Cantillon FouFoune

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

750 ml bottle
I have one of this sittiing in the cellar but now that someone shared one I may trade it off. This is a great Cantillon as the scores indicate but for their level of quality not the best. Given the price tag I would rather have a bottle of any of the Lou Pepe lineup instead. If you like interesting experiments in different fruits however give it a try.

Aroma / Appearance - Cloudy orange as I expected it to be the body is flat and lifeless. The sour apricot aroma is nowhere near as intense as many other Cantillon lambics but still sharper than many from other breweries. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would put it around a 7. It still retains that classic Cantillon vinegar character just without the lingering intensity.

Flavor / Palate - Apricots, as expected, dominate the profile from start to finish. Not as sour as even the nose suggests this is relatively easy to drink for a classic lambic. The biggest difference is the lack of acidity in the finish. Perhaps this will come with time in the bottle but usually Cantillon beers have that kick from the start. From any other brewer this would be a great release. For Cantillon I would place this as "yet another average" lambic which is to say that if you find it on sale be sure to buy it ASAP. Just don’t expect the same experience as with many other beers in their lineup.

750ml bottle (best before 12/2018) from Nectar in Brisbane (recommended). A hazy dark orange pour with a very stable thin white head that laces well. Aroma is typical Brett yeasts, wheat, lemons, damp wood and subtle apricots. The tongue is rather harsh tart flavours of lemons, lactic acid and a hint of vinegar. The finish is sour and long lasting. It is medium bodied with a smooth oily texture. I often complain about the artificial sweetness of the more commercial fruit lambics but this is certainly not a problem with this beer. In fact it tastes more like an oude geuze than a fruit lambic in my opinion - more sour lemons than sweet apricots.

750ml Bottle: Aroma of apricots, lambic, oak, light tartness, and a hint of horse blanket. Poured amber/orange/apricot in color with a small, white head that lasted throughout. Cloudy. Very sparkling. Flavor is medium sweet and medium to heavily tart. Tastes of lambic, apricot, light oak, and citric acid. Medium body. Tingly texture. Lively carbonation. Sweet, tart, apricot, lambic, and slight oak finish.

Aroma of sour fruit, hints of dried apricots, wild funky yeast and aged hops. Looks nice and yellow light cloudy in the glass. Taste is really nicely balanced not overly soured, not too much sweetness or fruit flavors just a nice well blended lambic. Yum!

Bottle picked up from State Line Liquors and generously delivered by JCB. Thanks, Jason! I was going to to hold on to this for a bit, but I couldn’t even make it 5 hours. What can I say -- my wife wanted to drink it and it turned out to be a milestone rating (1200), so how could I resist? Pours hazy golden orange with a surprisingly lively and large white head. Nose of apricots and peaches as well as lemons, white grapefruit, funky yeast, leather, and some tasty barnyard notes all hanging around out back. Similar taste, but with a zippier tartness. Complex yet very accessible. Lively palate. Wonderful beer.

Bottle pours golden orange color with white head that whisps away quickly. Aroma is remarkable. Funk, acidic hay, barnyard, leather, lemon, fruit, earth, and my mouth puckers. This smells so tart. Moldy mouthfeel. Flavor is not nearly as tart as the aroma leads you to believe. What a bummer. It has all the flavors I smelled. Its just not as pronounced taste wise as it was on the nose. Which was a bit of a disappointment. Still a good beer. Just not great.

2007 cork. Pours a murky hazy straw yellow with a thin white fine froth. Aroma is unexpectantly very sharp and fruity, tangerines/necturine like citrus, lovely lovely apricot... wow, smells super, wow that’s great, funky dusty, sharp but tolerable, sharp gueze but with complimentary maltiness to fill it out. Yikes! Gueuze like beer, wow the perfectly blended apricot, shockingly acidic and crisp, even for a cantillon, the apricot is a great fit for the gueze, fairly sweet, quite tart, I really feel like I’m drinking a flavorful gueze which is something that kriek and raspberry lambics can’t achieve. The bitterness is really one of the coolest part of this beer, it lingers mixing with a slight vanilla flavor that leaves the impression of the last bite of an orange popsicle. Medium bodied, sharp carbonation, fuller feeling, plesant mouth-feel. Delicious, clean, sharp, and super drinkable!!! LOVE IT!

2009 bottle served in a white wine glass at room temp. Pours a nice, slight thick orange-gold with a thin ring of white bubbles persisting. Beautiful nose full of peaches, apricots, slight funky brett. Really round in the nose. Like most Cantillon, it’s fairly bracing and hard in the mouth. Really big peach, apricot presence. Full and round, vinous and white wine like. The fruit is great at this age, but a hard, slightly metallic age tells me this one would likely get better with some years on it. Very enjoyable, kinda like a slightly more acidic Duck Duck Gooze.