Cantillon Fou' Foune - Brasserie Cantillon

santoslhalper

Pennsylvania

4.78/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Bottled 2.003

Appearence: Pours a wonderful orange cream color with a creamy white head that dies down to collar. Hazy as hell.

Smell: The smell is a mix of sourness, apricots, and an a strange smell I can't put my finger on. The funkiness of this beer is superb.

Taste and Mouthfeel: This is just as sour, if not more so, than the Brouscella, and I love it. The sour, funkiness is perfectly matched with a slight apricot flavor. The wood notes really help mellow this beer out. Super complex, super balanced, super sour, and super tasty.

Drinkability and Overall: This beer right here is exactly why I love lambics/gueuzes so much. The sourness!!! The tart flavor is almost unbearable, but not quite, and it makes this beer damn near perfect. One of the best Fruit Lambics I've had to date. If you love to sour, funky flavors, you'll love this to death.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2005 01:14:05 | More by santoslhalper

hero27

Iowa

2/5  rDev -56.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Shared the huge bottle with a few friends. 2004 date on it. Picked up three different Cantillon brews at John's Grocery in Iowa City, and thought I'd give this one a try first.

The pour and look of this beer is decidedly awful. Fizzy head is gone in an instant, no doubt because nothing would want to stay sitting on something that smells like this...
Is that taste supposed to be apricots? Because it doesn't taste anything like any apricots I've ever tasted..it tastes like rotten, sour...i dunno..something not good. It's also as acidic as any beer I've had. I'm sorry, I'll probably get flak for writing such a bad review of a beer that's rated rather highly, but this thing certainly did not impress me in any category. I usually like more harsh, extreme beers..but this is simply sour and one-dimensional in my book.

I hope the $40 Cantillon Saint Lamvinus in my cellar doesn't taste anything like this, and that's the understatement of the year. I certainly won't be purchasing the Cantillon Fou' Foune again.

This may be for some...but it certainly was not for me, or the three others that helped me drink this bottle. None of us were impressed in the least.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2005 22:49:28 | More by hero27

Ego

New Jersey

4.4/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

had this in the cellar for about 6 months saved up for my birthday...

eyes...
fascinating, cloudy murk with shadows like clouds suspended in orangeade. The head forms an Oring on the edges of the glass but if you tilt the glass the ring "spreads" out, I havent seen another beer do this. Also the bubbles on the surface of the middle were "streaming" out into the Oring.. I was frikkin mezmerized by the look of this beer. I took a full 10 minutes oogling this thing initially!

smell...
mild belgian farm funk (I wanted to eat the cork), apricots mashed into your nostrils with only a hint of the tart monster that is about to stomp on your ass like mosh girl... this isnt as mouth watering as say the Organic Geuze (on the nose), I think the Apricot masks the wild aspect of the beer very well and is so damn enjoyable. It reminds me of the first time a chick.. ah nevermind.. it's enjoyable as hell and memorable.

taste...
I like lambics. I like Cantillon. and I was completely unprepared. We (I was splitting this with my bud Yelterdow) gave a little to his wife.. she spit it out (well, we now know the answer to the spit/swallow question there.. sorry buddy..). On the first sip the beer took out the paddles of life and said "clear" before applying to my toungue such a frikkin kick it was like swallowing rancid jersey shore sea water (without the syringes). The initial salinity was brash and almost over powering to the point of putting me off. Undeterred by this blast I moved on to the next sip, and there it was, a prickly trip down motherf'r tartness lane. Out of the Cantillon line this one was the tartest I have sampled. At one point my friend and I were practically spitting on each other because this beer's tartness makes you drool like a rabid dog in heat, injected with viagra at the westminster dog show, in the summer, on the equator... This beer makes you take notice, there is no doubt cantillon says "FU. this is beer, just go ahead and try me fatso". The body was perfect, in a way full and large but finishing somewhat dry with the lemon flavor. The apricot flavor is hard to catch but it's domain is found between the initial blast and the final tart kick in the balls, wrapped up in there is a quaint subtle apricot gem. This beer floored me.

