Tasting Notes: Cantillon: Saint Lamvinus

Cantillon: Saint Lamvinus (Belgium: Fruit Lambic: 5% ABV)

Visual: Clear dark cherry to ruby red. A head froths to life, but does not last beyond the pour in the acidity. Looks somewhat like a single drop of blood has been dropped in and swirled around to create the hazy red look.

Nose: Horse blankets. White wine. Light blueberry. Slight tart gooseberries. That cheeseboard effect. Becomes slightly musty as it warms and much more fruity with red grapes coming out.

Body: White grapes. Tart yet dry. A touch gravely initially. Gooseberries. White wine. As it warms you get evident red grapes. Sour cherry, as well as oddly sweet shop sour cherry chews.  Cheeseboards again and blackcurrant.

Finish: White wine and light acidity. Grapes. Blackcurrant touches. Light brown bread slices. Dry. Occasionally oaken with a touch of fruit seeds.

Conclusion: Some people really take the concept of lambics as “the wine of beers” to the limits don’t they?  Merlot grapes and oak ageing of the lambic seems to be the result, and thus this beer.

The wine touches are unmistakable, oddly despite its gorgeous red colour; the flavour often calls more to white wine when it was chilled. As it warms the influence of the merlot grapes becomes much more apparent.   The colour, described as like a single drop of blood had been added, did lead to much quoting of “I don’t drink…wine” over the nights drinking.

For taste and aroma you have a lot of the call to lambic styling here. The dry acidity, horse blanket aroma, and cheeseboard like influence. The fruit influence is weaved in subtly, without the sheer sour force of say the kriek.  The dryness is similarly restrained, still present but not teeth drying in its power.  It may be just a sign of acclimatisation to Cantillons, but it does feel much smoother from its time in the oak.

Whilst restrained and fruity, it does not quite grab me as much as say, the Lou Pepe Framboise did. This can possible be attributed to the higher wine influence, which as a non wine drinker, was fascinating, but more appreciated intellectually than through the taste itself.  Still impressive, for whatever reason, but yes, more wine like that I tend to appreciate it.

So, your enjoyment will really depend on your lambic acclimatisation, and wine appreciation, but it is a fine crafted beer.

On a final note, much better as it warmed, though still slightly chilled, and make sure you take the dregs at the bottom of the bottle where the extra sediment really pushes the black cherry notes up massively in a very enjoyable manner.

Background: 600 Tasting Notes! Woo. To celebrate I broke open this from the beers that I always toe the line between love and hate for me, the Cantillons.  The most challenging of the Belgium, or in fact any, lambics.  This oddity has been aged in oak casks (apparently Burgundy barrels according to rate beer) and made with merlot grapes. Shared with friends, this beer recommends on its bottle to drink within a year of buying to appreciate the fruit nature fully. It was drunk seven days before said year deadline.

Tasting Notes: Cantillon: 2 year Lambic

Cantillon: 2 year Lambic (Belgium: Unblended Lambic: 5% ABV)

Visual:   Yellowed grain. Thin rim of white bubbles. Slightly hazy and distinctly still body.

Nose:  Tart. Dried apricot. A mix of crumble desserts and lemon. Crab apple. Very dry and sharp, yet still slightly sherbety.

Body:  Surprisingly easy going. Smooth texture and dry oats taste. Tart without being overpowering. Lemon.  Almost woollen if that makes sense. Lemon curd.

Finish: Lemon. Vinegar acidity. Tongue drying. Light green peppers of chilli. Oats again.

Conclusion. Wow. For all Cantillon turn out sharp hardcore beers I was expecting this to kick my teeth out. Instead, whilst it is sharp and acidic in finish, it comes through wondrously smooth. Very fresh, and delicious flavours, still not one for a newcomer to lambics, but very well done.

The lemon sharpness mixes with a flavour that I would call the flavour equivalent of the horse blanket aroma you get with many gauze beers.  This of course makes very little sense as  flavour so I have tried to describe it better in the tasting, with little success I might note.  The dry elements keep it fresh over every sip.

Not a common beer I’m guessing, so try it if you find it, I can’t promise you will love it but you won’t forget it.  Personally I can’t think of a better thirst quencher for a hot day.

Background: Note- the unblended lambic statement for style is a guess. The item is listed as 2 year lambic and describes as the base element of a geuze, so it seems a solid bet.  This would be my first unblended lambic then, and one from the notoriously mouth puckering Cantillon. Brave aren’t I? Drunk at the Great British Beer festival in London 2011.

Tasting Notes: Cantillon: Kriek

Cantillon: Kriek (Belgium: Fruit Lambic: 5% ABV)

Visual: Clear black cherry with a dark burgundy red head.

