Cantillon Lou Pepe - Framboise - Brasserie Cantillon

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

4.4/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Cloudy beautiful pink, with real raspberries. Cider-like aroma and no barnyard. Great sediment of more sour at bottom of bottle. Very smooth drink, hard to gulp down although I gave it a college effort. 2001 vintage. Must be shared. Seems richer than 5%. A very special unique beverage as my two pals concurred.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2004 00:17:36 | More by northyorksammy

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.13/5  rDev -7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml vintage 2005 bottle, bottling date of 11/2/07 served at cellar temperature in a gold rimmed Brooklyn flute glass for the New Year!

A - Poured a brilliant bright red, almost a hot pink color with a huge frothy and fizzy head of pink colored foam that rose up a good three fingers high from the top. Now that I think about it, this was a perfect rose color. Lots of carbonation could be seen through haze and cloudiness of it. This one left behind lots of side glass lace as well. Very nice presentation and about what I would have expected coming into this.

S - The aroma was highly tart and sour, and I mean highly tart and sour, almost had to kick my head back at the first sip. Big aromas of rasberry and just sour fruit in general. Lots of yeast here really made this thing come alive. As it warmed it just started to roll through some wonderful aromas of oak and would with hints of sugar mixed in for good balance. Very big smell here, very big and nice. I could literally pick this one up from across the room, it was just that strong.

T - The flavor was huge here. The very first sip set me back a bit as the sourness and tart rasberry flavors were on full display here. Really one of the more tart flavors I have seen. There were hints of the oak throughout it, but they were lighter then what you find in some of the oaked stouts and strong ales. Lots of yeast and a touch of sugar in and around the rasberry flavors, trying to lighten it up a bit. Nice depth to the flavor as it displayed several layers as it warmed. The finish was just as strong bringing with it a huge dried out sour finish that puckered your lips and made you have to go back and have another sip almost immediatly.

M - Very smooth and light bodied this was definitly a very nice lambic. There was loads of carbonation inside here really frothing over and showcasing the flavors perfectly. The overall feel was very crisp and clean, nothing doting around or getting too thin or too thick, but rather just right in the middle with a very nice overall feel to it.

D - This was definitly a sipper, not due to the high alcohol content or anything but mostly due simply to how sour this one was coming off. It was hard to take more then just a sip of this, but why would you want to this is one to really sit back and enjoy, to really savor each and every sip of.

Overall I thought this was a really nice brew. I have been getting into these more exotic belgians and this one just furthered my curiousity to delve further into them. It was a bit differnet then anything I had of the style before and this was a nice welcomed change. I would love to try this one again, though it is a tad pricey so we shall see.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2008 15:07:59 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

4/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A 2002 vintage shared generously yesterday by Richard.

A: The pour is almost red rose in color with almost no head despite a fairly vigorous pour.

S: The raspberries have certainly begun to fade, but they are still very noticeable. The fruit provides a slight sweetness to the nose which nicely offsets the very acidic and tart aromas.

T: This beer is extremely acidic and doesn't have quite the fruitiness left to balance this out (but this is what you expect from Cantillon). The oak is not all that present, but there is certainly a dryness from both the wood and the fruit.

M: Due to the lack of carbonation, the beer is quite slick and smooth on the palate. The high acidity and overall tannic quality of the beer gives a very dry finish.

D: I would like to try this beer again, perhaps in a fresher state. This is certainly a very nice lambic, even with a fading fruit character.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2010 17:29:05 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.4/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Poured a very nice reddish pink with a beautiful pink-hued head that lasted throughout the glass.

S: Lots of raspberries in this vintage with a nice bit of sweetness from the raspberries paired with a bit of tartness and quite a bit of lactic acid, seemingly much more so than in the LP Kriek.

T: Quite tart with a bit of sweetness. Not much acetic acid, not getting any vinegar taste like with Saint Lamnivus. Much more on the lactic side of things. Not much funk, but overall very delicious.

