Cantillon Classic Gueuze

Cantillon • Belgium

Cantillon Gueuze is the quintessential Belgian beer – a perfect blend of one, two, and three year-old lambics. Tart and slightly acidic, Cantillon Gueuze is the real champagne of beers. It is fermented only with wild airborne yeasts from the Senne Valley in Brussels and is aged in centuries-old oak casks. It also certified organic in Belgium. A true world classic that will thrill the true beer connoisseur.

During the late winter and early spring, the Cantillon family brewers will match and blend one, two, and three-year old lambics to arrive at a balanced texture and flavor. Generally, younger lambic is thinner, livelier, and milder on the palate; the older lambic is harder, more complex, and resoundingly sour. The beer in every cask is unique, however, and one three-year old lambic may taste radically different from another. There is no formula for blending, and no expectation of consistency from year to year. Master brewer Jean-Pierre Van Roy says merely that he hopes to achieve the same “harmony” each time.

The artfully blended lambic is bottled immediately, and another wondrous event occurs: the mixture of lambic from several different casks sparks a second fermentation in the bottle. This is the essence of the méthode champenoise by which champagne is made. The end product is called “gueuze.” A few months’ time in the bottle “conditions” the beer – building carbonation, and concentrating and organizing the flavors. Under proper storage conditions, fermentation in the bottle will continue for years.

Cantillon Gueuze is given four star “World Classic” rating by Michael Jackson, and is a five star “World Beater,” according to Tim Webb (CAMRA Good Beer Guide to Belgium).

Style: Lambic

ABV: 5.00%

Packaging: 375ml cork-finished bottles, 750ml cork-finished bottles, 30L kegs

Brewer Website: http://www.cantillon.be/

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