Nose:  Black cherry. Apples and acidic feel. Wet oak. Mature cheese. Pips and raspberries. Lots of cherries.

Body: Tart. Vinegar and cherries. Wood. Mature cheese. Distinctly sour and dry.

Finish:  Fresh feel. Cherry. Teeth drying. Light raspberry and black cherry. Lime. Apple crumble.  Light cheese. Blackberry and lemon meringue

Conclusion:  So I return one more to the legendary and oft somewhat feared Cantillon.  One of the most prestigious lambics, one of the driest and one of the first I ever tried.

So, now I’ve had some more experience with the style, how is it? Still sharp as hell.  Manageable now though, it is mouth puckering sour and dry but no longer unpleasantly so.  The finish however, that is what intrigues. As you leave the drink after a sip, the still remains on your tongue shift through fruit flavours, sweet, sharp, acidic and sour in turns. Many fruit flavours express them, most of which are fruit that I know for a fact never came near the beer in its making, they instead result from the interplay of the layers of the beer.

The body may have equal subtly, but it’s still hard for me to tell behind its acid sourness.   Though just as it slips down your gullet it seems to lighten and you can really enjoy the full cherry flavour.

Full bodied, fruity and fresh.  Don’t pick this as your first kriek beer, or first lambic.  Seriously. Work up to it and you will appreciate it, it’s worth taking your time, both in working up to it and appreciating that long shimmering finish.

A beer than needs a work out to get ready for it, but worth the effort.

Background: Cantillon Kriek was one of the first lambics I tried and I had been warned it was quite challenging. The warning did little to stop my shock as my mouth promptly puckered.  It was a while after that before I gave lambics another go, since they I have returned to Cantillon again. This however is the first time I have returned to the first Cantillon I ever tried, their Kriek beer

Tasting Notes: Hanssens Artisanaal: Oude Gueuze

Hanssens Artisanaal: Oude Gueuze (Belgium: Lambic Gueuze: 6% ABV)

Visual Clear pale gold with a small bubbled white head.

Nose: Horse blankets, chestnuts. Light crushed meringue and peaches contrast an earthy turmeric aroma.

Body:  Quite tart, apple and vinegar.  Slightly acidic white wine feel. Wholemeal bread. Almost milky centre if held on the tongue for a while. Lemon.

Finish:  Lemon curd and wheat. White grapes and orange peel mix with gooseberries. Dry and slightly earthy is what remains longest. Pink grapefruit and teabags. A slight vinegar hangs at the back of the throat.

Conclusion: How very civilised a lambic, yet still with enough wit to entertain polite company. Or to put another way this is a restrained yet still noticeably acidic gueuze.  Very much tingles and refreshes. Occasionally just a touch too much acid at the back of the throat, but otherwise balances well.

The finish comes in very dry, and almost wine like.  Initially not so much to my tastes until a degree of pink grapefruit added to the mix.  As oddity, almost as if New Zealand hops decided to have look in.  This tart freshness is very helpful against the dryness, and feels very new wave brewing.

In-between these two the body can’t help but seem easy going. Refreshing and definitely not simple. Lambics often get wine comparisons and its here that the fruity wine comparisons are most apt.

Interesting and a beer I feel I should return to as my experience with lambics continues to broaden.  There feels like there is a lot more going on to the beer, but since I’m still getting used to the style I have not quite got the words in place.

A good refreshing beer, and one I will return to later in the lambic road.

Background: Drunk as a lambic warm up to returning to the Cantillon once more in a few days time. I was a tad nervous going into this as I sampled their kriek beer in Belgium and found it exceptionally sour so wondered how hard the raw product would hit.

Tasting Notes: Girardin: Gueuze 1882 White Label

Girardin Gueuze 1882 White Label (Belgium: Gueuze Lambic: 5% ABV)

Visual: Clear chestnut brown with a dash of off white bubbles.

Nose: Peanuts, lime jelly. Over cooked sausages. Roasted nuts. Musty tomes, strawberry cream and fizzy apple drink. Quite the mix.

Body: Sharp lemon, barbecue burnt bits. Sherbet feel. Heavy bitter and charring. Very wood filled. Light strawberry yoghurt.

Finish: Sulphur. Burnt bread. Bitter and burnt as sod. Oily. White wine. Teabags.

Conclusion: This may just be one of those things I just don’t get, but the amount of barbecued burnt bits that scrape along your tongue for ages on the finish just doesn’t say “Here’s a great beer” to me.

I’m slowly getting used to the varied lambics, and growing to appreciate the complexities you can find in their characters but this one just confuses me. The aroma is rounded and rich, hinting at a complex pattern of flavours. The body, though slightly over wood filled, is not bad. Then the finish is like someone burnt an offering in your mouth.

