Yes I Can(tillon)

Beer #663 Sampler  / Brasserie Cantillon, Brussels, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: a Lambic, a Gueuze, and a Gueuze

I wrote this a while back, but haven't published yet.  So here we go:

After we dropped the touring bikes off, we reclaimed our luggage and took the train back to Brussels.  Our cycling tour was over, but not officially over until we made a stop at Cantillon, a 113 year old brewery not far from the center of Brussels.  So cool to meet the people there and see that while the world changes around them, they have no intention of changing absolutely anything.  They just want to produce the best beer they can, made in a traditional style.  And, let me tell you, mission accomplished.  If you ever get a chance to order a Cantillon, do it. Please. I 100% guarantee you won't be sorry. In addition to being able to drink Westy 12 from Sint Sixtus, the visit to Cantillon was one of the reasons I wanted to go on this trip.

If only I could get one of these barrels in my carry-on bag....

After touring their ancient machinery and crawling around in the attic (see above) where they age beer, I found myself at the best point of any brewery tour: the tasting room.

Lunch is served!

In addition to trying a young spontaneously fermented lambic and a gueuze (which  is a blend of young and old lambics), I was able to sample most everything else they had available in bottles, as the Beercycling group purchased one of literally everything they had.  Some of the more rare and unusual beers sampled were:
Saint Lamvinus - a lambic made with Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes and aged in Bordeaux barrels. An absolutely unbelievable blend of tart fruit, grapes, and oak
Vigneronne - a lambic made with white Muscat grapes from Italy and barrel aged.  Funky with some grape sweetness, this may have been my favorite all day.
Zwanze Day 2012 - a rare lambic brewed for a special simultaneous release at a limited number of bars around the world.  The 2012 version was a lambic brewed with rhubarb, which created a really unusual but pleasant tart taste that I loved.  First time I ever had rhubarb in my beer.

Those are the three beers in order on the right in the photo, for the life of me I can't remember what was on the far left.  Had to be a one off beer that they produced for something special, as it didn't have a label on the bottle.  There were others sampled as well, but at some point you just have to stop taking notes and pictures and sit back and appreciate one of the great destinations in the entire beer world.  And the best part of visiting Cantillon in person?  The bottles were something like 8 Euro, which is less than $12.  Good luck finding some of the rarest and most coveted beers in the world for $12 at your local bar.  And yes, three bottles came home in my suitcase.....

Thing to Think About Today:
In the spirit of Cant(illon), I'm giving you some Can't.  As in, Can't Take My Eyes Off of You.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrPxc-r3KSs

"You're just too good to be true...."

Day 620: Cantillon at the End of the Road

This is me after riding my bike nearly 250 miles. I'm smiling so that's a good sign, right? Looking back at this trip..at all the amazing beer and food...thinking about the great job that Evan and Henk did to keep us organized, entertained and safe...recalling all the adventures with the other Beercyclists, the only thing I can say now is that this truly was a trip of a lifetime.

I still have some random reviews scribbled here and there and some photos that don't seem to have reviews but nothing matches up. So I'm calling a wrap on the Beercycling posts with tonight's installment, but I retain the right to look back nostalgically in the coming days and weeks if manage to find more photos and track down more beer notes.

And while our tenth and final brewery on the tour was Cantillon, I'm not closing out with a Cantillon Brewery review. I'm going with a Cantillon review of a beer that I had on our first night in Brussels at a bar called Moeder Lambic. While some people would have tried something else knowing that they would be at the Cantillon Brewery ten days later, that's not my style. I wanted all the Cantillon I could get while in Belgium!

This is the Cantillon Lambic, which was on cask. It poured a slightly hazy, but bright gold color with a loose white head. It had a lemony and buttery aroma. The flavor was minerally--kind of like sucking rocks. (You know, because I do that all the time and totally know what rocks taste like.) There was also a terrific tartness. It was also insanely dry, which challenged me to find other more subtle flavors but there was the typical funky mustiness.

