Category Archives: Cantillon

Hello everyone.  For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be trying a Cantillon Vigneronne (2011) produced by the Brasserie Cantillon located in Brussels, Belgium.

I very rarely am able to find anything by Cantillon, so I’m super excited about trying this beer. 

The website, cantillon.be, has a very lengthy description of this brew, so I’m just going to post a small excerpt.

Vigneronne is a blending muscat grapes and lambic, the brewers and beer merchants produced the “druivenlambik” (grapes lambic). White grapes soaked in lambic. The fructose, which abounds in these fruits, enables us to make a beer which is more mellow than the Gueuze or the other fruit beers. The spontaneous fermentation, the ageing in the barrels for several years and the addition of grapes make it a distant cousin of certain white wines. Changed name from Druivenlambik in 1987.

Let’s enjoy this fine brew, shall we?

   
This beverage comes in a 25.4 oz. bottle and it has an ABV of 5.0%.

It poured quite clear with a orange color.  The crown was barley off white and kind of fizzy.  The size was somewhat small, which surprised me because I gave it a fairly aggressive pour.  The retention time was slight and it hardly left any lacing behind as the head settled.  

The nose was very nice.  A lot of grassy notes combined with a (good kind of) mustiness.  Hints of acidic lemon citrus, white grapes and sour green apples.  It also smelled a little bit tart with a light barnyard funk.  The nose wasn’t extremely loud, however it was very well balanced and defined.  The overall bouquet was very pleasing to say the least. 

The taste was outstanding!!!  It started with a very pleasing and manageable sourness, which moved to a kind of lemon “sweet tart” flavor.  Savors of white grapes and yeast stepped up during the middle and the musty funk really seemed to ascend even more than it did in the aroma.  Phenomenal, I must say.

The mouthfeel was medium bodied.  Very dry, crisp and a touch sharp and bitey.  The carbonation was great and a lot of flavor was left covering the entire palate after each intake.  

Yep…  this is an excellent beer.  The appearance wasn’t all that impressive, but the nose was great and the taste was “world-class”.  The drinkability was spectacular too. I tried to take my time with it, but I found myself taking huge gulps.  This Cantillon Vigneronne is easily worth a try if you can obtain a bottle.  I think even the most advanced craft beer drinker would be pleased to have this on hand at all times.  I know I would.  Have you guys ever tried this beer?  Did you like it?  Feel free to leave a comment and tell me your opinion of it.

Thanks for reading everyone.  I really appreciate it.

Until next time.  Cheers.

Score:  4.5 out of 5
Grade:  A

Hello everyone.  I hope all is well.

For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be trying the Cantillon Cuvee Saint-Gilloise produced by the Brasserie Cantillon located in Brussels, Belgium.

Cantillon….. ’nuff said.

From the website, cantillon.be, I couldn’t find any sort of description of this particular beer, nor could I find anything on ratebeer.com so let’s just get it poured and see how it is.

Bottoms up.

    
This brew comes in a 25.4 oz. bottle and it has an ABV of 5.0%.

It poured a hazy, deep orange to light amber color.  It had a white head that formed to a decent size.  The texture was a touch soapy and soft.  The retention time was only average and the lacing looked pretty decent for the first few drinks.  After that it just left a few patches then finally dissipated completely.

The aroma was….. awesome!!!  A distinguished, exceptional, balanced and complex fragrance of yeast and bread intermingled with a nice bit of that barnyard funk.  Subtle acidity from a white grape and light green apple essence.  It also had a mellow but well blended touch of wood as well.  A beautiful bouquet.  World class in my opinion.

The flavor started nice and tart with a phenomenal, but restrained sourness and funk.  The wood came on superbly after a few sips.  It kind of tasted like a sour apple jolly rancher.  The flavor also had a predominant bready/yeasty component with a grassy/hay undertone.  Very impressive to say the least.

