CantillonWatch

[matedog]

Westy is easy to get if you are ok paying 12 bucks a bottle online from Etre/BiaB.

Heady is pretty easy to get since it almost never sells out anymore.

I guess I'm asking if Westy is easier to get from the source via that phone system that I think they still have in place. Good to know about Heady though. I'm really just looking to see if formerly hyped beers are actually easier to get or if entering the more mainstream conscience has broadened the appeal to offset waning beer nerd enthusiasm.

 

[MikeG1]

I guess I'm asking if Westy is easier to get from the source via that phone system that I think they still have in place. Good to know about Heady though. I'm really just looking to see if formerly hyped beers are actually easier to get or if entering the more mainstream conscience has broadened the appeal to offset waning beer nerd enthusiasm.

Personally, with Focal now available, my last few VT trips I've bought Heady solely for friends and regular trade partners. Happy to send you some next time I go, which might not be for a few months though.

 

[jdoucet]

I do enjoy drinking Cantillon, I also go there from time to time to pop some bottles, but I also like to take some home with me. Some I share, some I trade with traders whom I trust, but I never sell bottles nor trade them for secondary. But as I said before, I don't have a problem with the limits or with the intermitted sales they did in the past. But more with the big announcement and its aftermath. And to be honest, I still don't know how you could start a sale on weekdays, keep selling for 4 days and then be surprised that you've run through all your stock and the backlash which followed.

I really hope that Jean finds a way to get his beer to fans, without most of the stock turning up on auction sites or "belgian" beer shops. Looking forward for Open Brewdays. Maybe we can share a bottle

Well then don't worry, Jean has a plan

As for the open brew days, I'll be working the Just Beer festival in Kortrijk, so that won't be happening. I'm at Cantillon every other tuesday though, around noon. For that breakfast for champs

 

[matedog]

Personally, with Focal now available, my last few VT trips I've bought Heady solely for friends and regular trade partners. Happy to send you some next time I go, which might not be for a few months though.

Thanks for the offer, but I was just using it as a top tier hyped beer that is no longer top tier hyped and see if once the beer nerd hype dies down if it does in fact become easier to get or if it gets broader appeal due to hype and continues to be in high demand.

 

[BelgianChris]

To go list today:
Gueuze
Kriek
Rdg
grand Cru bru

 

[daniel1]

To go list today:
Gueuze
Kriek
Rdg
grand Cru bru

No Fou?

 

[boogercrack]

No Fou?

No, Bru

 

[daniel1]

No, Bru

Grand Cru Bro-csella, right? Right?
































I'll show myself out.

 

[SinH4]

Since it never gets distro (except that one fundraiser time in like 2012), I don't have a good feel, but is Westy easier to get now than say 2010-2015?

Westy has always been one of the beers with the most ratings on Ratebeer. Yes, it's become easier to get in Europe, but that can mostly be attributed to the fact that there are more bottle shops popping up, so more beer available in general.

Getting through their phone line has always been a pain.

 

[oakhtar]

If you are someone who enjoys drinking Cantillon, you'll be able to buy some too. He'll probably make an announcement soon enough, or he'll just keep it under wraps and won't announce anything. Come open brewdays we'll know more.
Besides, I liked the system they had before. No waring, no nothing. One minute they sold stuff, the next there was "nothing available". I pop in regularly just to have a bottle on site, so you could just buy whenever...



Well, let's turn this around, not much sympathy for "insert country with popular beers". A lot of them are resellers/traders, hoarding "popular beer" to sell or trade them for "insert popular beer/style". (look at the recent ADWTD release)
See, I would love to be able to buy Abnormal stouts, just to name one. How are they going to be able to give me that chance. The Americans have plenty of opportunity to get their fix in, yet I can't buy them.
I don't think you have a clue about the cantillon distribution, but it's actually better in the US than it is in Belgium, so there's that too. Chances of finding a seasonal outside of the brewery are slim to none.
At least you get a slight chance with their online sales. None of the American breweries does that because for some reason they can't ship it here. That's just silly.

So you are kind of proving my point, the reason why locals are upset isn't they are losing access to affordable lambic, they are losing a source of their trade bait that was incredibly easy to get at one point. And let's be honest, it was incredibly easy to get bottles in the past.
And I am pretty sure I have a better clue about cantillon distribution then you have a clue about the US craft beer distribution. Cantillon does not sit on the shelf here, and I am talking classic gueuze bottles. If it gets put out, its gone in less than 2 hours. Good luck getting a bottle of Fou Foune for under $80 at a bar - if you can even find a bar that has it.
And within the US, I dont have access to Side Project, Abnormal, or Hill Farmstead. Its not like everyone in the US can get this stuff with ease. So you and I are in the same boat on beers like Abnormal - there is actually no difference.
My point was I dont buy the locals are losing a source of affordable lambic - it is incredibly easy to get if you just want to drink it yourself. They are just upset it is becoming harder to acquire to go. Welcome to the US beer world, where you have to line up for hours, enter lotteries, battle bots for online sales, and go visit breweries on other side of the country to get access to beers we want to try. So just to reiterate, I dont have sympathy for Belgians who had it extremely easy access, and could buy probably half dozen bottles of Fou during the fall and trade them for 10x of what they bought them for.

