Lambic Discussion Thread

[SeaWatchman]

Just for reference Michigan , as far as I know there have been 3 and only one was a lambic (and the one above I suppose, would be the fourth).

 

[HenrikO]

Addition: it's called Nomad precisely because it "wanders" from brewery to brewery.

 

[Michigan1]

Just for reference Michigan , as far as I know there have been 3 and only one was a lambic (and the one above I suppose, would be the fourth).

and this:

2012. An Old Ale brewed by an Italian brewer. I assume the new one is 2013

 

[Michigan1]

Addition: it's called Nomad precisely because it "wanders" from brewery to brewery.

 

[LukeAleTime]

Bottled almost exactly a year ago. Obviously lost some aroma but drinking beautifully.

 

[ExPimp]

Funky as ****. Bleu cheese, Bretty citrus and earthy as ****. Fantastic and I'm glad I decided to open this.

 

[mrk_d]

Drank a 2013 Mamouche earlier - it was pretty good but not my favorite Cantillon variant. I got a little green bell pepper people complain about, but not too much to make the beer unenjoyable. That said, I probably won't seek this out again; I prefer Cantillon's gueuze and grape lambics.

One thing was weird - there was liquid that had worked its way from the bottle and had reached the top of the cork. I didn't notice any off characteristics in the beer and it was still carbonated, but has anyone seen this before in Cantillon bottles? It kind of makes me worry about aging them long-term. This was stored upright too...

 

[stupac2]

One thing was weird - there was liquid that had worked its way from the bottle and had reached the top of the cork. I didn't notice any off characteristics in the beer and it was still carbonated, but has anyone seen this before in Cantillon bottles? It kind of makes me worry about aging them long-term. This was stored upright too...

In my experience that happens in like 80% of Cantillon bottles, no matter how they're stored*. I'm surprised you haven't noticed it before, actually. In some of the older bottles it can get pretty gross, sometimes even black like it's moldy. Even when it's not bad it does smell spoiled, or something. But I have never noticed it actually affecting the taste of the beer. Most of the time I don't bother doing anything with it, but if it smells/looks bad then I mop it up with a napkin or something before removing the cork.

*I don't think storage here matters at all because Cantillon boxes (for the 750's, at least) are the kind that pack horizontally. And they're all stored horizontally at the brewery. So no matter how you got your Cantillon bottles, they were horizontal for a significant amount of time. If you got them from a US shelf, they were horizontal during the shipping process, so they were horizontal AND being agitated fairly aggressively. I think that if that leakage hasn't occurred by the time a bottle gets into the US, it won't occur from tame horizontal storage in a cellar. But I could be wrong.

 

[mrk_d]

In my experience that happens in like 80% of Cantillon bottles, no matter how they're stored*. I'm surprised you haven't noticed it before, actually. In some of the older bottles it can get pretty gross, sometimes even black like it's moldy. Even when it's not bad it does smell spoiled, or something. But I have never noticed it actually affecting the taste of the beer. Most of the time I don't bother doing anything with it, but if it smells/looks bad then I mop it up with a napkin or something before removing the cork.

I guess I did have this on a 2010 St. Lam I opened a few months ago. I was mostly surprised that this happened in a 2013 bottle; I got the 2010 St. Lam via trade so I assumed it was on its side for years. I've opened ~4-5 2013 loons in the last 6 months and none of them have had saturated corks.

 

[LukeAleTime]

I would agree with about 80%. It's not something that surprises me now.

I put my hand on my 2013 Mamouche on the weekend but thought better of it. Sounds like I made the right call. Reading other reviews online suggests it could do with a bit more mellowing

 

[Rowingbrewer1]

not all the corks are going to seal perfectly from day one. but since the cork can absorb a bit of liquid and expand/contract a good seal is eventually made with almost all bottles. I have seen both ends of the spectrum on this. recently opened brabantiae and that had the black disgusting moldy looking liquid on top of the cork, but the beer underneath was still good. The 2011 blabaer we opened had blue liquid above the cork, and the 2001 LPG we opened had a bone dry cork on top with a perfect seal. So basically if the cork didn't seal just right on day one it can still creat a better seal over the course of a few days.

 

[mrk_d]

Alright who has a couple hundred burning a hole in your pocket?

http://shop.mikkeller.dk/shop/beer/goosens-lambic1957-1962/

 

[Rowingbrewer1]

Alright who has a couple hundred burning a hole in your pocket?

http://shop.mikkeller.dk/shop/beer/goosens-lambic1957-1962/

so do they just buy up old cellars in bulk and sell the bottles slowly for massive profits?

