Lambic Discussion Thread

[tehzachatak]

Have you had this year's yet? It's seriously disappointing. Very little fruit flavor.

I have just made it clear I have no idea what I'm talking about, but isn't that the opposite of what Jean said? Didn't he say this year's apricots and cherries for LPK were better than usual and so the beer was more fruit flavored (and then the opposite for Mamouche)?

 

[stupac2]

I have just made it clear I have no idea what I'm talking about, but isn't that the opposite of what Jean said? Didn't he say this year's apricots and cherries for LPK were better than usual and so the beer was more fruit flavored (and then the opposite for Mamouche)?

No idea, I haven't seen that quote anywhere. All I know is that the bottle of 2013 that I opened last night was supremely disappointing, and I've heard nothing but bad things about this batch so far.

 

[tehzachatak]

No idea, I haven't seen that quote anywhere. All I know is that the bottle of 2013 that I opened last night was supremely disappointing, and I've heard nothing but bad things about this batch so far.

Cantillon Facebook status:

Let's go!!
Due to the cold and chilly spring, flavors of elder flowers were less mighty and we taste it in the beer.
Fortunately, summer was warm and sunny, apricots and Schaerbeek cherries gave us more flavors than last year.
Those beers are available in small quantities: 6 bottles maximum p/p for Fou'foune and Mamouche, 3 bottles max for Lou Pepe Kriek. This to stay as fair as possible to everyone.

I am entirely more likely to believe your/others firsthand tasting notes, but I nevertheless find this interesting!

 

[buzzword]

I also have never had FF. This gives me sad feels.

 

[HenrikO]

I've had the '13 and in my view it's as wonderful as ever, maybe a bit more yeast character (it was certainly very cloudy) than usually. Tried it along with a '12 and the '12 had definitely lost some fruit.

 

[GetchaPull]

Have you had this year's yet? It's seriously disappointing. Very little fruit flavor.

That sucks Stu. The bottle I had last week was the, ahem, fruitiest FF I've had to date...save on cask at ML Fontainas. Super aromatic and sweet. Sounds like some serious bottle variation. As a comparison, every 2012 I had was muted apricot. Hope the next one you try is like the one I just had.

 

[Dunt1]

Just wait until you have one that's been aged 6+ years

Fou is best consumed in under a year

 

[deeblo]

Fou is best consumed in under a year

I'll happily trade some fresh Fou Foune with anyone that has aged bottles

 

[SeaWatchman]

Fou is best consumed in under a year

My bottles of 2005 say otherwise.

But the bottle from 2004 probably agrees.

My bottle from 2010 might disagree as well, but my 2011 and 2012 bottles are still forming an opinion.

 

[Dunt1]

My bottles of 2005 say otherwise.

But the bottle from 2004 probably agrees.

My bottle from 2010 might disagree as well, but my 2011 and 2012 bottles are still forming an opinion.

Your and I's experience really differ on the 2005 then because the one I had was an acidic bomb. I enjoy the subtle nuance of fresh fou, not the bracing acidity of the aged.

 

[franch]

Does there exist a better fruited lambic than Fou Foune? I'm seriously trying to think of one.

cable car kriek? awas are sort of like lambics right? LYMI

Have you had this year's yet? It's seriously disappointing. Very little fruit flavor.

goddamnit it wasn't just my bottle?

 

[mojo1]

goddamnit it wasn't just my bottle?

While I've only had the 2013, it was no where near what I was expecting. If it was blind, I'm not sure I would have identified it as a fruit lambic.

 

[Dsal891]

Ohhhh all you guys and your fancy lambic talk



....I love you

 

[stupac2]

goddamnit it wasn't just my bottle?

This thread is the first time I've heard good things about the 2013. It seems like bad bottles are pretty common.

 

[Chest Rockwell]

I had a 2001 or 2003 FF (label said 03, but cork was 01) a few months ago that still had a significant amount of fruit flavor. It was very sour and extremely funky. It is hard to say if it was better than fresh, but it was great.