 

[bostonvert]

So you are kind of proving my point, the reason why locals are upset isn't they are losing access to affordable lambic, they are losing a source of their trade bait that was incredibly easy to get at one point. And let's be honest, it was incredibly easy to get bottles in the past.
And I am pretty sure I have a better clue about cantillon distribution then you have a clue about the US craft beer distribution. Cantillon does not sit on the shelf here, and I am talking classic gueuze bottles. If it gets put out, its gone in less than 2 hours. Good luck getting a bottle of Fou Foune for under $80 at a bar - if you can even find a bar that has it.
And within the US, I dont have access to Side Project, Abnormal, or Hill Farmstead. Its not like everyone in the US can get this stuff with ease. So you and I are in the same boat on beers like Abnormal - there is actually no difference.
My point was I dont buy the locals are losing a source of affordable lambic - it is incredibly easy to get if you just want to drink it yourself. They are just upset it is becoming harder to acquire to go. Welcome to the US beer world, where you have to line up for hours, enter lotteries, battle bots for online sales, and go visit breweries on other side of the country to get access to beers we want to try. So just to reiterate, I dont have sympathy for Belgians who had it extremely easy access, and could buy probably half dozen bottles of Fou during the fall and trade them for 10x of what they bought them for.

Not all the locals buy just as a trade bait... I'm only interested in lambic so I don't trade. And I have to say that I'm afraid of what the future will hold. I do not know a single shop in Belgium that actually gets special Cantillon bottles, except for maybe some super expensive places in Brussels/Bruges! So the brewery is my only option.

A fairly big drink shop thats been around for decades and has always supported Cantillon only gets 3 or 4 shipments a year of the regulars which last a few days tops so I have no idea where all these seasonal bottles end up.

 

[falc0n26001]

I’m not sure if people are aware of just how small Cantillon is. I remember reading that even after the expansion they started several years ago, their annual production would be increased to about 3,000 barrels. That’s really, really small. Hill Farmstead is what, 8,000? They sell most of their beer in and around northern Vermont! Cantillon can be found all over the world. It’s actislly a wonder we see any at all. I bought a 375ml Classic Gueuze yesterday for $12 but it was not on the shelf and not advertised, and at a specialty grocery store, not a beer bar.

It seems pretty obvious it sold out so fast because I’ve never seen Cantillon advertise a release like they did this one, especially with two very sought after bottles and one brand new bottle. I agree they should go the silent release route. Look at the new batch of Beatification, for instance, that stuck around much, much longer.

 

[oakhtar]

I’m not sure if people are aware of just how small Cantillon is. I remember reading that even after the expansion they started several years ago, their annual production would be increased to about 3,000 barrels. That’s really, really small. Hill Farmstead is what, 8,000? They sell most of their beer in and around northern Vermont! Cantillon can be found all over the world. It’s actislly a wonder we see any at all. I bought a 375ml Classic Gueuze yesterday for $12 but it was not on the shelf and not advertised, and at a specialty grocery store, not a beer bar.

It seems pretty obvious it sold out so fast because I’ve never seen Cantillon advertise a release like they did this one, especially with two very sought after bottles and one brand new bottle. I agree they should go the silent release route. Look at the new batch of Beatification, for instance, that stuck around much, much longer.

Hard to make the Hill Farmstead comparison without looking at the barrel production that is only dedicated to BA beer. You cant buy bottles outside the brewery, and most of their distribution and production is dedicated to kegs of IPAs or pilsner. Cantillon's distribution is pretty amazing. And I agree they should do silent releases.

 

[Saind]

Not all the locals buy just as a trade bait... I'm only interested in lambic so I don't trade. And I have to say that I'm afraid of what the future will hold. I do not know a single shop in Belgium that actually gets special Cantillon bottles, except for maybe some super expensive places in Brussels/Bruges! So the brewery is my only option.

A fairly big drink shop thats been around for decades and has always supported Cantillon only gets 3 or 4 shipments a year of the regulars which last a few days tops so I have no idea where all these seasonal bottles end up.

Search better. Cantillon isnt that hard to find yet. I posted three shops with seasonals on the last page

/Correction
In the Lambic thread

 

[rrryanc]

I guess I'm asking if Westy is easier to get from the source via that phone system that I think they still have in place. Good to know about Heady though. I'm really just looking to see if formerly hyped beers are actually easier to get or if entering the more mainstream conscience has broadened the appeal to offset waning beer nerd enthusiasm.

A few years back, they started selling 3 packs of Westy (12, 10 and 8 - if I remember correctly) that you could buy without calling ahead. Much easier to get than the old system.

Also, non-lambic Belgium beers fell out of favor to a large degree, which is a significant reason why it's easier to get now.

It wasn't the easiest to get the 6 packs when they come over to the states though, so it's not like the hype is all gone.

