Tasting Notes: Cantillon: Magic Lambic

Cantillon: Magic Lambic (Belgium: Fruit Lambic: 5.5% ABV)

Visual: Bright black-cherry red. Thin white dash of a head.

Nose: Vanilla. Dry white oak. Raspberry. Strawberry.

Body: Raspberry. Very fresh. Vanilla. Green grapes. Blueberries. Raspberry coolers. Twigs. Greenery. Strawberry. Light cheese funk.

Finish: Raspberry cooler. Fresh. Lemon. Vanilla sweetness. Blueberry. Strawberry jelly. Shortbread pastry.

Conclusion: Oh this is the epitome of the Cantillon fruited lambic for me, this is the one where I 100% get it. Which may be a sign that I am a lightweight as a lot of people consider this the Cantillon to ease people in, due to it being less mouth puckering than most. Ah well, I like it, a lot, and that is what matters to me.

It is mouth freshening still, but the vanilla gives a gentle sweetness that makes it oh so approachable, giving an in that the sour Cantillon character is less imposing. Now I like the Rose de Gambrinus, but that is mouth puckeringly sharp. This has a lovely fresh, kind of raspberry cooler style fruit character – far brighter and more vibrant that your average use of raspberry in lambic. I have not tried the Lou Pepe Framboise, that makes up the base of this, for a very long time, so have to use Rose de Gambrinus as my closest comparison.

On top of that, or more gently underneath, there are subtle blueberry notes that add a depth, a slight darkness and with that a range of flavour beyond that bright and quite sweet front. There are more traditional lambic notes there, such as twigs and a yeast funk that give a more savoury grip so it doesn’t become simplistic. It is easy to drink, so refreshing despite that – the fruit is so approachable and makes this a fantastic beer to drink on a warm day as I did.

Finally there is a lovely savoury shortbread pasty dryness underlying it, along with a slight greenery – something that helps ground the brighter character and just brings everything together.

This is utter magic, Pun intended.

Background: Last of the Cantillons I did tasting notes for at Zwanze day at the Moor taproom. I had actually tried this at a previous Zwanze day but had not done notes then so wanted to make sure to do notes on it this time. This is based on Lou Pepe Framboise, one of my first Cantillon experiences back in the day, made with 80% raspberries, 20% BlackBerries and madagascar vanilla. The internet tells me is is also called Cantillon Framboise Vanille. Magic Lambic was first made in 2018 to help the Magic Land Theatre which was struggling. Though ratebeer lists Cantillon Zwanze 2016 also as an alias for Cantillon Framboise Vanilla which clashes with that 2018 first brewing date, so take these aliases with a pinch of salt, they may just be very similar rather than the same. This was drunk on tap, but again I took a picture of the bottle version as it is pretty.

Tasting Notes: Cantillon: Zwanze 2024

Cantillon: Zwanze 2024 (Belgium: Flavoured Lambic: 5.5% ABV)

Visual:Lightly hazy lemon juice yellow. Thin rim of a white head.

Nose: Salty and salty water. Sea weed. Gherkins. Slight peat like smoke.

Body: Gherkin. Lemon. Sour. Saline. Oily fish skin. Salty. Oily fish skin. Crunchy nut cornflakes.

Finish: Smoked Peperoni. Gherkin. Salt. Drying. Oysters. Crunchy nut cornflakes.

Conclusion: This is the most unusual lambic I have had, and that is a high bar to clear!

It is salty, very saline indeed, basically the sea weed saltiness and greenery is very evident. Most interestingly this shows itself when you move past the huge aroma and into sipping the body where the light gherkin from the aroma becomes a very evident note. It is sour, tart, definitely not unpleasant but you have to really like that style or this will be so off-putting. It feels like the Islay of the lambics, not with the huge peat or medicinal, but just the general sea and challenging character.

Over time it mellows, becoming more accessible, with a crunchy nut cornflakes sweetness, but it never stops being very saline led, now with slight smoked meat and oily fish skins in the mix that again make me think of the Islay whiskies. There is even a small amount of peat like smoke note, though by far not the biggest element, and much more of that seaweed is there, though easier going now.