Verdict?
at $28 a bottle this isnt something I wouold go for everyday but this is one of those beers out there on the ledge of what beer can be. (beer all you can be). I found it easy to drink after the initial blast. This beer is one to drink for hours, the smell, the look, the crazy flavor can keep you talking all damn day. This certainly is not for everyone in any way shape or form but damn I gotta give props to Cantillon for producing something so amazingly original and hard to really describe till you experience this beer. I guess that is the point after all, you need to "experience" this beer if you like non fruity lambics. I personally prefer the Organic Geuze just for sheer drinkability but I wouldn't be adverse to picking this up again sometime down the road just to be reminded of how amazingly out there this brew is... WOW...

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2005 03:45:23 | More by Ego

99bottles

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I've had this more than a few times at Monk's and I must say I enjoy it each and every time. Although the kreik is more robust, and stands to lend more flavor, this is still a real treat. The beer is a murky yellow tan color with high carbonation and no head. The smell is unmistakeably Cantillon; as the lambic base and its sharp acidity sting the nostrils. Once sipped, the fresh apricot flavor comes through, but when paired with the lambic it falls a bit flat, and really can't hold its own. I like the weeds, the musty flavor imparted by the Brett, even the way in which the fruit lends a slight sweetness and a bit of a foil to the uncompromising sourness. Make no mistake, this aint some US fruit beer. This is unabashedly raw and I love it. A great one to try.

Serving type: on-tap

06-13-2005 03:51:59 | More by 99bottles

Wildman

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This beer poured a very cloudy/hazy/milky peach gold color and formed a small bubbly snow white head that disappeared quickly and left no lace. A small amount of carbonation is present in the murkiness. The aroma is definate lambic with barnyard elements and grass masking a suttle peach aspect. The flavor was the powerful presence of lambic sweet/sour brought crashing in by the definate astrigent nature of the body and finish. All and all a refreshing lambic for a relaxing afternoon.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2005 22:10:06 | More by Wildman

Rastacouere

Quebec (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap the the Sunset Grill, only 5$! Calm headless amber hue shows orange-red hints. Aroma is enticing and funky with strong horsey, sweaty and barnyardy component. It definitely has a sweet connotation, honey-like blended with the horsey fruits (apricot, orange, pink grapefruit). Yep, this is a lambic, very fruity, limey, citric, lactic and funky. Yet, its aggressiveness is rather limited in mouth. It’s tart of course, but pretty mellowed out. I assume the bottles are far more authentic in that regard, here, the mouthfeel is so lightly carbonated that it feels a bit lifeless. I wish I had an explanation for the name though! (Foufoune means buns in the sense of bottom or behind)

Serving type: on-tap

03-31-2005 22:29:14 | More by Rastacouere

GeoffFromSJ

New Jersey

3.93/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured in a taller pint-like glass which has a Cantillon logo on it at Spuyten in Brooklyn. No head. A slight hint of a lace. A very nice apricot color.

Taste is of apricots. Sour, tart. Typical Cantillon, which is always a good change of pace. Not acidic. In regards to mouthfeel, this could use more carbonation. But hey, you get what you get with spontaneity, if you know what I mean.

Serving type: on-tap

03-20-2005 14:53:33 | More by GeoffFromSJ

GreenCard

Oregon

2.95/5  rDev -36%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Bottled and purchased from the brewery in 2003...

Appearance: light straw, cloudy, thinnish layer of white foam (on hard pour), poor head retention

Aroma: ethereal wisps of apricot/peach throughout a geuzy base: lactic sourness, wet straw, sulphur, cork, stale crackers

Flavor: puckeringly sour (like sucking a lemon), distant hint of apricot, stale butter, cork, trace of turpentine (or a taste like the way turpentine smells), finishes dry with a lingering tartness and some graininess and unripe apricots in the aftertaste

Mouthfeel: light body, mild carbonation, very acidic, slightly slick in the throat

