“Blend of lambics and raspberries – 200 g of raspberries per litre of beer. Beer with a slightly acidic, fruity and fragrant taste. Just like kriek, the “fruitiness” of Rosé de Gambrinus is at its best when the beer is young. With age the lambic will take the upper hand, but this is at the expense of the fruit component.”
Glassware: Stemmed tulip.
Appearance: Raspberry coloured pour with a short washed out pink head on top. It slowly fades and leaves a wet lace drag in its wake.
Aroma: Lots and lots of the finest raspberry! Fresh, candied and jammy. It’s matched by a heady dose of tart lemon/lime juice, cranberry, red wine vinegar and more delicate oak tannins. Somewhat of an earthy funk which yields farmyard spice, hay and wheaty grains. This really is a sensational aroma…. perfectly balanced and so well structured.
Flavour: Certainly packs a lot more acetic punch as opposed to the aroma. Again, tonnes of raspberry albeit a lot more tart and funky. Big presence of lemon and lime juice, mild red wine vinegar but lifted farmyard grains, earthy notes and raspberry sherbet forming late in the piece. Some musty-ness becoming dry and citric in the finish.
Mouthfeel: Mostly tart and effervescent – almost like a sparkling wine. Acidity is moderate with light body. 5% AbV is expectedly hidden but adds to the beers overall session ability.
Overall: Really digging Cantillon at the moment, even though it’s not really the right weather for it! Guess that goes to show the quality in the product. This is just a perfect balance between sweet and sour fruits with that lovely funk/farmyard character at the base. Solid drop.