There is some of that more traditional lambic lemon freshness, but this is far more full bodied and oily than most lambics.

Not one that I would have often, but possibly the most fascinating lambic I have had and really shows the joy of the experimentation that comes with Zwanze day.

Background: So , as I mentioned in the last tasting note, I live close enough to the moor taproom to be able to drop over when they have their Zwanze day, a day when they get on tap a one off beer from Cantillon – now a once every two year event. This time was a very unusual Zwanze, being one made with Sea Kelp of all things. I can’t say I wasn’t nervous but I was also very interested. So, after trying a lighter Cantillon to kick off, for my second drink I used up my token and tried this, the 2024 Zwanze! It was a lovely day outside when I had this so was in a great mood chatting with people as we drank and compared notes.

Tasting Notes: Cantillon: Sang Bleu

Cantillon: Sang Bleu (Belgium: Fruit Lambic: 6% ABV)

Visual: Deep raspberry red body with a thin reddened head.

Nose: Tart. Raspberry. Wet twigs. Vinegar. Sour grapes. Slight sulphur. Strawberries.

Body: Smooth, almost light. Blueberry. Vinegar. Tart yellow raspberry. Some white dry grapes. Lemon. Slight honey.

Finish: Watered down vinegar. Lemon. Honey. Sour green grapes. Strawberry.

Conclusion: This is a slow building, unusual for a Cantillon which are often intense from the get go. Initially it felt kind of light, with a slight vinegar note with blueberry tones over that. I didn’t hate it, the vinegar notes were mild enough to not be that painful, but like this it did not jump out at me. It was juicer and less dry than a lot of lambics, but those vinegar notes, mild as they were, did not make for a good introduction for me.

Time lets it build up a sheen on your tongue and with that a range of flavours with it, bringing a lot more into play. My first surprise was a honey sheen that came out, especially in the finish. Normally I would call it psychosomatic from the fact the berries in it are called honey-berries, but it came out so slowly, subtly and naturally that I just gradually became aware of it in a way that makes it feel like a real note.

Then I found more lemon freshness giving a better sign of the base lambic character, and better defined white wine like grapes notes help accentuate that character. Finally a strawberry sweet touch comes out from the more blueberry like notes. It is a fantastically complex lambic when you give it time.

The vinegar notes never completely go away, and while it does give a depth I think some lambic fans will love, for me if its not my favourite note, but still overall this is a very good and complex beer.

So, with that knowledge hopefully you have enough info to decide how you feel about such notes and be prepared if you decided to give this wonderfully complex beer a go.

Background: I eternally feel so lucky I have so much happening within a reasonable distance of me. For example Moor taproom has Zwanze day each year it is on (every two years now, as opposed to the original every year). This year the Zwanze sounded like a big one, so I decided to open with something more gentle, and once again they had an absolutely amazing tap list and set of bottles. This one Sang Bleu is made with honeyberry (or to be specific haskap berries according to the internet) and sounded a good starting point. A quick google tells me it used to be called Camerise Lambic, which will just add to confusion when I try to remember which Cantillon beers I have had. While I took a photo of the bottle as it is very pretty, this was drunk from a tap pour. I have had a confused relationship with Cantillon over the years but appreciate them enough I am always excited to try a new one.

Tasting Notes: De Ranke: Noir De Dottingries

De Ranke: Noir De Dottingries (Belgium: Belgian Strong Ale: 8.5% ABV)

Visual: Very dark brown to black. Thin brown cover of a head.

Nose: Brown sugar. Black liquorice. Fig rolls. Sultanas.

Body: Plums. Burnt brown sugar. Caramel. Charring. Figs. Black liquorice. Smooth. Bitter cocoa. Slight ash.

Finish: Charring to charcoal. Burnt sugar. Bitterness. Black liquorice. Alcohol air.

Conclusion: Ok, when I say I find a lot of the USA Belgian style ales a bit too smooth, this Belgian beer feels like it takes just the tiniest touch of that extra smoothness and balances it with a lot of delicious and intriguing rough edges that are much more at home with the more traditional Belgian take.

The actual mouthfeel is quite smooth, with present alcohol but definitely smoothed from what you would expect from over 8% abv. In the body anyway, instead the alcohol lingers as a slight, and not unwelcome, alcohol air in the finish.