M: Very nice. I've gotten quite used to all types of sour, but this one actually stung my tongue quite a bit. Lots of carbonation.

D: Extremely drinkable. Low abv, very complex, and an all-around nice sipper.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2010 13:27:45 | More by Thorpe429

UCLABrewN84

California

4.03/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle pour sampled at mrbubbler's tasting.

2008 vintage.

Pours a murky red with a reddish-white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. No real lacing on this one. Smell is of sour and tart raspberries and some funky aromas. Taste is the same with a nice tart finish. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer but I think this one smells better than it tastes.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 03:17:05 | More by UCLABrewN84

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev -11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

2004(label), 2006(cork) vintage courtesy of Bu11zeye: Poured a deep reddish color lambic with a nice white color bubbly head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of raspberry is dominant with some sour notes as well as some barnyard notes and a weird cough syrup-like finish. Taste is dry with some notes of sour raspberry and some limited acidic notes which I appreciated since I usually find the Cantillon lambic a bit too acid. Full body with some great carbonation. I thought this was really good but I good have done without the weird raspberry syrup-like aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2008 18:48:34 | More by Phyl21ca

drabmuh

Maryland

4.53/5  rDev +2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

2007 vintage...very awesome. Beer is PINK and hazy and forms a nice pink head with moderate to high carbonation. The head falls away leaving no lacing on the glass (its not expected to). Looks great.

Aroma is sour and tart with some acetic notes and strong raspberry character. One of the best smelling beers I've ever had. Classic Cantillon smell.

Beer is very tart and not as acetic as I thought it was going to be, this is probably a good thing but the acetic character would likely grow over time slightly. There is nice raspberry flavors and good fruit tartness at the back. Some lactic notes and a slightly tannic quality overall as well. Nice carbonation in the mouth and highly drinkable. This could be one of my favorite Cantillons so far.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2010 21:16:07 | More by drabmuh

Mora2000

Texas

4.65/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2007 vintage. I had been saving this bottle and opened it in celebration of trying my 2000th beer.

The beer pours a reddish-purple color with a pink head. A great looking beer. The aroma is great. I get a lot of raspberries, but hidden in the background is the Cantillon funk that I love so much. The flavor is even better than the aroma. I get tart raspberries, oak and some of the Cantillon funk. The beer is so dry that it makes your mouth water as soon as you drink it. The salivary glands are working in overdrive. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Not only one of the best sours I have ever tried, this is one of the best beers I have had period. It more than lived up to the hype. Well worth the $29 I paid for the bottle and I would buy another bottle again in a heartbeat.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2010 06:01:11 | More by Mora2000

MasterSki

Illinois

4.38/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Kyle for contributing this to New Beer Sunday. Served in a Hopleaf tulip glass. 2005 Vintage. My notes on this one are a little shorter as it was the last beer I reviewed in a long session.

A - Two and a half fingers of pink-white foam with solid retention. Absolutely no lace, but a nice cap of foam that lingers for a bit. Opaque pink-brown brew.

S - Tons of vinegar, brett-y funk, raspberries, horse blanket, and musty barn. Utterly huge smell that almost attacks the senses.

T - Huge sourness, with sweet raspberry puree right at the tip of the tongue. Lots of funk and a light graham-cracker maltiness that holds things together.

M - Super drying, tons of cotton mouth, light to medium body, moderate carbonation. More extreme in mouth pucker than even La Folie!

D - So sour - even with low ABV it's hard to have more than a a serving or two. I appreciate that Dave had the Pepto out just in case of emergency.

Looking forward to my trip to Belgium this summer...

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2009 18:03:48 | More by MasterSki

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4.7/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle Vintage 2002, Sampled February 2004
Pours a deep hazy red color. It is well carbonated and produces a pink head as I pour it into my glass, though the head disappears quickly. There is an immediate aroma of raspberry seeds (fruity and woody). A slight sour aroma is joined by a musty leather note, though raspberries certainly dominate the nose. There is a good raspberry presence in the taste as well. The raspberry fruitiness makes it seem like there is a hint of sweetness in this otherwise austerely dry Cantillon offering. As expected this is fairly sour, though not extreme. The beer has a tannic, woody aftertaste that coats the teeth and mouth like a tannic red wine. A bit musty, but overall the Brettanomyces character seems subdued.