Notably this charred feel is much more obvious when you take time to examine and do a tasting, drunk quicker it goes to a fresher finish. Not that this helps it much in my eyes, a beer that you have to drink fast is not my style.

Not really selling me on its charms then.

Background: Gueuze and lambics in general are an oddity to me.  After a bit of investigation I have found some stonkers in their ranks, but I will admit the hit and miss ratio is not in their favour.  I’m experimenting with a range of well received beers of the style to try and get a better feel for them. This is one such experiment.

Tasting Notes: Mort Subite: Oude Gueuze

Mort Subite: Oude Gueuze (Belgium: Gueuze Lambic: 7% ABV)

Visual: Clear golden with a thin sheen of creamy bubbles.

Nose: Light bread, roasted nuts. Light sourness and horse blankets. White wine and plain crisps.

Body: Tart. Gooseberries. Light vinegar. Potatoes. Apple cider. Light coriander. Slightly creamy. Sherbet lemon.

Finish: Vinegar. Slight cherries at the very end. Salt and vinegar crisps. Brown bread. Drying white wine feel. Carrot. Traditional Turkish delight and lemon cheesecake.

Conclusion: Sudden death? Strange name for a beer that tends to be associated with the sickly sweet cherry beers in its line up.  This one is a much more subtle beast, and a beast it is still, though the massive acid kick of some lambics is just restrained a touch.

The slight vinegar, horse blanket aroma and lemon that I have come to see as staples of a fine lambic all show up in their full glory, and it brings the expected mouth drying freshness for show. So far so good.

The finish is a nice touch, lots of complexity. The flavours seem almost holographic, with initially simple flavours forming complex tastes as it maps across the tongue.  It plays all this with a charm that helps you keep you on board for this challenging style.

For those who have played with the big guns, this wont be a stand out, but it’s a damn firm stepping stone. A balance from the sweet mainstream and the deep waters of Cantillon. This balance makes it definitely drinkable, and plays a firm place in my current exploration of the lambics.

Background: Drank at the wonderful  “t Bruge Beertje” with the watchful eye of Michael Jackson looking over our shoulders from a  picture on the wall.  A fantastic pub, even if I was mildly irritated due to having lost a jumper over the course of our journey around Bruges.  These notes were slightly hard to read, not due to my terrible handwriting (though it is terrible) but during a swarm of midges the notebook ended up being used as an improvised weapon against the bloodsuckers.

As for the beer itself, Mort Subite are generally sweeter and more entry level lambic. However I had head these Oude versions were something a tad above the rest, so thought I would look them up whilst I was in the city.

Tasting Notes: De Troch: Chapeau Peche

De Troch: Chapeau Peche (Belgium:Fruit lambic: 3.5% ABV)

Visual: Light clear gold with a just slightly yellowed bubbled head that is small but resilient. A very still body with nigh imperceptible bubbles.

Nose: Peaches (Yes shocking I know). Cider acidity and slight corresponding apple aroma. Planed wood. Banana. meringue sweetness,

Body:  Fresh sherbet feel. Obvious peach and light fruit acidity. Light syrup texture in the middle. Slight custard sweetness and cheese at the back.

Finish: Apple juice and lemon sherbet. A fresh feeling is left, almost post mouthwash style, but tasty. Light creamy cheese.

Conclusion: Fruit lambics seem to take some of the most challenging of Belgium beer styles and turn it into easily the most approachable.  A nice trick, though if you get a bad one there is something about it that can remind you of those horrid vodka pop drinks. All syrup and no subtlety.

Thankfully this one, whilst it is slightly over syrupy, keeps the acid freshness and light cheese back that keeps if from getting sickly.  The fruit tends towards too sweet, but it just about holds itself together.

I wouldn’t pitch this as a classic of the style but it’s not bad.

Background: That is one ugly bottle. No seriously, that is possibly the most ugly bottle label I have ever seen. Odd considering I have seen other countries’ takes on the labelling and they are considerably more classy.  This just looks cheap and tacky.

One of the beers from Michael Jackson’s 500 beers, though the slightly different abv from that listed on the book makes me think the recipe may have changed a touch since then

Tasting Notes: Mikkeller: Spontanale

Mikkeller: Spontanale (Denmark: Lambic Gueuze: 5%ABV)

Visual: Fresh golden, clear and bubbly. Large fresh white bubbling head.

Nose: light grain storehouses. Ground pepper. Fresh yet dry. Brown bread.

Body:  Sharp lemon meringue or possibly lemon curd. Acidic as one would expect. Teabags. Apple juice freshness. Slight sherbety texture. Grapefruit and banana.