There is a familiar and welcome set of sweet dark fruit notes, lots of lovely plums and figs showing but with also charring elements that represent those rough edges and even a rare excellent use of liquorice notes that ground it while making the sweeter notes pop. All around that are burnt sugar notes that are sweet but also that burnt feel pushes it down so it never feels too sweet.

This is polished, but knows when to let the polish slip and how to work the rough edges that come through when it does, balancing on the edge of both so it manages to feel both refined and rough at the same time.

Another impressive De Ranke beer.

Background: Independent Spirit got in a six pack box set of De Ranke beers, which I of course had to get, and if I was getting, well it would be rude to not do notes on at least of them. Which is what we now have here. Been enjoying De Ranke most times I find them so had good hopes for this. Not much else to add – put on Fear Factory: Demanufacture as backing music as it seemed heavier music would go well with a dark heavy beer, and I was seeing them live soon so seemed a good match.

Tasting Notes: Rodenbach: Evolved

Rodenbach: Evolved (Belgium: Flemish Red: 6% ABV)

Visual: Dark black cherry red body with a thin grey dash of a head.

Nose: Very tart and sour. Vinegar touch. Tart cider. Tart black cherries. Tart pear perry. Slight yeast funk.

Body: Red cherries. Pear perry. Malt chocolate. Slight charcoal dust. Slight sherbety fizz. Touch of chalk. Green grapes. Red grape juice.

Finish: Pear perry. Red grapes. Charred oak. Burnt toast. Acidic. Watered down fig juice.

Conclusion: This is a lot more manageable than I expected. I was nervous before taking that first sip. I have a complicated relationship with the standard Rodenbach Grand Cru and this has had many more years than that had to change and evolve. I did fear an over sour monster was on the way to brutalise me.

Turns out that, while is is still tart and sour, this had a much more restrained touch of the vinegar like elements that were so evident in standard Grand Cru and made that so challenging to experience. This smoother take makes for a much easier to appreciate experience overall and lets a lot of the other notes shine through more easily.

There is a lot of tart cider and perry like notes which are new, but they are layered over a dark sour laced malt drink style at the base, that makes for a comparatively savoury base when combined with the charred notes. Between the two sides lots of dark red fruit roam.

The more restrained nature means it doesn’t have the almost holographic hallucinatory range of notes that comes out of the intense sourness of the Grand Cru, but you can appreciate what is there so much easier.

A distinguished Grand Cru in its old age.

Background: This is an interesting one, normal Rodenbach Grand Cru is aged 18 months in oak, this thing is aged 10 years in oak. Not bad priced either for something aged ten years. Grand Cru is a fairly intense beer in itself, so I just knew I had to try this one and see what it was like. I still need to try their Foederbier one day but that will probably need some country travelling from what I hear. This is another one grabbed from Independent Spirit. Was still on a kick for trying old punk bands I had missed at the time so went with Flipper: Album – Generic Flipper. That is some odd tunes but very cool.

Tasting Notes: Chouffe: Sans Alcool

Chouffe: Sans Alcool (Belgium: low Alcohol: 0.4% ABV)

Visual: Lightly hazy yellow gold body. Thin white dust of a head. Very small amounts of small bubbled carbonation.

Nose: Lightly bready. Coriander. Grated carrot. Mild hop character and bitterness. Mineral water.

Body: Mineral water. Light hop character and bitterness. Light chalk. Soft lemon. Bready.

Finish: Light chalk. Light lemon. Light orange. Coriander. Carrot.

Conclusion: This reminds me of the more mineral water tasting, lower abv, Trappist beers. The ones they make at a lower abv so the monks can actually drink them during the day. Those Trappist beers can be good, but oft suffer with the lower abv so can be hit or miss. This has an abv of 0.4% so has all the difficulty those masters of brewing have and then some.

A hint right at the front, do not chill this down more than the slightest touch – with the low abv it seems it does not have the body to react well to this so ends up super thin with the mineral water like elements utterly dominating.

Warmer it gains a breadier malt body to give some weight to it, and some soft lemon and orange notes – until that point the beer was really riding on the carrot and coriander notes which erm, well are nice as part of a beer when used right but should never be the main stay.

