Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

From bottle, poured at the 2006 Pizza Port 12 Hour Belgian Beer Party. Brilliant sunset red pour with a flamboyantly pink head. Vinegary aroma with a fruity dimension of sour cherries and raspberry marmalade along with an earthy dimension of hay and lemon bark. Overly acidic flavors crowd my palate and disguise some of the organic fruit aspects that are so enjoyable in the bouquet. Finish is long, but excessively dry. 8-4-7-3-15=3.7

On tap at O’Brien’s, 2003 Vintage. Pours an incredibly deep raspberry red color with some pink hues and a quickly diminishing champagne head. Wonderfully tart aromas of raspberry and strawberry. Plenty of musty earth herbal tones - raspberry seeds, stems, leaves, and roots give this a nice, earthy floral spice. Light bodied, crisply acidic mouthfeel with a pleasant champagne effervescence. Very sour, amazingly pleasing flavors of fruit, fruit, and more sour fruit. A long finish brings out the dry characters of the beer. 8-4-9-4-16=4.2

From a 750mL Bottle, 2003 Vintage. Somewhat hazy, ruddy pink colored pour with a quickly dissipating head of pale pink. Juicy raspberry fruit aromas with hints of seeds, but lots of jammy sweetness. Light herbal bitterness and musty, leathery funk. Light bodied, sparkling mouthfeel with a bold acidity. Acidic, fruity raspberry flavors up front, but the lemony gueuze-like flavors quickly replace the fruitiness. There’s almost an ammonia like sourness in the finish, and it hides the fruits a bit too much without really providing any additional sour complexities, making it taste a bit muddled overall. I certainly like the freshness and fruity tartness of the latest vintage Rose bottles substantially more than the raspberry flavors in this particular bottle. 8-4-7-3-15=3.7

Rating is a composite of past tastings.

2002 vintage cloudy reddish colour with almost no foam; robust aroma of raspberries (what a pleasure to smell real fruits in comparison to the chemical experiences offered by too many breweries nowadays !); notes of hay, chesse and vinegar; medium-bodied, low carbonation; strong beautiful and complex acidity; the finish is long, dry and very acidic with more notes of raspberries and hay - what a great lambic !

Bottled in 2001. Hazy, dull red with a creamy white head. Sour aroma with some wet hay and raspberries. Very tart in flavor with some horse blanket retronasal qualities and a bit of raspberry. Finishes very dry. Unfortunately, I didn’t take notes when this was cracked at 5am this morning after a crazy night, so my memory is not perfect. Must try again....

(750ml bottle, 2001 vintage) Pours a clear ruby body with a small white head. The nose exhibits mustiness, earthiness, sweat, and sour fruit characteristics. The age has nicely balanced the acidity and sourness with a dry, organically distinctive finish.

2003. Red colour with a small pinkish head. Nice fruity raspberry aroma. Flavor is sour raspberry leaving you with a nice and long fruity aftertaste. Very nice.

2001: Pour was hazy pinkish red with a small red head...smell is exactly as I thought it would be...tart sour raspberry...taste was very strongly sour and funky with lots of raspberry tartness, but no real sweetness...

A pretty near perfect drinking (to type) experience. 2003. Just a pleasure to let the raspberry pour over your tongue. A nice cranberry color. A tart finish that leaves your crying for more.

Tap, Max’s 72 hours. 2003. Light rose body with no head. Light raspberry aroma, barnyard funk, lacto-sourness. The flavor is immediately sour and slightly sweet with a nice compliment of raspberries, before finishing sour and dry, apples and lemons. The raspberries are just part of the equation here, you still can taste the Lambic, unlike Lindemans. The mouthfeel is light with soft carbonation.