This beer definitely expresses the raspberry character more than the Rose De Gambrinus, though this is still quite dry so that the fruit can be hard to pick up if you don't know what to look for. I really like how the acidity pairs with the fruit character. This is a very well integrated beer, no one element overpowers the other.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2004 19:45:25 | More by Gueuzedude

emerge077

Illinois

4.49/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottled 23 January 2012
Glowing ruby red, wispy pink foam, jewel tone but light haze. Cobweb skim, spotty lace.

Funky barrel aroma, wet oak, seedy fresh raspberries.

Blistering sourness, super puckering. Juicy raspberries make your mouth water before going completely bone dry. Nice and oaky, explodes with fruit. A fuller feel, with a slight spritz of carbonation, balanced acidity and a light hit of sharpness. Stable funk with soiled hay and washed rind farmhouse cheese. Just the right amount of nuance and equal parts sour fruit delivery system.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2013 02:29:26 | More by emerge077

Halcyondays

California

3.9/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at Beachwood, 2005 Vintage,

A: Pours a vibrant, pure red colour, with a firm, though a little fizzy pink head, good lacing and retention.

S: Raspberry juice and horse blankets.

T: Tart raspberry juice with a surprising sweetness that I don't expect in Cantillon beers. The funk is there - it's on the lighter side, with an acetic finish.

M: Tart, acidic, dry for a fruit beer, spritzy carbonation.

D: A good lambic from Cantillon, didn't wow me like I expected it to, but a solid effort, would make an interesting dessert pairing.

Serving type: on-tap

03-17-2008 08:25:09 | More by Halcyondays

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4.33/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml bottle, 2007 vintage.

This beer pours a mildly hazy, radiant cherry red hue, with two fingers of fine, foamy pale pink head, which leaves a broadly spaced spread of lace around the glass as it evenly settles.

The aroma jumps at you with sour, fruity acetic acid - could be lemon, could be raspberry, though the vinegar is hard to dismiss. A bit of barnyard yeastiness comes through as well. The taste is strong, tart, sour fruit - lemon and raspberry again the likely suspects, making one's head involuntarily shake. Overshadowed is a soft, actually sweet graininess, and earthy yeastiness. The carbonation is there, but sedate, the body light, and astringent as an ex-girlfriend's personality assassination. It finishes with a tart fruity re-assertion, bringing the nose full circle. How zen.

The tartness is so full that I can't really apologize for the difficulty in easily discerning other flavours, i.e. the fruit, which is more inferred, than directly tasted. If I wasn't such a fan of sour, spicy, and/or tart characteristics, I don't see how this offering would score so high. However, I am, and it does.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2011 03:45:51 | More by biboergosum

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.88/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Vintage 2001

Appearance: Ruby red pink tone with a light whitish pink head leaves some lacing scattered and fine. Aroma: Sour notes of acidic quality, funky wild aromatics with cat pee and horse blanket farmhouse characteristics with a raspberry fruit backbone. Taste: Puckering even more so than most Cantillons I've tried, raspberry sweetness shows up somewhere in there funky edge yeasty note, I know this style is an artform but damn this one is wild. Spontaneous fermentation at it's best hits the palate with a barrage of sour notes but with each sip it grows on you. Mouthfeel: Medium bodied spritzy carbonation world class lambic. Drinkability: One bottle by yourself would be a venture, but I recommend sharing it with beer loving friends or somewhat educated about this tradition style. This one could possibly send a newbie running.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2004 04:32:34 | More by WVbeergeek

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

God I love Cantillon. I'm counting down the days until the Spuyten Duyvil Brett Fest. 12 to go!