Finish: Dry – acid dryness. Slight leather, wholemeal bread and tea aftertaste.  After a moment of discussion agreed that tannins would be a good descriptor. An almost stereotyped English hop aftertaste unexpectedly. Popcorn and white wine.

Conclusion:  Since lambics are pretty much by definition fairly hardcore beers, I do question what the mad experimental brewers can bring to the mix that would not be eclipsed by the insanity of say, cantillon beers.

This beer is both acid refreshing and rough textured back. A lambic with lots of tea influence in the roughness, and a lot of lemon for the refreshing qualities.  Put together it works surprisingly well. One drinker described it as like “tea without milk”. Said person then suggested we added milk stout to compensate. For that they will be rightfully punished.

A good balance of sharpness and flavour. It is very well reigned in considering it comes from one of the extreme brewers, and is nowhere near the cantillon sourness.

So to answer the question of what they can bring to the mix. A reigned in and rounded beer of distinct tea influence. Not bad

Background: I first tried Mikkeller beers when on a holiday in Denmark, it was a monster of a beer and left quite an impression and a wish to try more.  As far as I know, lambic is technically only meant to be made in one area of Belgium, but since I don’t know of any correct name for beers outside that area, I’m happy sticking with the term.  This bottle was shared with my good friend Will who helped with suggestions and confirmation of tasting elements.  Lambics are the beer style I consider hardest for me to describe the flavours I find within, though I am working to try and improve that.

Tasting Notes: Drie (3) Fonteinen: Oude Kriek: Schaerbeekse Krieken

Drie (3) Fonteinen: Oude Kriek: Schaerbeekse Krieken (Belgium: Fruit Lambic: 5% ABV)

Visual: A dark just slightly hazy black cherry red with deep burgundy touches, with medium bubbles and no head on first pour, later pours are cloudier and hold a purple red bubbled head.

Nose: Wood, twigs and black cherries. Sharp, musty and filled with nettles. Gooseberries and mint. The aroma just rolls out of the glass.

Body: A sour sharp mix of gooseberries and black raspberries. Twigs, slight cheese and slight fruit sweetness  Red wine touches. Some odd treacle and a touch of strawberries. Very tart. Black cherry, a curd sourness and slight yoghurt.

Finish:  Greenery, sour and blackberries and Tayberry. Twigs. Dry with slight lemon and hard pastry touches.

Conclusion: Either I’m finally getting used to lambic sharpness or this is one of the best examples of the style I’ve run into, or possibly both.

Admittedly the tale about the rarity of the berry crop that makes it adds a bit of zest to the proceedings, but its full bore and unusual fruit flavours and great balance of sharpness is what keeps your attention.

Another beer that gets richer and stronger as you descend through the bottle, it has all the great fruit lambic elements with sharpness, a dry cheese element, and fruit taste and aroma with great gusto. It manages this without the sharpness becoming overpowering or that teeth drying acidic feel.

A very deep and almost red wine like character, really rich and fruity. A fine beer of character and balance, this is the beer that finally convinces me that lambics can be truly great beers.

Background: A nice background to this one, Initially heard about from the “100 Belgium beers to try before you die” book. Schaerbeekse is apparently a rare berry crop that has fallen out of favour, with easier and more profitable crops being produced by most.   Thus this beer is made irregularly to allow for enough berries to be harvested.   I have not tried Schaerbeekse itself, so had in this tasting  I had to compare instead to other berries I have tried.  After much searching, the beer was finally found in Bruges and was saved for a special tasting where I shared it with friends.

Tasting Notes: Lindemans: Framboise

Lindemans: Framboise (Belgium: Fruit Lambic: 2.5% ABV)

Visual: Clear bright strawberry red. Medium peach/strawberry red bubbled froth. Easy to tease more head with a quick swirl.

Nose: Lots of raspberries, sweet and obvious at great distance. Mashed raspberries as you get closer, with a soda drink fizzy freshness. Slight wet twigs and cheese.

Body: Syrupy strong raspberry, very thick textured and full fruitiness. Very strong with light almost strawberry touches.

Finish: Lots of raspberries and fruit acidity. Almost a sense of sour blueberries and some cheese. Apple juice light acid end and an almost horse blankets air.

Conclusion: A lambic that really lays the fruit on heavy.  Initially it seems too syrupy, but after a few moments it seems more to be just the impact of such a large dose of fruit flavour.

Has quite a dry back and the flavour hangs around long after the last sip is done, has a bit of weight to it as well.  Whilst I could not identify it at the time, I saw someone reference it having an almost tobacco style and I wish I had thought of that one myself as it was definitely true.

The lambic sourness is shut out for the most part, but it is still a more complex beast than it seems at first sight, with a massive sweet front and heavy back.

More for fans of the fruit than the lambic but still good.