Cantillon Lou Pepe Pure Kriek

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

2002 vintage. Pours deep ruby red with pink highlights. Sour cherry and hints of spice (cinnamon & nutmeg?) on the nose. Quite firm body. WOW! An explosion of sour and tart cherries on the palate. Quite tart and dry. Finish dry and ling. Very fun stuff.

2004. Pizza Port Belgian Beer Fest. On tap. Vivid, exciting bright real red fresh cherry juice vibrance, alive with dripping moisture and a wildness of the pits. Florid and bright vermillion, with a rose fringe and blush head. Flavor is a sweet, chirping acidity in the note of perfected aged cherry alcohols, fresh flesh and pining pits. Amazing balance derived singularly from the fruit. All around stunning.

Great, great beer(ish). Ruby red color, spectacular cherry smell. Much better than lindenmans, because less sharp and less sweet. The best Cantillon. Tried it at the12 hour Belgian beer partyin Carlsbad, CA. Possibly the best beer tasting ever,with 70 bottled rare and expensive beers and 20 on draft.

Bottle 2003. Poured hazy reddish color with an average frothy reddish head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Moderate complex sour cherry aroma. Medium body with a sticky texture and lively carbonation. Heavy sour cherry flavor with a medium tart sour finish of long duration. Sour refreshing brew that was good for 2300.

Bottle. 2001 vintage. Pours a murky, varying, reddish coloured body with a medium-sized soapy white head. Loads of cherry, acidic seeds, vinegar, and sweet jam in the aroma. Very tart acidity, chewy fruit sharpness moving between cherries and raspberries. In the middle there is some fruit sugar and then leads into a well-attenuated long, lingering, aciditic finish. Another great Cantillon.

Photo of the bottle and glass:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdstich/424309507

In the far, far reaching netherworld of the notebook I pull out another one. Tasted way back in March ’06, seems a lifetime ago. A 2003 corked seven fifty, into a shallow chalice at just on cold. Classic, candi apple red body, bright, with minute intermittent carbonation almost too fine to distinguish. A head developed off the pour, a tight, thin, wafered pad of pink to sit in charm of the beer itself. Aroma, a let down. I expected aggressive, in fact I wanted aggressive and alas, only subtlety here. A light prickle, acidic and tart, fell fruit, slight dampness of hessian but little else, no real character. It’s peppery in the mouth, lively and yet delicate in body. The spritzy carbonation and tart cherry flavours cause it to bounce across the palate with so much haste it barely grips for enjoyment. It is sour, no doubt, but so, so controlled up against the likes of the Cantillon 100% Kriek. The palate so dry, it does manage to leave a feint cherry essence to linger on the lips where the saliva once dwelt. Subtle baby-spew end and fruit on dominance so much to not really be of character at all. It sadly lacks in true Lambic character, it’s just too subtle to be of worth. Where are the cobwebs, the must, the damp cellar, the Brett. and Lambicus. I did expect more, but hey, I love Cantillon so it is forgiven. (apologies for the overuse of the word subtle!)

Tasted at the brewery. Very smooth, the cerries bringing a new dimension. A little sweetness in the finish, but the sourness lingers, too. Very refreshing!

Draft at DRE. Deep pinky purplish pour with light pink head. Aroma of Bretty funky cherries, red wine grapes, earthy yeast. Tastes very tart, but not as mouth puckeringly tart as some of the other Cantillon offerings I’ve had. The mid-palate sees more earthy Bretty notes, with the chery and red grapey notes always present. Complex in aroma and flavor, this one is very good.