Label reads 2005. Cork 2007.

Pours a hazed ruby. Nose is funk. Flavor is sour indeed, but I find it more one-dimensional than I recall the Lou Pepe Kriek being. It's tart, it's slightly fruity, and that's about it. Carbonation has a bit of a bite to it. This is nice and drinkable, yes. You've gotta be ready for the lambic qualities (the sour) to enjoy it best. And like I said it's not quite complex like the Lou Pepe Kriek.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2008 02:51:32 | More by RblWthACoz

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.97/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

2003 Vintage

A: Poured a glowing, cloudy grapefruit, ruby color with good carbonation leaving a nice white cap

S: Whoooa! Raspberry, cherry, vinegar base and funk

T: Tart and acidic. Some barnyard funk, horesblanket smothered in raspberries and a hint of cherry, vinegar on taste buds with some woodiness and Earthy notes

M: Tasrt, medium body, booze seems a bit more prominent than the 5% but was not to hot.

O: Best I have had, ever.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2011 16:49:33 | More by barleywinefiend

mdfb79

New York

4.55/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Big thanks to Thorpe429 and Amyliz4 for sharing this one; thanks Mike and Amy! Poured from a 750ml bottle into a a Cantillon taster glass. 2006 vintage

a - Pours a murky reddish pink color with one inch of white head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of sour raspberries, sour dark fruits, Belgian yeast, barnyard funk, acedic
and lactic notes, Ton of sour fruit and funk, really amazing nose.

t - Tastes of sour raspberries, funk, sour dark fruits, yeast, earthy notes, and acedic notes. Follows the nsoe closely but a little more funk.

m - Light to medium body and moderate carbonation. Pretty easy to drink.

o - Overall a really fantastic beer, and another winner from Cantillon. First bottle I've ever had, but the '06 is drinking perfect right now. I think I prefer the Lou Pepe Kriek a little more, but would jump at the chance to buy this one. Would love to have it again.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2012 03:22:43 | More by mdfb79

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750 ml capped and corked bottle poured into several glasses. 2008 vintage. Huge thanks go to Stakem for generously sharing this.

Pours a lovely looking ruby, topped with a ½ finger of pinkish colored foamy head. This retains well, leaving back a rich and frothy cascade of lacing which rides high up the sides of the glass. The aroma smells of ripe raspberries, funk, acidity, and a touch of wood. Those juicy raspberries really pop here but the funkiness of this definitely has its place as well.

The raspberries are right out there in the taste as well but the overall flavor does get a bit intense from the funk and sourness that is present. It definitely weaves in and out of being acidic but then much more along the lines of a fruity tartness as well. This luckily doesn’t get out of hand, as there is just enough of a very light sugary presence here to helps cut things a bit. There is a little more stand out funk here than what I’m used to with this brewery, which stretches into the finish along with some dry edges. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and spritely feeling in the mouth, with a crisp feel that jumps those flavors around in the mouth and helps with keeping things staying interesting.

This was nice. It had a bit more of a Lambic funkiness to it than I expected but that fresh raspberry flavor and a lively body really kept this energetic feeling in the taste and feel despite the assertiveness of the flavors at times. This is another Cantillon well worth checking out.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 18:01:40 | More by Kegatron

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.28/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle, 2005 batch bottled in 2007.

Pours a cloudy orange/almost red, juice colour, medium off white head forms, quickly settles to a very thin ring around the glass, no real lacing, nice colour.

Smell is nice, big Cantillon sourness and funk, raspberries, wood, earthy, barnyard, vinegar, still a solid amount of fruity sweetness, lots of lemon and acidity, nice funkiness, smell is great.

Taste is badass, wickedly sour and tart, vinegar, oak/wood, barnyardy funk, lemons, some raspberry sweetness and a bit of fruit through the middle, earthy, wicked almost salty, but very acidic in the finish.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation, feels a bit thicker than most Cantillon, but this one is wickedly tart. Great stuff.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2009 01:14:51 | More by Viggo

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.5/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2008 vintage purchased in Brussels from Bier Tempel.

