Cantillon Blåbær Lambik - Brasserie Cantillon

maximum12

Minnesota

4.23/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Enormous gratitude goes out to lurchingbeast for sending this along in a recent BIF. Not being a dedicated whale-hunter, I figured I wouldn't get to sample this, & oh well, but hey! Look! It's here! 375ML bottle with a blue label & no apparent year - the cork has 2010 printed on it. Pulled out to celebrate my wife's <number censored> birthday.

Pop the cork out & can't resist a whiff, & it's good. The pour is purlishreddishbluish with plenty of emotion in the head. Nose is like nothing I've sensed: plenty of blueberry, but bone-dry, almost leathery. No sour overdrive. Me likes.

Blåbær Lambik drinks like I think a sour should: sour plus something else. Lovely tartness up front, of course, but not tearing the enamel off the sink twenty feet away, & the blueberries add to it nicely. The berries aren't the sweet berry you'd pick off a bush in the wilderness (sigh, I'd like to do that, but it's winter), but dry, dusty, unripe berries. Bit of vinegar mid-bite. Dry, dry, dry. I am sucking this down. It's like a pleasantly harshed up version of my favorite fruit juice.

Now I've had it & this - this is what lambics/wilds should be like, the sour & tartness playing off other aspects of the beer rather than being an exercise in facial contortions. Mind-blowing? No. Excellent? Certainly. Very glad to try it.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 04:08:33 | More by maximum12

beernads

Florida

4.5/5  rDev -2%

05-18-2013 06:48:29 | More by beernads

Mayo2323

Colorado

5/5  rDev +8.9%

05-18-2013 03:00:06 | More by Mayo2323

thezoobrew

New York

4.5/5  rDev -2%

05-13-2013 18:10:01 | More by thezoobrew

mrandypandy

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev -7.4%

05-12-2013 20:56:26 | More by mrandypandy

sendsilk

Florida

3.75/5  rDev -18.3%

05-12-2013 12:58:44 | More by sendsilk

bigaltemple

Colorado

4.5/5  rDev -2%

05-11-2013 03:41:42 | More by bigaltemple

hardy008

Minnesota

4.61/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

2012 Vintage, 750 ml bottle

Pours a purplish red color with a one finger pink head which fades quickly, leaving no lacing. The aroma has tart blueberries, barnyard funk, very acidic.

Tastes like tart blueberries. Acidic, and very dry. There is some barnyard funk in the taste, but not as much as there is in the aroma. The taste becomes a bit sweeter as I drink it, then goes back to being more tart and acidic. Nice and complex. Very well crafted.

Light bodied with low carbonation. Finishes dry. Very inviting and easy to drink. well worth seeking out.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 02:41:37 | More by hardy008

willisar

Indiana

5/5  rDev +8.9%

05-06-2013 19:42:50 | More by willisar

chippo33

Vermont

4.75/5  rDev +3.5%

05-06-2013 11:30:03 | More by chippo33

thegoon55

South Carolina

4.6/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

anniversary beer.

A- a beautiful deep purple, light pinkish purple head. absolutely beautiful.

S- tart blueberrys, funk, tad bit of vingar.

T- a nice tart blueberry taste... follows the nose.

M- wonderful, nice light crisp carbonation.

O- wonderful beer glad I got too try it.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2013 20:18:57 | More by thegoon55

ChugginOil

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -2%

05-02-2013 18:26:00 | More by ChugginOil

MattKane

Indiana

5/5  rDev +8.9%

04-29-2013 05:06:25 | More by MattKane

ridglens

Indiana

4.75/5  rDev +3.5%

04-28-2013 23:24:30 | More by ridglens

ixodus

New Jersey

4.75/5  rDev +3.5%

04-24-2013 20:28:01 | More by ixodus

deapokid

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +8.9%

04-21-2013 20:03:26 | More by deapokid

incubuscience

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +3.5%

04-20-2013 22:41:18 | More by incubuscience

gueuzedreg

Colorado

4.75/5  rDev +3.5%

04-20-2013 18:24:45 | More by gueuzedreg

readbaron

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -2%

04-18-2013 19:11:22 | More by readbaron

Callmecoon

California

4.5/5  rDev -2%

04-18-2013 04:55:41 | More by Callmecoon

ArchEnemyBrew

Washington

4.5/5  rDev -2%

04-10-2013 02:18:06 | More by ArchEnemyBrew

MarvinSnyder

West Virginia

4.5/5  rDev -2%

04-07-2013 16:06:34 | More by MarvinSnyder

iL0VEbeer

New Jersey

5/5  rDev +8.9%

04-04-2013 18:13:59 | More by iL0VEbeer

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

4.51/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

thanks to Sean9689 for trading this treat to me!

375ml bottle; vintage 2012; batch 8.

poured into tulip glass.

Appearance: an opaque medium reddish purple bodied beer with 2 fingers of white head that drops down quickly to a thin cap.

Smell: fruity and funky sour beer with a touch of vinegar. This beer has a well balanced nose between with the fruit and the funk. Blueberry skins with musty and dusty funk.

Taste: Blueberries that are both sweet and tart. Also some notes of red berries as well. Nice oak barrel presence that is tannic and its earthy too. The funk flavor is both musty basement and wet straw. This beer has a nice sour pucker that is about a 5.5 out of 10. Tastes similiar to a sweetart candy. Finish gets much funkier as it warms...the musty funk really transforms into that horse blanket sweaty funk that Cantillion is know for. A hint of lemon, grapefruit, and berries in the finish as well.

Mouthfeel: light bodied beer with low end of moderate carbonation. The carbonation isnt as aggressive as most Cantillions that I have drank. It has more of a delicate carbonation that comes alive and epperveses as it hits your tongue. I do think that this beer could use just a little more carbonation. Semidry finish.

Overall: Yeah, this beer is wonderful. It is officially my new favorite Cantillion sour. I gotta say that its awesome to finally try this beer that I have been after for a while now.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2013 12:20:40 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT

nulledge

Florida

5/5  rDev +8.9%

04-02-2013 22:12:23 | More by nulledge