Other comments: Holy crap this one's sour! Of course, Cantillons are typically sour, but this is outrageous! Can give you heartburn or acid reflux if you drink too much of it. Couldn't get through the entire 750ml by myself, so I'm going to use part of it to make dressing.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2004 19:00:25 | More by GreenCard

rousee

Massachusetts

2.45/5  rDev -46.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 1

A-gold murk-no head, no lace.
S-acidic vinegar smell with some fruitiness to it also--either peaches or apricots--some hint of lemon too. nothing overpowering yet.
T- ZING!!! This is the tartest of all the Cantillons I have tried (had about 5 others) and its the tartest by far. Doesnt seem to have the horseblanket or earthy farmhouse-like taste that the other Cantillons do--maybe this is due to the fact that the tartness of these apricots (I think thats what the fruit is) is just so powerful that said horseblanket flavor is masked. It does have a cold very thirst-quenching finish to it. Drinking this beer is almost like biting into a lemon. Might be good once but not something you want to make a habit of.
MF-fine smooth peach or apricot fuzz--quite pleasant.
D-This is one hard beer to drink. I finished my whole glass but I won't be getting this one again.

Serving type: on-tap

12-12-2004 14:13:49 | More by rousee

bigbeerdrinka

Germany

4.43/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

On Tap at Anam Cara: Boy am I lucky or what..

Pours a light golden peachy color with a slight minimal white head that leaves no lace. Initial aromas are pungent and citric, with just a slight hint of fruit and some of those classic barnyard aromas. For flavor this brew is crisp and delightful. There is a beautiful balance between the sourness and a slight sweet fruity like flavor that can best be described as a citrusy lemonade.. Following there is a nice bite of tartness to the brew, and a refreshing carbonation. Overall this brew is highly drinkable, though I would never think that Cantillon would use apricots in a beer, but hell it works.

Serving type: on-tap

11-21-2004 04:42:36 | More by bigbeerdrinka

tatterdash

Ontario (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Picked this up at Smokeless Joe in Toronto. Pours a lovely hazy peach colour with a white head that doesn't stick around for long. Smell was very pungent, very sour yeasty smell, but similar to the other Cantillon I tried. Taste was a tart if not downright sour apricot that was very dry. It was a very mouth-puckering mouthfeel that dries out the mouth. All these comments sound rather negative, but I really liked the taste, it makes you feel alive, and in my case, more sober for the long walk home. I would recommend this as it is a very good example of a Lambic, like it ot hate it.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2004 06:34:43 | More by tatterdash

poundboy

Vermont

3.4/5  rDev -26.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

This was only my fourth lambic, so perhap my pallette was not quite ready for this one. I read so many great reviews about Cantillon that I just had to try it out. Picked up this bottle at the the wacky Drive-thu beer store just downt the road. That place is nuts. They have the over 800 beers, yet its a drive thu and they discourage browsing. And they are waaay overpriced. Paid just over $20 for this bottle of 2001 vintage.

Poured slowlyinto my trusty tulip glass, revealing some head and minimal lacing. Very carbonated, could have produced much more head had I felt like it. Straw/gold in color, very silimar to a hefe, but less cloudy.
First sip puckered my right up. this is the most sour beer, and perhaps the most sour beverage I have ever had. Honestly, it made me think of the Sour Warhead candies I used to eat as a kid. Certainly a taste that takes some getting used to. But once I got used to it, I came to enjoy it to an extent. Earthy tastes become apparent as it warms and there are leathery flavors as well. If I didn't know that there were apricots in it, I might not have noticed them. However, I look for them and found them hiding in the nose and underneath the sourness, especially at the finish. Perhaps they would have been more apparent if the beer was fresher.
I can't rate this one too highly, it just wasn't something I can see drinking all the time. But don't let that discourage you, you might enjoy it much more. Heck 6 months ago I couldn't stand IPAs and now I love them.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2004 00:42:36 | More by poundboy