Even with the boost from a bit of heat this feels very lacking. Chouffe has always been very led by sweetness from the malt in my experience so it is not much of a surprise that it struggles with this low abv version. I guess they need more practise and experience to make this low abv version get its own style rather than rely on that malt.

For now though it is not very good.

Background: I’m generally a fan of Le Chouffe’s beers – not all have hit the spot, it isn’t one where I have to try every new release, but generally I enjoy my time with them. So I was intrigued to see this alcohol free version turn up in Independent Spirit. Post Japan I’m having a few low alcohol days as I had a bit more than usual then, so this fitted perfectly into that slot as one to try. Music wise I went back to Le Tigre – Feminist Sweepstakes. Still on a bit of a buzz with their music from seeing them just before the Japan holiday.

Tasting Notes: Blaugies: Hill Farmstead: La Vermontoise

Blaugies: Hill Farmstead: La Vermontoise (Belgium: Saison: 6% ABV)

Visual: Very cloudy lemon juice colour. Thin, white, small bubbled head.

Nose: Brown bread. Lightly peppery. Naan bread. Mineral water. Light lime hard sweets and choc lime sweets.

Body: Lemon sherbet. Sherbety mouthfeel. Mineral water. Brown bread. Slightly peppery. Light salt. Apricot. Slight watered down golden syrup notes.

Finish: Lime. Mineral water. Lemon sherbet. Unleavened bread. Golden syrup cake.

Conclusion: This, my first encounter with Hill Farmstead (admittedly in a collaboration) is more restrained than I expected from the immense reputation. Not to say bad as it is not that, but as a Saison this actually reminds me more instead of the Westmalle Extra I tried not so long ago. However, unlike that which did not 100% land for me, this actually seems no pull off that minerally meets hoppy style in a very sessionable flavour. Though this has about 1% extra abv which probably helped contribute to it having more room to pull that flavour off.

This has that same bready, mineral water styling for ease of drinking, with especially the bready aroma just spilling out of the glass. The minerally notes are very refreshing and easy drinking, what Westmalle Extra was described as having but here it feels like they have made the beer robust enough for it to work without feeling too light. Unfortunately, the abv that probably is what let them pull this off also means that it is just a tad too strong abv for the super sessionable flavour it has – if it managed this at 4% abv it would have been a session beer classic!

This offsets that main character, or more correctly works with it, by mixing in light citrus notes – lemon and lime, which combine with the mineral water character to make a very lemon sherbet influenced mouthfeel and even some of the flavour, making this a refreshing beer in a lot of ways.

It isn’t a beer that jumps out and grabs you to force you to pay attention but it is one you definitely want more of by the time you have finished it. Everything about it, from the light minerally character, the soft lemon and lime and slight sherbety mouthfeel all match that easy of drinking style – far easier than a 6% abv beer should be to drink. I could drink this over and over for far too long.

So, a dangerously easy drinking summer refresher saison.

Background: Hill Farmstead. Now that is a name I hear a lot from USA way, usually attached to raving about beer quality. That never turn up here. However it turns out they did do this collab with Belgian brewers Blaugies, so when I saw it I figured, closest I’m likely to get to trying a Hill Farmstead beer. Unfortunately I was in London about to go into a wrestling show where they would take any drinks I had off me so I couldn’t buy it. However, luckily I was back in London shortly after to see Le Tigre play live, so dropped back to Caps and Taps where I had seen it and grabbed it and a couple more beers. They have a very nice selection there and even a few taps to enjoy while you are there. Went with Le Tigre: Feminists Sweepstakes as background music when drinking in honour of the circumstances that led to me being able to grab it.

Tasting Notes: Cantillon: Zwanze 2021 – Parasol

Cantillon: Zwanze 2021 – Parasol (Belgium: Fruit Lambic: 5% ABV)

Visual: Slightly darkened apricot skin. Brown bread colour touched thin head.

Nose: Very fresh lemon. Citrus tart orange. Slightly bready. Light horse blankets and hint of sulphur.

Body: Pancakes. Jiff lemon. Crumpets sans butter. Peppery. Lemon juice. Orange juice. Honey. Gooseberries.