 

[loldor]

Following the recent discussion I just wanted to chime in as someone who occasionally visits the Brussels region specifically for Lambic. Perhaps it gives some perspective on a ‘semi-local’.

I’m from Holland and it’s a two hour round trip by car. I prefer sharing bottles with friends so most of what I buy is for takeaway. Over the years I’ve introduced more and more of my friends to lambic and many now enjoy drinking it. None of them were ‘into’ beer.

When I’m at a brewery or blender I love to get something to new or young lambic but I never really go out of my way to drink it at a bar nor do I go to festivals. I never have sold nor traded bottles away. In ~7-8 years I payed for one bottle online, blåbaer as an birthday gift for me girlfriend.

All in all, I make the trip 2-4 times per year. All I want is to be able to open ~4 bottles of Gueuze per month. Luckily plain Gueuze is my favorite. I don think it will come of it, but it would be a shame if it became more of a competition to get even that.

Drinking beer shouldn’t be this complicated.

 

[GetchaPull]

Over the years I’ve introduced more and more of my friends to lambic and many now enjoy drinking it. None of them were ‘into’ beer.

So, YOU'RE to blame...

 

[loldor]

So, YOU'RE to blame...

I’m the solution to my own problem, of course!

To set my karma straight, hit me up for a beer in Rotterdam!

 

[SeaWatchman]

Whoa. The last give pages of this thread have been a fun read.

It was in a fruiting tank when I visited early September. I’d imagine that much like 2013 and 2015 LPK, it will remain in house only, but I would be delightfully surprised to see it available for takeaway. Time will tell.

Just wanna throw this out there..... look how much Fou that is. This is a really good example of why beers at Cantillon are never "sold out". There will always be plenty of bottles left to open over time at the brewery, even if it's only one tank like the LPK is above there. Sorry I didn't see your question about LPK in the L.I thread until just now matedog. I'm curious if it's been bottled by now (I imagine it has been). I really do miss having bottles of LPK outside of the brewery though as their stock has no risen to the point where it's nearly impossible to trade for the older vintages.

I am kind of on board with what Jean has seemingly done in the past few years which was make more available on-site at the bar for longer periods of time with very short intervals of on-sale periods for one or two beers at a time maybe a few times a year. I think it was two or three years ago now that Lam and Vig were on sale to go like once a quarter for about a week at a time. I'm honestly kind of surprised that JVR announced the Nath/FF/LPF sale like he did, but I'm much less surprised by the outcome given what we saw at 3F Open Beer Days.

I’m not sure if people are aware of just how small Cantillon is.

This, this, this. What's really going to throw a wrench in a lot of this is a demonstrably shorter brewing season due to warmer temperatures and the fact that they physically can't produce more with the equipment they have because of the brewing schedule. When those two things start to intersect even more than they are now, we're going to see a real squeeze. For example, in the summer heatwave of 2003 they had to dump 6,000 liters from barrels because it was just too hot.

 

[bostonvert]

Is Mamouche 2017 available for takeout? Found 2 bottles for sale on a local website, fake or not?

 

[alexdepalex]

Not yet at Cantillon. It has seen limited distribution though.

 

[bostonvert]

Not yet at Cantillon. It has seen limited distribution though.

Not looking forward to the brewery release...fingers crossed

 

[daniel1]

Not looking forward to the brewery release...fingers crossed

It doesn’t have apricots or raspberries in it and it’s not a brand new beer, so I can’t imagine it would be nearly as ****** Fou/Nath/LPF. It can’t be, right?

 

[jdoucet]

It doesn’t have apricots or raspberries in it and it’s not a brand new beer, so I can’t imagine it would be nearly as ****** Fou/Nath/LPF. It can’t be, right?

You'd hope so... It's a limited release so it'll probably be just the same. Unless JVR implemented his new system by then

 

[matedog]

You'd hope so... It's a limited release so it'll probably be just the same. Unless JVR implemented his new system by then

GCB tends to stick around and that’s about as (relatively) unpopular as the ‘mouche.

 

[jdoucet]

GCB tends to stick around and that’s about as (relatively) unpopular as the ‘mouche.

Is GCB even limited? I've never noticed that tbh.

 

[BelgianChris]

Is GCB even limited? I've never noticed that tbh.

Yes , last time it was to-go there was a 1 pp limit I believe.

Unless JVR implemented his new system by then

Which new system ? Tell us more

 

[GetchaPull]

Is GCB even limited? I've never noticed that tbh.

Somewhat, at least. It pops on and off the to-go menu throughout the year, at 1pp. I'm sure it's not very "limited" in terms of bottle count though.

 

[sunnrider]

After Gueuze, Kriek and Gambrinus, GCB is probably the easiest to get hold of.
I´m not really a fan of it but I have a bunch from various years gathering dust to see if my palate or the bottles improve with age.

 

[MooseLang]

After Gueuze, Kriek and Gambrinus, GCB is probably the easiest to get hold of.
I´m not really a fan of it but I have a bunch from various years gathering dust to see if my palate or the bottles improve with age.

I had a 2009 label GCB a few months ago that knocked my tits clean off. Seems that GCB really hits a stride after 4-5 years.