crookedhalo

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

75 cl cork dated 2/2002. Glowing peachy golden color with a carefully poured cream colored head. Yeasty barnyard funk aromas as well as some fuzzy subdued apricot/peach aromas. It is really a culmination of those fruits that have fuzzy skin, like peaches, apricots and kumquats. Some would debate, but only domestic, Belgian apricots are only used in this brew, and it takes on aspects of all fuzzy-skinned fruits. It has a barnyard, wet-dog funk to it not unlike other quality lambics. Quite leathery and earthy. Really hits the sour portions of the tastebuds. Once again Cantillon delivers. Predominant taste is of tannins of unripened apricot skins. Rather acrid, yet wholly enjoyable for lambic lovers everywhere. Just make sure you drink within it's window of oppurtunity when fresh fruit is in it's character. Other unfruited lambics stay longer and are better aged.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2004 15:43:34 | More by crookedhalo

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.28/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Cork says "Bottled in 2.002"

Peachy color. Light peach. Thin and fluffy white head sits on top and is well retained. Lacing comes in patches. Carbonation looks to be moderate.Aroma is acidic, citric, estery, vinegar-like and fruity (as in green apples and nectarines). A little wet blanket on the nose as well. The mouthfeel is slightly prickly and more than slightly puckering. Not quite as mouth puckering as some of the other Cantillon selections I've had though. This one is held in check somewhat. It's pretty refreshing. The horse blanket is there. And the acidity is definitely there. Very slight apricot. Grape skin and unripe green apple. Nicely put together. Somthing keeps begging me to drink more of it. That's a good sign.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2004 04:34:38 | More by Bighuge

Popsinc

Ontario (Canada)

4.22/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A slightly cloudy pink/orange pour with a typically small head. The nose was big on tart, sour fruitiness. Huge tang up front and tartness that hits you like a cold bucket of water. Lemony notes and very big lime bitterness along with vinegar notes that make you pucker up! The fruitiness is very toned down. A pinch of apricot but burried beneath all of the acidity and tartness. Some light earthy notes and fresh grassy layers. Nice acidity although not to the degree of the gueze for example. For me this is a great beer for a starter or even a night cap. The perfect summer beer. I absolutely loved it.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2004 19:58:24 | More by Popsinc

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.03/5  rDev -34.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

The first I have had of this type. Extremely sour, like vinegar. Even in the aroma.Recent arrival at Smokeless Joe's. Bartender insisted this was it, not on way to the skunk. Good I split it with a friend and could have done so with three other friends. After first acid bite on mouth (which I still feel 7 hours later), it grows on you. Like a highly acidic apple. A bit of apricot aroma but we tasted nothing sweet or fruity. Yeast but overpowered. Must have with food.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2004 04:27:07 | More by northyorksammy

Jon

Illinois

4.47/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2003 bottling.

The long-awaited Fou' Foune pours a cloudy, light amber-peach hue with hardly any head to mention.

Aroma is boisterous in its proclamation of dirty socks, Brett, funky barnyard notes, leather, oak, and a mild hint of the apricots on which this lambic was soaked. Interesting.

The apricot fruit adds another dimension to the lambic in how it softens it -- this isn't the strip-the-enamel-off-your-teeth lambic monster, but rather a more well rounded, softer beer. The apricot flavor comes out first, while the typical lemon rind, citrusy notes reminiscent of Cantillon lambic appear on the finish. Lively acidity cuts at one's stomach.

Fairly "alive" in terms of carbonation, this a fairly smooth lambic. Medium bodied palate. Round overall.

Fou' Foune is refreshing in the way that Cantillon lambics tend to be. A fantastic beer that ought to be experienced by lambic fans.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2004 03:24:32 | More by Jon

ark57

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This lambic comes from the last traditional brewer in Brussels. The beer is aged for two years in wooden casks, and apricots are added, which produces a bright orange color. The head retention is high from the use of wheat that helps accent its color. The aroma gives the impression that this beer is going to be sour, which is the case for lambics especially from this brewer. At first, the beer almost puckers the mouth, but you are rewarded for continuing. The apricot flavor is soft and subtle amid the complexity of a wood aged lambic. It is almost syrupy and coats the tongue well.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2004 14:50:16 | More by ark57

ngandhi

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Cantillon Fou Foune smells and drinks like a well-balanced gueuze. The natural tartness of apricots makes them a natural pairing with lambic. The true fruit character doesn't come out until late in the finish at which point the lemony, herbal tartness that has some fruity notes blossoms into full, fresh apricot flesh and skin. The beer leaves traces of apricots on the lips, between the gums, and in the teeth.

