Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

Bottle direct from brewery - vintage 2005/bottled in 2007. Sweet-sour raspberry aroma - light mustiness. Beautiful ruby red color - slightly hazy with slight head. Musty, sour raspberry malt flavor - drier than the aroma would lead you to think but raspberry flavor nice and full - excellent vinous features. Another Cantillon work of art. Something special for #2000.

2001 Vintage bottle (bottled in 2002). I was rather underwhelmed (especially for the price). Aroma is quite barnyard-y with raspberry in the background. RollinHard really nailed the mustard-y aspect to it. Flavor reminds one of a red-wine raspberry vinaigrette dressing, quite sour and rather dry. The beer seems to improve as it breathes over the course of an hour, but it still pales in comparison to the LP Kriek, in my opinion.

Tasted 2008-02-16. 2003 vintage (bottled in 2005?). Pours unclear, red without head. Rather ugly! Aroma: Raspberries, funk, horse blanket. Flavours: Very funky and very tart. Almost no raspberries - tastes more like a geuze than a framboise. Very tart - extremely dry. Pretty tasty!

75cl bottle. 2003 vintage. Pours muddy pink (into my Cantillon stein) with a sprinkly off white head. Aroma is extreme sour, dry, woody, earthy, fruity rasperry. Sprinkly carbonation. Sour tart taste but with a ligh sweet rasperry touch in the end. Funky & Dope!

Poured from a 750ml bottle (2005 vintage) and served in a flute. This beer poured a hazy, bright red with a tall head of pink, fizzy foam. The head quickly settled into a thin layer, leaving a small amount of faint lacing. The aroma of the beer was made up of acidic vinegar, tart rasperries, and also some sweet, fruity yeast esthers. The flavor inclueded sour raspberries, strong acidity, mild lemon/citrus, earthy yeast, and finished with a dry, puckering sourness that kept building until the glass was empty. The mouthfeel was light to medium-bodied with light, active carbonation. A nice blend of fruit and sour. Very well done.

Pours a hazy, bright red with a pinkish white head that dissipates quickly. Fruity funk on the nose, you can smell the sour. Very sour, it really puckers you up. You don’t notice the fruit in this beer as much as you do in the kriek but it’s there. Finishes dry and tart. Nice beer but for my money I’ll go with the kriek.

Slightly orange colored pour with a scant head. Wonderful funky nose with some barnyard. Very light mouthfeel, actively carbonated. Huge sour flavor, astringent, sour lemonade.

At the brewery, color was similar to the cherry, but a bit lighter with a fizzy head that lingered. The nose was tart, and the flavor as well, but lacking the complexities of the cherry. Smoother, more mellow and easier to drink, but not as enjoyable.