oaky with a dry finish. Light carbonation.

Vintage 1998. According to the beer guy at Super Saver in Somerville, NJ, only 180 bottles were imported into the US. Poured a cloudy yellow/golden color with an averaged sized white head. Aromas and tastes of wood (oak), citrus, earth, apples and sourness. Nice lighter sour, tart, and puckering aftertaste (not overpowering). If all gueze tastes like this, I’ll drink it every day.

750ml bottle, 1998 vintage. Gratifyingly funky gueuze aroma, complex and almost wonderfully wrong with notes of grapefruit, lemon, freshly cut wood, musty, aged herbs, wheaty grain, straw, rubber, old leaves, grass, salt, and a host of other characteristics. Pale, hazy golden color, effervescent in the glass with a bubbly white head. Flavor profile is sour and fruity, citric and lightly flowery with later notes of green leafy herbs, earth and old wood, acetic and a sharp twinge of tartness on the finish. Lively mouthfeel, body is light-medium as befits the style. Simply put, a delight.

Lemon gold with light haze. Silky filming of dense-bubbled white foam. Staggeringly musty aroma with sun-dried cedar, spicy brett, rubber, dirt, pencil eraser, and crushed pea notes. Dried rose petals, peach, and vomit hints. Initially dry, yet understatedly tart, with a tailing of white grape/sour apple acidity and rounded iron notes. Crushed mineral grit adds to the dryness and bolsters the spicy brett. Juicy, as well, backed with leathered peach hints highlighting the remaining sweetness. Deceptive honey and Pils malt flavors peak as it warms, leading to a finishing crescendo of minerals and a lasting coarseness accompanied with body-softening white grape juiciness spiked with oaky dryness and brett. Lingers with brett and Pils malt afterthoughts. Could use more dryness and tartness, but it’s outrageously wild, funky, and mesmerizing as it currently stands. And to think this was a mistake…

Vintage Bottle 1998, Sampled November 2004
Pours a hazy oran/ge color and is topped by frothy pale head. Not as carbonated as I was expecting (I almost thought I had a Lazy Loerik), but it is fairly carbonated. The beer displays a wonderful aroma as I pour this beer into my glass. The nose is full of citrus, a funky woodiness, a light bit of acetic, cat pee, a sharp herbal character, musty cellars, a woody mushroom thing, tart grapefruit, and recently abandoned barnyard. The aroma is of course wonderful, I just can’t get enough of a traditional Lambics aroma.

The taste is full of a lemony sourness up front. As this beer crosses my tongue for the first time I note how smooth and soft this is. This has definitely mellowed a bit with age, but there is some sharp notes here as well, a sort of sharply herbal-acidic bite to it. This is definitely quite tasty, though it is missing a bit of complexity, most notably the Brett note is not as strong as it could be, though as it begins to warm up and as I get used to the acidity it becomes much more prevalent. This beer has notes of grapefruit, a certain woodiness, musty leather, wild mushroom, and a back of the mouth coating astringency.

This is certainly tasty, it is not nearly as hard as a typical fresh Cantillon Gueuze, it has a sort of smooth creaminess to it, yet it retains all of the complexity. This is so drinkable, and so good, I am not sure if I prefer this or a fresh Cantillon Gueuze, though I perhaps could wish that this lazy bottle had a bit more of an explosive level of carbonation, but that would certainly be asking to much of a Loerik.