The apricots are enticing, but Fou' Foune is more important for what it does to the world of lambic. It tastes like a legend who has yet to realize his greatness or perhaps one who has no regard for such ribbons in the first place.

Wholly balanced, the apricots are less important to me for their flavor and more important for their structure. As the cab franc and merlot in Saint-Lamvinus add some cocoa depth, but are moreso key players in the smoothness and drinkability of the otherwise aggressively tart and, for many, unpalatably authentic Cantillon lambics, so, too, do the apricots in Fou' Foune work in toning down the beer.

As the flavors develop and come to a head, the apricot becomes quite apparent, especially towards the end of the bottle, but the lack of residual sugar and appropriate Cantillon muskiness leave us more with a sense of gueuze than with a sense of fruit. To use fruit to that end -- to enhance the natural properties of something -- is remarkable. In effect, Cantillon simplifies the expression of lambic by, paradoxically, adding something to the mix.

Apricots belong in lambic and a bottle of Cantillon Fou' Foune belongs in your stomach.

Quite the pairing with fish and chips.

Relax, relax.
ng

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2004 01:22:42 | More by ngandhi

francisweizen

Australia

4.88/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

75cl bottle with an awesome picture of an apricot on the label. No rust on the overwrap or crown...cool 2001 Edition. $30!

Cuvee FouFoune De Cantillon - Ingredients: Amitie 100% comprenant:

-Lambic Cantillon: biere de froment et de malt de fermentation spontanee, 2 ans de vieillissement en futs de chene.
-Abricots, variete Bergeron a raison de 300gr de fruits par litre de biere. Temps de maceration: mois.
-La planete Bergeron n'est visible que de la lune.

and so it begins...

Wow, I really though that the St. Lamvinus was the best lambic beer in the world, but this brew really gave the St. Lamvinus a run for its money! This brew was delivered to me courtesy of a beer trade.

Appearance: The hard pour reveals a peach coloured golden liquid, that is murky, milky and cloudy. The head is fluffy, white and large, but it fades quickly leaving only a trace amount of fluffy white bubbles on the perimiter of my drinking vessle. Personally, I think this looks awesome, but I have to dock it .5 on the appearance scale.

Smell: For a Cantillon the smell of this beer is very different and intriguing. The traditionl notes of earth, wood, barnyard funk, etc...are all here, but I also smell a lovely dry apricot aroma, and several distinctly different fruity aromas, these tend to be citrus-like in nature. Lemon peels, orange rinds, and dry fermenting peaches and/or apricots all come to mind.

Taste: Make no mistake, even though the aroma of this brew is very soft for a traditional Cantillon offering the taste is Cantillon all the way. The soft apperance and intriguingly fruity aroma of this brew only lead you blindlessly into the shocking taste of the first sip of this brew. This is incredibly acidic and sharp upfront. When the acidity finally subsides the citrus like tones of lemon, orange zest, and other fruits shines through. The middle is very dry (obviously) with hints of earth, barnyard, fruity, juicy apricots, and more. The finish is bone dry and saliva stripping with the apricots softening the blow of this brew a bit. All in all this is one fantastic tasting beer!

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel of this beer is very lively, carbonated, and lucious. The fine bottle conditioning of this ale make each and every bubble grasp onto your tongue and into the crevisces of your mouth, delivering a very high ratio of FPSI [flavor per square inch]!

Drinkability: The drinkability of this beer is exceptional, only marred a bit by the fact that this is just so damn acidic up front. Despite the soft apperance and different aromas of this brew, the taste is 100% cantillon all the way. However, I have to ask myself what a VERY fresh sample would taste like? The 3 years of aging surely stripped away some of the fresh fruit flavors and aromas and replaced them with some more classic lambic funk!