Beer stats
Style: Lambic
ABV: 5%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Excellent

Previously reviewed from Cantillon
His and hers reviews of the gueuze

Beer 254: Cantillon Gueuze

I have not been kind to myself these past few days and it's catching up to me.  SourFest, extra spicy pad Thai, three courses of Creole deliciousness, every pickled vegetable known to mankind, chili for lunch and chili for dinner.  That sums up what I've consumed in the past three days. Perhaps it's not my allergies making my eyes itch like crazy...they just may be melting from the inside out from all the spiciness.  Tomorrow I swear I'm eating nothing but iceberg lettuce.

Saturday's SourFest kicked off with a Cantillon Gueuze. This is the holy grail of gueuzes. Check out the process to come up with a finished product here. That is a whole lot of care and craft and you can taste it in every sip!  The Cantillon Gueuze poured a bright beautiful gold color with a white head that settled down rather quickly.  It had a smell that was earth and minerals.  The taste was dry with lemon tartness.  There's mineral notes and some additional tart fruit...like a very green apple. It's very light to drink and the carbonation is perfection -- bubbly but not aggressive.

This is the standard bearer for the genre. Cheers!

The Day I Made a Friend

Beer #253 Cantillon Gueuze / Brasserie Cantillon, Brussels, Belgium

I woke up early, and couldn't get back to sleep this morning, so I did what any other sane person would do at 5:30am - laced up the Sauconys and went out for a long run.  It felt like a fall morning out there; crisp, cool, with a little breeze and (once the sun came up) beautiful blue skies.  I did stop staring at the sunrise long enough to notice a cat chasing me.  Not a stray dog, not a paperboy out on his route, a cat.  Eventually, I stopped to see what was going on, because I've never been chased by a cat before and I wasn't sure what to do.  The whole episode struck me as unusual.  Once he caught up (it didn't take long, I don't run very fast) he casually did that thing cats do where they figure eight around your legs, rub themselves on your shins, and purr a lot.  We sat for a few minutes on the curb, with me scratching his head, as though everyone who came by had to pay a toll before moving on.  Eventually, he found something else to distract him in another yard and moved on to his next morning activity.  But for a moment, we were the only living creatures out in the world, enjoying a beautiful morning and welcoming the sunrise together.  Felt kind of nice.  Wish I brought my phone to snap some pics.

Saturday was a huge success, as we managed to cross a good number of beers and breweries off the list courtesy of the amazing beer lists at Devil's Den and The Farmers' Cabinet.  Even if you're not a ridiculous beer geek, if you're in the city of Brotherly Love and want some fantastic beer options, either place is guaranteed to have something you like.

When we reviewed the list of beers from our West Coast vacation, I conscientiously saved the best ones for last.  For yesterday's adventure, I'm reversing that and starting with one the best beers I had all day, the Cantillon Gueuze.  This beer is referred to as "the champagne of Belgium," not so much because the taste resembles champagne, but more so for the status of champagne being a superior beverage.  In the glass, this gueuze has a clear, effervescent color and a thin white head.  Your nose is greeted with a tart, funky aroma, and when you take a sip you instantly get tart and sour.  There are flavors of lemon, grass, and green apple, with a very dry finish.  Just amazing.  Definitely one of the best beers I've had all year, and it is definitely moving to my Top 25.

That's nice....

Cantillon was started in 1900 by Paul Cantillon, and the operation has continued relatively unchanged since then, with the exception of switching to organic ingredients in 1999.  The next time you hear a macro-brewery cite "fresher beer tastes better" in their ad campaign, you can go ahead and laugh out loud at them - a bottle of Cantillon can be aged for over 20 years.  Shitty beer tastes better fresh, perhaps.

Thing to Think About Today:
In the spirit of my new friend, Sunrise Cat, I hereby close out today's post with Morning Sky by Dan Fogelberg.  Can't even begin to pretend I'm a big Fogelberg fan, but this song was always in the rotation when John Cunningham would play his acoustic sets in various bars around State College.  I am, as is everyone who graduated from Penn State from 1990 - 2002 or so, a huge John Cunningham fan, and because I can't find any JC videos on Youtube, you get the original:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUUn_DB22Ts