Cantillon Loerik

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

One of the beers I have been longing the most to taste, thanks Engelsman. Hazy golden body, beautiful yellowish creamy head; Very fresh nose, lots of apple, lots of grapefruit, it has a very strange acidity that I have never experienced before; Very soft, very small amount of perfect sparkle, fruity apple acidity, fresh and very balanced; Long a bit dry very apple acidy fresh long finish, aromas are very much like when eating a fresh green apple, there are quite a bit of pomelo, too.

Bottle: Pale yellow, light white head and lacing. Nose of tart barny notes, dry, sour, funky! The flavor is vinous, a bit too sour, light sweetness but overbearingly dry. Drinkable compared to the Kriek, but I’m just a bit sensitive to bile tonight.

Beer 50 for me is the first retired beer at Bill and Steiny’s. A light horse blanket aroma, the taste is much more sour than the aroma. Funky, yet quite acceptable. But, alas, no more.

1998 Vintage. An extremely huge and fluffy head kept erupting from the recently opened bottle enticing me to try some. However, when it was poured, it revealed a musty barn floor and dung-like aroma. (<a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=5 sitting next to me at the bar, chuckled and mentioned how aromas like that can come from non-violent strains of the e-coli virus. Great.) Overall this was sour and dry with a gassy finish and I simply wanted to forget about it.

<font size=-4>Sampled at Delilah’s <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/events-detail.asp?eve Annual Lambic Beer Festival.</font>

Bottle: Shared by Styles. This has the obvious sour and tart Cantillon aromas, but this one is much more woody/corky than other Cantillons that I’ve had. Pours a transparent golden orange with a small soapy white head. Very sour and tart lemon up front. Huge woody/corky finish that mellows that mellows and balances the sourness.

Bottle (1998). Hazy golden in colour with a small white head. Soft and fresh with a very well balanced sweetnees and sourness. Notes of citrus and vinegar. Very nice.

I’ve only just loosened the cork on this and the funk begins...off it comes, and out goesthe twisted sour, the raw lemon...let’s pour and investigate further... Hazed orange with limited foam, ...sharp aroma, vibrant citrus, alarmingly elusive, but wholly enchanting. Bracing bite on first sip...ooooh, puckeration, big-time. The lips curl back into the mouth and hibernate a while...when they uncurl and greet the brew anew, it happens all over again. Tangy to end it all. Lemon and orange with sly spicy undercurrent dominate the flavor. very wild and untamed,this, though nothing, for me, sets it to far apart from other gueuzes I’ve known, though I’m not by far the world’s biggest gueuze expert, nor the greatest lover of the style. It’s something else, though! Oddly refreshing, in spite of the tartness. I really like it!

Like Dickinson, I stumbled across this phenominal brew at the Maproom. Hazy deep autumn gold pour with a medium cap of bubbly white head. Phenominal nose... deep, rustic, funky sour barn, moldy, well-aged cheese, tart lemons, cedar, and vinegar... almost tart enough to burn through the nose hairs. Sour, puckering lemon at the forefront... not really letting its guard down the whole way... cobwebby yeast gave way to old horseblanket, cheese, and wet cedar. So much going on with no perceptible faults. Powerfully tart, sour, funky, and engaging... enjoyed every second of the stomach erosion! Refreshing.