Overall: Holy shit, a mouth watering, saliva sucking, traditional Belgian lambic beer with Bergeron Apricots as the secondary sugar source? Who else, but Mr. Van-roy would think about, or attempt to make a beer like this, and suceed so damn well at it!? Do yourself a favor and pick this up if it is available at your local store. Sure it is $30 or so, but it is definately worth the price asked for it. Or, If you ever get over to Belgium you can get this for under $10 a bottle and haul some back with you. Not as perfect as there gueuze, or the insanely good (and expensive) St. Lamvinus, but it's pretty f'in close!

Jean Pierre Van Roy is simply one of the best brewers in Belgium, and the world! Cheers to you sir!

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2004 22:54:06 | More by francisweizen

Realale

Missouri

4.28/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Slightly hazy orange gold. Very fine raspy white head makes a brief appearance, but comes back with swirling. Little lace.

Initial blast of dried apricot blows off to reveal classic Cantillon. Sour citrus leads the way as always, but here it is well-supported by a subtle earth and apricot. Bready malt pokes through as does a bit of barnyard, which increases with time. Simply a stunning nose, even for Cantillon.

First few sips are over-whelmed by the Cantillon acidity, even for this veteran Cantillon devotee. Eventually, my mouth adjusts and the true palate begins to show. Acidic citrus still dominates, but there is some maltiness in there as well. A metallic note is present throughout and a bit distracting. The apricot is just an afterthought on the palate. Finish is incredibly long with the acidity somehow managing to build after swallowing. Quite a ride!

Mouthfeel is fine and soft. A challenging beer, and not recommended for the novice lambic drinker, but I enjoyed it. And that nose!

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2004 15:30:26 | More by Realale

Starchild

New York

4.28/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

“We love to funk you, Fou’ Foune
Your funk is the best (talk!)
Take my body, give it the mind
To funk with the rest – Adapted from Dr. Funkenstein

I’ve been mesmerized by the Fou’ foune label for the past two months. It’s perhaps the most dignified and artistic label I’ve even viewed, and to boot it’s a little bit funky, just like this beer (I had some second thoughts calling this a beer). The beer is a cloudy orange copper and looks amazing in my flute. A thin layer of foam formed across the top. It smells like most lambics. The first sip begins mellow and then its tartness expands to its full potential. My cheeks puckered a little before the fruity apricot aftertaste filled my throat. Man the aftertaste is refreshing. The funk is sour, yet not overbearing, and adds some zest and zing every step of the way (hints of lemon, apricots, and of course yeast). I wonder if the Belgium’s enjoy a cube of sugar is this fine offering? Anyway, this was a new experience for my in terms of lambics and highly memorable.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2003 23:57:24 | More by Starchild

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4.15/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

August 2009 Bottled on date; Sampled July 2010
The beer pours with a hazy, sedimented, mucky color due to the completely crap pour by the waitress. It is topped by a fizzy, short lived, white head. The aroma is very tart smelling at first, but yields to notes of apricots, a hint of yeast and then back to tart again. Musty aromatics are joined by notes of musky barnyard notes as well as some catty, urea like notes. The nose really has a nice, floral / fruit apricot character to it that makes this vibrantly aromatic.

The flavor is bracingly sour upfront and finishes with a softer apricot like acidity that is joined by lactic acid sourness too. A floral apricot flavor is definitely here, despite the beer being bone dry. The body is quite light and refreshing and is definitely a beer meant for consuming in quantity (assuming you can get past the sourness of course). This is very nice, I would have loved to be able to try an even fresher example

Sampled July 2004, 2001 bottling.
Pours a very hazy orange-gold color. The head is cream colored and dissapears after a couple of minutes. The aroma is tart and funky. It is quite sour with some muted barnyard Brett notes. As is usual with Cantillon the taste is at first shockingly mouth puckering. After all of this time I don't even get a sense of the apricots. A bit of chalkiness is in the middle of this beer, which seems to add a bit of fullness to this otherwise light and refreshing beer. The sourness is reminiscent of grapefruit and lemons. Though I really wish there was some apricot flavor here, it is still quite good, though just as a Lambic.

