Thursday, March 7, 2024

Cantillon Gueuze 100% Lambic

Brewer's notes

Assembly of Lambics of different ages.
Beer with a tangy and fruity taste, woody and delicate aromas, long finish on the palate.
Long-life beer with evolving taste.
Brasserie Cantillon Lambics are called “young” after one year of aging and reach full maturity after three years. Young beers contain the natural sugars necessary for second fermentation in the bottle. The three-year-old beers bring their bouquet and finesse.
Gueuze is the fruit of a complex blend of Lambics of different tastes and ages, preserved in oak barrels. The most important role of the brewer is taste. He will have to taste around ten Lambics from different barrels to finally select five or six. This is how Gueuze 100% Lambic is made, carrying the original character of the beers from Brasserie Cantillon. Each blending vat will give birth to a different Gueuze. The natural elements available to us do not allow us to manufacture a "standard" product.
Arranged horizontally in the cellar, the bottles will remain there for an average of one year to allow the transformation of sugars into carbon dioxide (second fermentation in bottles). The saturation of the beer occurs slowly and naturally. When Lambic becomes sparkling, it is called Gueuze.
In the 18th century, a Benedictine monk, Dom Pérignon, discovered champagne by blending different non-sparkling white wines. A century later, a Brabant brewer mixed several Lambics and caused a second fermentation in the bottle. La Gueuze was born. Until the 19th century, the people of Brussels and Brabançons drank mainly two beers, Lambic and Faro. The appearance of the glass bottle and the contribution of Dom Pérignon will revolutionize the small world of Brussels brewers. Gueuze then became the symbol beer of Brussels.


BeerAdvocate

Tasting notes
March 8, 2024
The second bottle has about 1.5 more years in the cellar. Similar reaction as below - tart but I wanted more and the apple flavor is not my favorite. Something about Belgium yeasts may be at work. St. Bernardus Abt 12 has a similar note. Downgrading rating to 6 glasses.

Nov. 25, 2022
First of two bottles scored from Corks and Kegs a few months ago. More apple-cidery and less lemon-vinegary and tart than I remembered or wanted. 
Rating: It is still wonderfully complex and refreshing with enough je ne sais quois for 7 glasses but I am downgrading it to 6.5 glasses.

(0911): A bottle at SD21 in NYC. Nice and tart and complex. A tiche milder than I remembered. Girardin rules.
Rating: 7 glasses 

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