 

[KeKeKumba]

That's....not what I wanted to read. I just got three 2013 bottles last month (albeit, from the brewery, didn't exactly break the bank). I shall find out in a few weeks.

 

[Dsal891]

Can someone give me more info about the dates on the tilquin neck label. I imagine has something to do with when it was bottled but I'd like to know more.

Cheers

 

[ASUBeer]

Can someone give me more info about the dates on the tilquin neck label. I imagine has something to do with when it was bottled but I'd like to know more.

Cheers

This is probably only somewhat right, but...

Tilquin is a blend of Cantillon, Boon and one other lambic. It's also only a 2 year blend as opposed to 3 years (hence the dates on the neck being 2 years). I'm not sure the % or vintages of the blend though.

The 2011/2012 is fantastic right now. A lot better than 2012/2013 IMO.

 

[ASUBeer]

I also think the dates on the neck correspond to the vintages blended ie: 1 year and 2 year old lambic.

 

[Adam Jackson]

The way I heard it is only the 2010 /11 label was a 2 year. The rest are true Oude Gueuze as in 3 years.

And I agree. I always check Tilquin dates in stores and ask people for the 2010 bottling. it is my favorite and I only have a few of them left. Always ISO 2010 Tilquin.

 

[SeaWatchman]

The way I heard it is only the 2010 /11 label was a 2 year. The rest are true Oude Gueuze as in 3 years.

And I agree. I always check Tilquin dates in stores and ask people for the 2010 bottling. it is my favorite and I only have a few of them left. Always ISO 2010 Tilquin.

Dsal89, try this thread: http://www.talkbeer.com/community/threads/general-lambic-geuze-resources.1332/

And more specifically this spreadsheet that I started (though haven't really entered much in as of late, so I need to do that): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgeHWXfDSjjYdEE5ZU9INGprZHJPSFZuU3BrUWcxR3c#gid=0

 

[Dsal891]

Thanks everyone! Recently just got 2011/2012 and 2010/2011

 

[MordorMongo]

FWIW 11/12 Tilquin is coming on strong. 10/11 will always be an outlier as it is a slightly different animal. Full disclosure as this may be incorrect, but I think only 10/11 has cantillon in it? Anyone?

 

[Der Fuchs]

FWIW 11/12 Tilquin is coming on strong. 10/11 will always be an outlier as it is a slightly different animal. Full disclosure as this may be incorrect, but I think only 10/11 has cantillon in it? Anyone?

that is what was told around here when it was first released.

 

[Der Fuchs]

This is probably only somewhat right, but...

Tilquin is a blend of Cantillon, Boon and one other lambic. It's also only a 2 year blend as opposed to 3 years (hence the dates on the neck being 2 years). I'm not sure the % or vintages of the blend though.

The 2011/2012 is fantastic right now. A lot better than 2012/2013 IMO.

The way I heard it is only the 2010 /11 label was a 2 year. The rest are true Oude Gueuze as in 3 years.

And I agree. I always check Tilquin dates in stores and ask people for the 2010 bottling. it is my favorite and I only have a few of them left. Always ISO 2010 Tilquin.

i was under the impression that the bottles are 3 year but they did a different beer on draft that was only a 2 year blend. maybe it was the other way around. i dont know who is right but i do know when tilquin first hit we did a side by side of the draft and bottle and they were completely different. it was explained to me that the 2 year reference on the label is more a comment on the season it was released. does anyone have any actual info from tilquin? i would love to be set strait for future reference.

 

[Der Fuchs]

The Gueuze Tilquin - draught version (4.8% alc/vol) is a spontaneous fermented beer, produced by blending a low alcohol lambic (called Meerts) and 1 and 2 years old lambics, all fermented and aged in oak barrels. It is unfiltered and unpasteurized, and it is refermented in the keg. The lambics used were fermented and oak aged in our installations. These lambics are coming from worts brewed by Boon, Lindemans, Girardin and Cantillon breweries.