The mouthfeel was medium bodied.  Bone dry, firm, snappy, crisp, refreshing and thirst quenching.  The carbonation was very good and lively and a ton of flavor was left behind on the palate begging me to take another sip….. which I proceeded to do.

Uh…. yeah.  What a great beer.  What else needs to be said really?  This thing only got better and more defined as I went along.  The drinkability was top notch.  I tried not to rush through this, but I couldn’t help it considering how good it was.  The only thing that I may gripe about was the appearance.  I’ve seen better looking beers, but as we’ve said before, the appearance is definitely not the most important aspect of any beer, much less one from Cantillon.  So, if you guys haven’t had the Cantillon Cuvee Saint-Gilloise I’d highly recommend you try it.  It doesn’t disappoint.  If you have tried it let me know what you thought.  I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading and commenting everyone.  I really appreciate it.

Until next time.  Cheers.

Score:  4.6 out of 5
Grade:  A+           

Hi guys.  I have a very special craft beer for you today.  I’m lucky enough to have in my possession a Cantillon Rose De Gambrinus brewed by the Brasserie Cantillon located in Brussels, Belgium.

I have never been privileged enough to get to try a Cantillon of any kind, so I’m really excited about it.  One happened to be available at my bottle shop the last time I visited and I snatched it up pretty darn quick.

There is a rather lengthy description of the Rose De Gambrinus on the Cantillon website, cantillon.be, so I would highly suggest that you take a moment and read all about it. 

I can’t wait any longer.  Let’s pour this thing.

This brew comes in a 12 oz. bottle and it has an ABV of about 5.0%.

The beer poured a mostly clear, cranberry to rose color.  The head had a rather noticeable pink tint to it that was of good size, but quite fizzy.  Kind of like a soda-pop with a lot of snap, crackle and pop.  The retention time was not anything to brag about and the lacing was sparse to say the least.

The smell however, was wonderful.  Lively hints of bright raspberry and flowers.  A compelling aroma of that familiar “Barnyard funk” along with a valid sourness.  Tones of wet hay and yeast brought about an “earthy” appeal that was somewhat counterbalanced by a light tinge of vinegar.  Very well harmonized and appealing I thought.  Just an all around, great smelling beer.

The taste was more of the same.  Nice and sour with a tart, acidic raspberry fruit.  Some other citric notes were noticed too.  Similar to lemon or lime.  The “funk” really hit home on the back end.  Additional flavors of wet hay, a touch of oak and a light mustiness brought about more of the “earthy” component.  The vinegar relish was accounted for in the taste also, but the overall strong, “lip puckering” aspects really smoothed out as I worked my way through the bottle.  Once more, very well balanced, harmonious and complex.

The mouthfeel was medium bodied.  It was very dry.  Even wine like in the dryness.  It was sharp and biting, refreshing, although not so much thirst quenching.  The carbonation was good and a great deal of flavor was left behind long after each sip.

Well, my first experience with a Cantillon did not leave me disappointed.  This beer was delicious.  Even though I didn’t find that the appearance was all that great, which in turn brought my score down a bit, the aroma and flavor were outstanding.  A lot was going on here and it’s fairly obvious that this is a well made beer.  It really smoothed out nicely as my palate adjusted, thus making the drinkability factor rather good considering the complexity of the taste and the extreme dryness.  I would love to find another bottle of this.  Or better yet, find another style and really get a grasp of what this brewery has the ability to do.  If the Rose De Gambrinus is any indication, I doubt that I would be discontent with any of their efforts.  I will say that if you are interested in exploring the Lambic style, this beer may not be the best place to start.  It begins with a powerful funk and sourness that could easily turn people off if they are not ready for it.  Either way, if you guys happen to see any of them, give ’em a try and tell me what you thought.

Thanks for reading and commenting guys.  I really appreciate all of the support.

Until next time.  Cheers.

Score:  4.2 out of 5
Grade:  A-