Finish: Peppery. Orange juice with bits. Lemon juice. Tart grapes. Menthol touch. Light peppermint.

Conclusion: This is so freaking citrus as heck and fresh. It absolutely bursts with the citrus notes from the aroma right to the last embers of flavour from the finish of the last drops that you sipped. There is so much orange and lemon styled notes and they all feel so natural and so fresh. Clearly themselves , something a lot of other fruits seem to find hard. Those fruits are still enjoyable in how they mesh with the sour lambic, but these are possibly the most cleanly identifiable fruit notes in a lambic I have encountered.

Like nigh every Cantillon that exists that isn’t the whole story though. This isn’t as sour or mouth puckering as you would expect from a Cantillon. It feels like the citrus character has mellowed the tartness, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to examine. There is a lovely low level peppery character that is such a good underline to the very fresh experience. On the other end of the scale it has a sweet honey touch that just pops up the experience a bit.

It hasn’t got the grace of a lot of Cantillon beers, but it is just bursting with flavour in every direction. I really enjoy it, even in its graceless nature. Is is so different, that freshness is unlike anything I have seen in lambics before, a very clean bright freshness rather than the sour, puckering freshness of most lambics. It may not be classy, but I just love that it shows there are still things to be discovered in what can be done with lambics.

We need someone, possibly even Cantillion to take this idea and run with it as if they can do this on first try (or technically second based on their attempt 70 years ago) then I’m sure that they can polish it up to something special. As is this is still fun as hell.

Background: This is it, I finally did notes on a Zwanze day beer! I have had two before, but never did notes. For those who are not aware, Zwanze day is when Cantillon releases a unique beer each year, and a limited number of places around the world have access to put it on tap. I happen to be lucky that Moor’s Taproom is competitively easy to get to and have had Zwanze day events for a few years now. I missed last years Zwanze as, well covid and lack of vaccines. This year I was still nervous, but they split the event into three smaller groups, with drinking done outside and that helped me decide to give it a go. This years Zwanze is a blend of lambic and citrus fruit (mostly orange says nigh every site I look at). Apparently they tried a similar thing about 70 years ago, but ended up with corks exploding out of bottles from the re-fermentation and the brewers running for cover and getting drenched. Thankfully it seemed more stable this time. I love that little story, tales behind beers and drinking them is one of my favourite things about this pastime. I nearly missed out on this despite being at the event – my booking was for between 16.00-19.00 and I am used to the Zwanze pour being later in the event in past years, so was not too worried when my train was delayed so I was 15 mins late. Turns out they did it as the first pour of the night! Thankfully they trusted me that I was not trying to grab a second and poured my Zwanze for me. Many thanks! There was no abv listed but the staff let me know if was 5% abv when asked.

Tasting Notes: Cantillon: Fou’foune

Cantillon: Fou’foune (Belgium: Fruit Lambic: 5.5% ABV)

Visual: Hazy dark lemon juice to apricot skin. Thin white rim of a head.

Nose: Tart. Grapes. Apricot skin. Oats. Light horse blankets. Wet with fruit remains apricot stones.

Body: Tart. White wine. Fresh apricot that alters to dried apricot over time. Grapes. Thick grape syrup tart middle. Acidity. Cider. Dry oak. Lightly bitter.

Finish: Tart grapes. Apricot skin. Honey. Apricot syrup. Tart apples.

Conclusion: This a comparatively relaxed and yet still very flavoursome Cantillon. It does have the acidity of a Cantillon, but the fruit choice seems to have gone a long way towards keeping it from being too mouth puckeringly sour.

The apricot is delivered remarkably well. It comes through as drier apricot skin like notes front, then that sweeter clinging dried apricot notes in the middle, into a slightly syrup like release at the end. In fact that syrup character does show in the middle as well, just there it is more just the thickness with a slight grape taste that gives a lovely release from the drier Cantillon base. Finally there is a low level oat feeling bitterness underneath it at all times.

These three layers make it work wonderfully – the sweeter fruit touches gives release from the sourness. The tart Cantillon style, while not as high as usual makes for a solid rewarding main middle and the dry bitter touches ground it. Around all this the rest of the rewarding complexities of the fruit roam and reward you.

