Cantillon Lou Pepe Pure Kriek

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

2001 750 ml bottle. pours a beauteous red with a pink head. tart cherry aroma, with a hint of wine and oak. tons of carbonation which contributes to a rather big foamy head. initially very tart but not overly dry or sour. the finish is extremely dry however, reminds me of licking a freeze-dried cherry. quite good, perhaps the best fruit lambic i’ve ever had!

2002 bottle. Cherryade appearance. There’s certainly some farmyard funk in the aroma but it’s relatively restrained. Quite woody. Very sharp flavour with as much lemon as cherry. Quite easy drinking for a Cantillon. Maybe I’m just getting more accustomed to lambics, but I didn’t find this as extreme as I expected. Still pretty good though. 750ml bottle at the London Joet gathering.

75cl bottle, sticker says 1999, it was then bottled in 2001 according to the cork. The pour was amazing...cherry red with a big pink head. marvelous. I can still get some sour cherry in the nose...everything else is classic Cantillon, the wild yeast and acidity is there, some cherries still persist in the flavor and finish which is dry. Much more rounded and less overbearingly acidic than the similiar aged Fou Foune I drank earlier in the week...It was fun spending about 2.5 hours with this beer.

On draft at Monk’s cafe. 2002 vintage. Pours a bright, horror movie blood red. Obvious cherries flavor, sour with some lemon in there as well. Very subtle nut flavor. Sourness is nicely balanced with a delicate sweet, sugary taste. Nicely dry finish.

mmmmm....How I love the lou pepe’s---- POursa rich cherry red hue with a nice pink head. Aromas of horse blanket, sour funk, and a hint of cherries. Flavors are very sour with the cherries melding in perfectly.

(Draught@Pikkulintu) Opaque blood red with a small, fading head. very delicious and full cherry aroma. Smooth and luscious cherry flavor with tartness only hitting in the end, and even then quite smoothly. Medium to full body, low carbonation. Certainly one of the best krieks ever made. (Bottled, 2002 vintage, 0.75l, was 7-4-7-3-13=3.4) Hazy, deep red color with a small, pink head. Very fruity, quite sour cherry aroma. Sour, quite dry cherry flavor - typical Cantillon. Refreshing, crisp summer drink. Not the "worst" Cantillon, but not drinkable in large quantities, either.

2001 vintage (bottled 2003).Deep deep red colour that’s as thick as raspberry jam or eczematic’s beetroot homebrew. Pink head which sticks around pretty well for a Cantillon brew. Typical Cantillon lambic aroma which I find really hard to describe - wood, fish & cobwebs perhaps? Dense morello cherries, vanilla, coconut, whiskey and a nice cidery character. This beer features an incredible balance between fruit, sourness and bitterness. It’s not sweet but it’s definitely more sweet and approachable than their regular Kriek. It’s lemony-sour but not overly so. I would have preferred it a little more sour but I don’t think out-and-out sourness is the point of the exercise here. It’s seems more like a showcase for balance, drinkability and accessibility (of course for a Cantillon beer this is all relative) and this objective is certainly achieved. The bitterness works especially well - it’s always perceptible but never dominant or clashing with the sourness. There’s quite a bit of cherry flavour but not as much as in the aroma. Some red wine character too. Incredible fleshy mouthfeel was great. Much like the St Lamvinus I am left with the impression of an incredibly well-brewed beer, and I did enjoy it immensely, but it’s a bit too styled and not rough enough to really do it for me. Perhaps Cantillon is doomed to constantly fail to impress me as much as that first, incredible bottle of Rose de Gambrinus? Or maybe not. It’s still my favourite brewery. Thanks Chuk!

worth every penny of its steep price tag. cherry lambic heaven with a gorgeous pink hue and wonderful Cantillon signature nose of Horseblanket and lemon. just superb