Had to uncork with a bottle opener, but not due to a lack of pressure—the huge thunk as it opened almost perforated my eardrums.

Looks red, bright and very pleasant. Head foams up at the beginning, but then fizzed itself out so that only a thin ring of fine bubbling remains. Carbonation is gorgeously fine. Looks a great fruit lambic.

Nose is wonderfully and genuinely raspberry fresh. Plenty of tart fruit, a hint of sweetness and lots of genuine lambic acidity to give its basis. The fragrance of the fruit is very true and really lovely.

Taste has that classic Cantillon acidity: raw, cutting and tart, but the sweetness and fragrance of the raspberries gives a truly wonderful counterbalance. Still acidic and with a slightly strained bitterness on the finish, but everything else restrains and leavens it beautifully. Yes. This is a wonderful balance for a fruit lambic. Restrained, truly fragrantly fruity, balanced, but still raw and aggressive.

Yes, lovely. The fruit is just right in this one, and the Cantillon acidity is slightly more restrained. Gorgeous.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2011 20:33:27 | More by lacqueredmouse

DoubleJ

California

4.45/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Double imported Cantillon. 2002 Vintage, with a 2004 printed on the cork. Bottled and imported from Belgium first by Belgian Beer Paradise, then bought in Brazil and sent to America in 2012. Now it's ready to drink in 2013. Let's hope the cork works with me. Coming out of a 750 ml bottle, on to the beer:

The cork is a little mushy, but I am able to put the cork opener into it without having it fall apart. Pull out, pour into a glass, get a muddy brownish pink color with no head on the pour. No worries. The aroma gets me in a good way, plenty acidic with some good doses of raspberries which still remain 9 years later. A rustic barnyard note sits behind all that. Somehow, the aromas are balanced very well.

As one could expect, this one attacks your palate in several ways. It's plenty acidic, which is a given, not just from being a Cantillon, but also the raspberries bring a pleasant acidic that's not so sharp as say, Fou Foune. Yet the raspberries also bring some tart, sour, and sweet flavors which soak into the palate and help this beer going down. It's surprisingly drinkable despite the intense activity and fullness found in the liquid.

Suffice to say, this is a fun and lovely fruit lambic. At a decade old, there's still plenty of life in this bottle, a bottle which I plan to finish on my own tonight.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2013 06:58:08 | More by DoubleJ

kojevergas

California

4.2/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Lou Pepe Framboise. 2009 vintage. Bottle acquired at a bar in Chicago and served into a flute. Reviewed from notes taken on St. Patrick's Day standing up in a crowded bar, so bear with me. Expectations were sky high given the brewery's reputation and my love for sours.

A: Pours a one finger head of pnk colour. Fair cream and thickness. Retention is average (~3+ minutes). Body is a vibrant understated rich red. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show.

Sm: Tart raspberry. Acidic fruit skin. Bacteria/wild yeast. A mild strength aroma. Clean and tart, with surprisingly mild sourness.

T: Tart sourness. Lactic. Fantastic tart raspberry fruit. Clean unobtrusive malt foundation. Crystal malt lends a champagne like note. Balance is perfect. It's a simple sour, but a good one. Contained tart lactic sourness. Not real puckerworthy, but damn tasty. Great subtlety. Really good.

Mf: Clan, smooth, and wet. Perfect carbonation. Crisp. Near perfect. Feels custom-tailored to the flavour profile. Tart and bubbly/fizzy from the crystal malt.

Dr: Quite drinkable. Hides ABV well. It's exactly what you want in a sour. Incredibly tasty and enjoyable. Damn good for the style, but I wouldn't trade for it. Best purchased for cheap in Belgium; it's overpriced here. Glad I got to try it for a special occasion; it wouldn't be worth the pricetag elsewise.