This probably the best introduction to Cantillion I have seen. Delicious, fruity but reins in the more mouth puckering side of Cantillion without completely hiding the sourness. I never thought I would find an easy drinking Cantillon, and I still haven’t, but I feel this is the closest thing we will ever get to it and it is lovely.

Background: Sooo Fou’foune is a bit of a rude word it turns out. I am so innocent and had no idea until anyone told me. Honest. Anyway, an advantage of of drinking with others at Zwanze day is someone let me know the rude pun of the name. This is unusual in that it is a lambic made with apricots, which is very far from a standard lambic fruit choice. This is listed in “100 Belgian beers to try before you die” where they oddly say that the taste has “little or no apricot or peach” – I have seen arguments that this beer is at its best when very fresh, so possibly the fruit fades fast and I was very lucky to try it on tap at the aforementioned Zwanze day when it was, I presume, very fresh. I only did notes on this and the Zwanze day beer, but the tap list at the Zwanze day event at Moor Taproom was immense. Magic Lambic was on, Camerise, Menu Pineau, Nath and more. I wish I could have spread my drinking over several days so I was in good tasting condition to do notes on more! So many rare Cantillon beers I had never seen anywhere else. I looked up the abv for this online as it was not listed, most say 5.5% which is what I put. Some say 5%. So around that region.

Tasting Notes: Brussels Beer Project: Pico Nova – Zero West Coast IPA

Brussels Beer Project: Pico Nova – Zero West Coast IPA (Belgium: Low Alcohol: 0.3% ABV)

Visual: Clear browned gold. An inch of off white mounded head. Very little carbonation visible.

Nose: Ovaltine. Crushed bourbon biscuits. Malt chocolate. Musty hop character and bitterness. Choc orange. Brown bread and sour dough.

Body: Ovaltine. Greenery. Moderate hop bitterness. Slight iced tea. Slight toffee. Fresh calls to grapefruit.

Finish: Iced tea. Lemon pancakes. Moderate hop bitterness. Slight choc orange. Malt drinks. Dry coffee remains. Slight grapefruit hints in the air. Vanilla. Lightly peppery.

Conclusion: Generally when I think of a west coast IPA I think dry, an out of the way malt character, high hop bitterness and sometime a bit of hop fruitiness and/or tartness to go along with it.

This actually feels quite malt led, which is both odd for a west coast, and impressive for a low alcohol beer that can’t use too much of the malt to get the flavour. There is a lot of malt drinks, malt chocolate and even some dry toffee notes in there. Despite being traditionally sweet notes, they don’t express here in a very sweet way, so it isn’t like it tastes like a bigger, sweeter East Coast IPA – it is just a tad sweeter, darker and more present malt than you would expect from its description.

The hops are moderately bitter, prickly, with a bit of greenery amongst the notes. Not super heavy, but noticeable over the malt character so doing the job that hops should do. The hop flavours that come from that are subtly done. There is a gentle backing freshness that calls to grapefruit, and a slight sweetness to the chocolate malt that calls to choc orange. Nothing too out there, just a slight freshness and rounding sweetness that adds to that base.

Behind all this is a pretty savoury, bready basic character that, again, is weightier than expected. There are some slight low abv tells to this, mainly in a hint of that iced teas style, but generally its tendency is towards being more a neutral feeling middle than anything obviously low alcohol.

It is kind of west coast, but feels half east and half west coast overall – nothing too showy, though the slightly tart notes pick up as the beer goes on which is welcome. A reasonable beer that doesn’t quite fit a style or a theme, and can end up slightly indistinct in character as a result despite having some quite big feeling flavours in there.

Not bad, does the bitterness well, but needs a bit of sparkle to help it really work.

Background: Now most people who have been around this blog a while will know I love a good West Coast IPA. So, when I saw, as part of my recent batch of low alcohol beers from light drinks, that they were calling one a 0.3% abv west coast IPA it had my attention. Even more intriguing it is a Belgian brewery doing it, which is not what I would have expected. Went back to some classic 90s tunes with Garbage’s first self titled album for music. I still adore that album.