Oude Gueuze Tilquin à l’Ancienne (6.0% alc/vol) is a spontaneous fermentation beer, produced from the blending of 1, 2 and 3 years old lambics. It is unfiltered and unpasteurized, and refermented in the bottle for at least 6 months. The lambics used were fermented and oak aged in our installations. These lambics are coming from worts brewed by Boon, Lindemans, Girardin and Cantillon breweries.

answered my own question...

 

[callmemickey]

it was explained to me that the 2 year reference on the label is more a comment on the season it was released.

This is correct. Think of it like the NFL. Each NFL "year" carries over. Same in the lambic world. Lambic typically is not brewed during the summer since it is too hot for brewing/bottling/blending given the temperature sensitive nature of spontaneous fermentation. For example, the 2013-2014 bottling "vintage" will be bottled between late August 2013 (at the earliest) and early June 2014 (at the latest).

 

[boogercrack]

novice to early-intermediate lambic drinker here, basic question:

what's the cause of burnt rubber/tire flavors that sometimes come up?

from messing around recently, i seem to be more sensitive to it if i've eaten a lot of salt through the day, or have pretty gnarly palate fatigue going on. i also seem to pick it up more at colder serving temperatures, and younger gueuzes. last night, i put a bottle of 3f og (jan 2013 bottling) in the fridge for a couple hours, and each glass i poured i noticed less. had the bottle sitting out on the table throughout consuming it, over the course of 90 minutes or so. probably originally popped in the high 40*F range or so, and warmed over time.

it's been pretty prevalent to me in the couple of bottles of this vintage i've consumed, but haven't noticed it on older bottles. so, where i'm going is, is this something that gets cleaned up over time, or are other factors skewing my experiences? i don't recall ever getting any in the 2009 or 2010 375s i drank. also, i seem to pick up on it a lot more with 3f than cantillon or tilquin or similar age.

phenols? i doubt it'd be chlorophenol. but wtf do i know.

i've had my bottles stored in a dark central closet in cases, and keep the house at 72*F. don't have a proper cellar fridge yet. however, with such young bottles i'd assume that this wouldn't be something created by storage conditions, when i've only had the bottles for a few months.

maybe other environmental elements are causing me to have a heightened sensitivity to something. idk. it's distracting enough to be irritating and overpower the bright lemony fruity sourness for me, which is a shame.

or maybe my tongue is a ******.

 

[stupac2]

novice to early-intermediate lambic drinker here, basic question:

what's the cause of burnt rubber/tire flavors that sometimes come up?

from messing around recently, i seem to be more sensitive to it if i've eaten a lot of salt through the day, or have pretty gnarly palate fatigue going on. i also seem to pick it up more at colder serving temperatures, and younger gueuzes. last night, i put a bottle of 3f og (jan 2013 bottling) in the fridge for a couple hours, and each glass i poured i noticed less. had the bottle sitting out on the table throughout consuming it, over the course of 90 minutes or so. probably originally popped in the high 40*F range or so, and warmed over time.

it's been pretty prevalent to me in the couple of bottles of this vintage i've consumed, but haven't noticed it on older bottles. so, where i'm going is, is this something that gets cleaned up over time, or are other factors skewing my experiences? i don't recall ever getting any in the 2009 or 2010 375s i drank. also, i seem to pick up on it a lot more with 3f than cantillon or tilquin or similar age.

phenols? i doubt it'd be chlorophenol. but wtf do i know.

i've had my bottles stored in a dark central closet in cases, and keep the house at 72*F. don't have a proper cellar fridge yet. however, with such young bottles i'd assume that this wouldn't be something created by storage conditions, when i've only had the bottles for a few months.

maybe other environmental elements are causing me to have a heightened sensitivity to something. idk. it's distracting enough to be irritating and overpower the bright lemony fruity sourness for me, which is a shame.

or maybe my tongue is a ******.

I don't think I've ever experienced this in any lambic...

 

[boogercrack]

see, this would be the most disheartening answer; that it's something entirely with me, and nothing to do with the beer.

when i do not notice it, it's my favorite style of all beers. when i do, it's hard to drink at all.