Sampled 2002
A orangish light gold color to this beer, that is more light gold than anything. Pours with a lively carbonation. I can't detect any apricot in the aroma, though there is a slight fruitiness, but mostly smell sour. The taste is of course quite acidic, with general musty character as well. If I did not know this beer I would have no idea that it was made with apricots. The lambic beasties have completely obliterated all signs of the apricots. As a lambic type beer this is quite good, though seems a bit simplistic compared to some of the other offerings. Tastes more of a citrus type fruit, which comes from the acidity. I am a bit dissapointed in the apricot character from this beer, but it is still quite good.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2003 21:48:22 | More by Gueuzedude

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.63/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Wow! Although apricots are not a real traditional fruit for a lambic ...this is definitely a real, traditional lambic! It's quite a refreshing change from the overly sweet and fruity lambics that are so popular right now.

The body is a hazy, glowing yellow with a peach cast. The creamy, bright-white head holds well at first and slowly drops to a thin collar and whispy surface foam. Sweet apricot is present in the first whiff, but it reveals it's seductively intense and complex lambic character upon closer inspection. The sweetness of the fruit is squelched in the flavor, although there is definite apricot character. The sweetness appears right at the start, but immediately vanishes as it's overtaken by a sharp, drying acidity that retains control until the swallow where lambic character lingers in the finish along with more fruit. Quite exceptional. Intense. Complex. Refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2003 18:35:17 | More by NeroFiddled

TheLongBeachBum

California

4.75/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Fou’Foune 2001
Presented in a 1 Pint 9.40 fl.oz green glass bottle, the front of which contains a strange looking label. It has an orange border & depicts a view looking from the moons surface into the blackness of space & what at first appears to be the Sun, closer examination reveals that it is in fact -an Apricot. Dragged back from Belgium for just €6.

Fou’Foune is the nickname of a french apricot grower, who continually espoused the virtues of his product to Jean-Pierre Van Roy (Master Brewer), it was just a matter of time before an Apricot lambic would be borne. Made with 300 grammes of de-stoned Bergeron Apricots steeped in each 1 litre of 2 year old lambic > this is that product. Fou'Fonne also means "Peach Fuzz"!!!

I poured the whole bottle in one go, first into a large Glass Jug & the remainder into a Cantillon Tumbler (which I purchased with this Bottle at the Brewery only a week earlier). The beer poured with a haze even after being stored upright for over a week. Served at 55 Deg.F.
It pours with a limited effervescence, and an orangey-cream head that is short lived, and remains as a 1/8” halo head collar in the Glass. Although the head is small, there is high inherent carbonation & bubbles continually stream upwards in the Glass Jug. The retained carbonation gives the usual superb Cantillon spritzy mouthfeel. This beer dances on your tongue whilst doing the tango with your saliva.

The beer is a lovely turbid pale straw yellow/gold color that reminded me of fresh pineapple crush. The beer exhibited a haze from the intitial pour. Nose is of a sharp acidic beer. It does not disappoint. A lovely, striking, acidic introduction with an acidic-sweetness. Acidic-sweetness!!, what the hell is that?? I didn’t know the two could exist together – but hey this is Cantillon & they do – believe me. Some sourness exists in the middle as it decides whether to grip you with the Cantillon Mouth-Pucker, or take a few more “twists and turns” before doing so. It decides to take the twists and turns; Acid, Sweetness, Oak, Acidic-Sweetness, Citric-Bitterness, Sweet Sourness & a hint of Apricots….
…then comes the astringent shock finish, the trademark “Cantillon Mouth-Pucker”, damped down somewhat compared to say the Gueuze – but it is there, so brace yourself.

Wow, yet another unique beer, a truly traditional Apricot-Lambic.

If you have only ever tried the sweet fruit lambics from Timmermans, Lindemans, Mort Subite, etc. then you may not understand this beer.

This is Cantillon – The Lambic Master. We are truly NOT Worthy!!!

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2002 20:05:55 | More by TheLongBeachBum