Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

Draft. Raspberry red color with no head. Fruity (raspberry) and earthy aroma. Fruity, earthy, tart flavor. Not overly tart, but it does linger. Verty cleansing. Nice balance. Doesn’t have the over-the-top acidity of most of their other beers. Drinkable, but didn’t find it outstanding.

2003 bottle. This reddish lambic ale poured with a modest pink head that dissipated quickly. You can smell the raspberries and you can certainly taste them - fruity, carbonated and very tart. This is one of the better examples of a framboise.

Draft at O’Brien’s. Very fruit punch red. Not a lot of head. Very Raspberry aroma. The raspberry was still in the flavor, but it was so tart... and so yummy. Very Good

(Draught@Pikkulintu) Thinner than the Kriek, with not as much berries. Also more acidic and sour. Still quite enjoyable and fresh. Would give a 4.1 for this one. (Bottled, 0.75l, 2002 vintage) Hazy, orangeish red color with medium, fading and lemonadey head. Quite tart, strong and natural raspberry aroma. Sharp, slightly astringent, tart flavor of raspberries, citric acid, some yeast and wheat. Light to medium-bodied, crisp and quite refreshing palate. A very enjoyable and natural-tasting framboise, although I think the slight sweetness of Rose de Gambrinus suits the raspberries even better.

(05.13.06) On tap at Firkin’s, Libertyville, IL. Vintage 2001. Poured hazy rose with small white head. No discernable carbonation. Fruity aroma. Light-to-medium bodied sour Flemish ale that starts dry with mouth puckering, intensely sour tartness, earthy, woody, funky flavors. Some raspberry flavor detected but mostly hidden in this vinegary brew. Finished dry with sour acid aftertaste. Very astringent and acidic fruity beer. Not for the meek

Bloody red with no head to speak of. Aroma reminds me of the country days of my youth, playing in the cow fields, picking fruits in the wild, running in the barns, my first hard-on for Kim (but that’s another story). Cherries flavour/sourness is not as overwhelming as in many other beers of its kind. Acidity and tartness are not over-the-top either. A somewhat restrained but pleasant Fruit Lambic that while not making me a fan of the genre, made me think that it may eventually grow on me.

Draught at Red Bones 6/17/06. Pours a bright red color with a small minimal white head. Nose is brett with a touch of raspberries. Palate is sour and acidic. Flavor is mostly brett with hints of sour raspberry and a very nice sourness that doesnt compare to most cantillons though is still a force with this brew.

Post-Mondial tasting at Goldorak’s pad, from 2002 750 ml bottle. Salmon-pink colored body with a mere touch of fizzy head....raspberry-biscuit aroma with lots of elegant aged farmy touches alongside some odd fuesels (burning plastic and rubber), dry and dusky and a bit leathery.....the body is massively tart throughout, highly acidic, finishing with lots of mineral salts and just impossibly sour apples and tart berries, really powerful and as hard as any Cantillon I’ve had, surprising as I thought the Lou Pepes were supposed to be sweetened? ....anyway this is a fine example, rough and tough and refined all at once, drinkable and refreshing despite the huge acidity.