High A-

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2013 20:47:53 | More by kojevergas

HopHead84

California

4.6/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

2/09/2013

2008 vintage poured into Lost Abbey stemware.

A: Dark red with a slight orangish hue and an inch of pinkish beige froth.

S: The aroma displays an absurd amount of jammy, tart, pungent raspberry seed and flesh. It's extremely aromatic and vibrant, with an almost spicy character due to its concentration. There's a lightly sweet crackery malt foundation beneath the fruit. Oak and leather blend with earthy funk. There's a bit of vinegar in there.

T: Sweet and tart raspberry seed and flesh with jammy notes and a subtle malt presence. The fruit is explosive and abnormally expressive. Face meltingly, devastatingly, depressively fruity. Lactic, leathery, and oaky, with a delicious tartness throughout. Vinegar is light in the flavor and there's a pervasive but subtle acetic acidity throughout. Finishes heavy on the fruit with a refreshing tartness and a firm but gentle lactic presence.

M: Upper light to lower medium body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is sticky, dry, and tannic.

Overall: By far the best bottle of Lou Pepe Framboise I've tried, though I've only had the beer a few times and mostly from older bottles. This was exceptional with a radical funky fruit presence. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2013 08:20:18 | More by HopHead84

stakem

Pennsylvania

4.65/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

750ml bottle "2008 sticker" bottled in 2010. I was a little uneasy with this bottle. It appeared that at some point the pressure must have really build up inside and leaked through both the cork and cap and ran down the side of the label. The cap pried off with a hiss and revealed a layering of beer atop the cork which was riddled with rust. The cork was so saturated that it dissolved/broke as I removed it. Fortunately, the bottom half of the cork formed a solid seal and loudly popped as it came out. Shared with some friends and split into matching Cantillon glasses, this brew pours a fairly dark yet clear ruby red. A pink frothy head retains fairly decent. A light swirl revives a finger of pink froth.

The smell of this brew is surprisingly juicy and fresh with earthy ripe raspberries. It is somewhat pitted and grain or seed-like with a sweet over-ripe raspberry smell that is more rich as sweet smelling than what im use to. It has a light grassy element with a touch of funky/stinky cheese. In the background are notes of oak that are lightly musty. As it warms up, it evolves into almost a floral aspect that is quite appealing.

The taste of this brew is quite sour, the expected acidity of the normal Cantillon offering is augmented with a flavor of unripe raspberry which adds a different dimension of acidity. It is earthy and natural in flavor that is deep and unique that really meshes well with the barrel flavoring that comes across lightly musty. Considering how juicy and sweet smelling this brew was, the level of tartness really shocks the sense which was enjoyable.

This is a light bodied brew with a lively level of high carbonation that is not over-done. For being several years old at this point and in the bottle for more than a year, I found this brew smelling/tasting exceptionally bright and refreshing. I really enjoyed the other Lou Pepe's both on tap and in bottles when I had them, but this came across even more appealing to me. I need more of this brew!

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2011 20:34:58 | More by stakem

Georgiabeer

Georgia

4.13/5  rDev -7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The bottle says 2002, and the cork says bottled in 2004. Pours a beautiful reddish orange with good clarity as long as you avoid the accumulated sludge in the bottom of the bottle. Sour and barnyard aromas intertwined with delicate raspberries are what you notice when you take a whiff. Personally, I like the depth that the kriek has, since I think it hold up better to the sourness, but this is very nice as well. The raspberries are somewhat light, but very acetic and the barnyard notes are just right- wonderful, they are there withouth being overwhelming and add a complex note to the aroma. The taste is extremely tart, maybe too much so. I would like to see some more fruitiness to balance the extreme acidity. Even so, the raspberry notes are laser-like in intensity, and to be fair there is an initial burst of fruit, and a savory, sour creaminess at the end. The mouthfeel is brilliantly sharp and tart followed by a soft, salty, creaminess. This is a little challenging- definitely a sipper, but fascinating.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2008 03:55:35 | More by Georgiabeer