 

[stupac2]

so do they just buy up old cellars in bulk and sell the bottles slowly for massive profits?

Wouldn't you?

 

[Rowingbrewer1]

Wouldn't you?

not bashing their practices, just trying to get an idea where they are getting the bottles

 

[stupac2]

not bashing their practices, just trying to get an idea where they are getting the bottles

They'd probably tell you if you asked, since with that sort of thing provenance is pretty important. But, judging from how often you hear about it, some old guy with a crazy cellar dies in Belgium once or twice a year.

 

[beerinnv]

They'd probably tell you if you asked, since with that sort of thing provenance is pretty important. But, judging from how often you hear about it, some old guy with a crazy cellar dies in Belgium once or twice a year.

Such a shame for these people not to have enjoyed their lambic prior to checking out

 

[Rowingbrewer1]

They'd probably tell you if you asked, since with that sort of thing provenance is pretty important. But, judging from how often you hear about it, some old guy with a crazy cellar dies in Belgium once or twice a year.

Not that I am on the lookout for such things, but I never here about this happening.

 

[stupac2]

Not that I am on the lookout for such things, but I never here about this happening.

Well, Chris Lively mentioned it in that video linked in the other thread. I remember there was a big to-do about it happening just before I joined BA in late 2011, where some guy found some Brabantiae and other stuff in his grandfather's cellar. And a guy I met in Belgium mentioned it happening to his fiancee. It's possible some or all of these are the same event (though I think it would be at least 2), but either way it seems odd how often it's happening.

 

[Rowingbrewer1]

Well, Chris Lively mentioned it in that video linked in the other thread. I remember there was a big to-do about it happening just before I joined BA in late 2011, where some guy found some Brabantiae and other stuff in his grandfather's cellar. And a guy I met in Belgium mentioned it happening to his fiancee. It's possible some or all of these are the same event (though I think it would be at least 2), but either way it seems odd how often it's happening.

now that you mention it, i remember years back someone finding 1950s or 60s hanssens in their Grandfathers cellar. but I would expect this to happen more than 1-2 times per year. unless their family are gueuze lovers too and just assume keep the bottles.

 

[LukeAleTime]

I can see this happening in 40-50 years in non Belgian countries. Wonder how many cellars are going to be uncovered with 2014 DLs etc etc.

Drink it now. You're all gonna die.

 

[regularjohn]

finally gonna try LP framboise its a 2009 sticker on the bottle, i don't think it needs to be a special occasion to open a bottle. acquire beer and DRINK IT. plus i didn't get to try it on zwanze day so im looking forward to having this

 

[matedog]

finally gonna try LP framboise its a 2009 sticker on the bottle, i don't think it needs to be a special occasion to open a bottle. acquire beer and DRINK IT. plus i didn't get to try it on zwanze day so im looking forward to having this

Nice. I sat on my one white whale for maybe three months before opening it on a nice weekend out of town with the lady. No regrets.

 

[regularjohn]

Nice. I sat on my one white whale for maybe three months before opening it on a nice weekend out of town with the lady. No regrets.

i was gonna wait till my bday....but thats not till august lol i don't think i can wait that long. hopefully i can acquire another loon for that

 

[LukeAleTime]

i was gonna wait till my bday....but thats not till august lol i don't think i can wait that long. hopefully i can acquire another loon for that

I've just started rotating one or two cellar beers into my fridge. I realised when I had a Struise Grand Reserva that was past it's best, I was wasting beers.

Best time to drink nice beers, is the time you drink the nice beer.

 

[stupac2]

I've just started rotating one or two cellar beers into my fridge. I realised when I had a Struise Grand Reserva that was past it's best, I was wasting beers.

Best time to drink nice beers, is the time you drink the nice beer.

What Struise Grand Reserva? Because Pannepot can go for a while, at least IMO.

 

[LukeAleTime]

It was a 2009 but a 330cl. I had a 750cl 2010 a week later and it was outstanding.

So bottle size was probably a factor here. It wasn't horrible by any means, but 6 months or a year less and it would've been perfect.

 

[ExPimp]

What Struise Grand Reserva? Because Pannepot can go for a while, at least IMO.

I finally drank my 2005 750ml about 4 months ago.... A shell of its former self. I definitely think 1-4yrs is perfect for the Grand Reserva, but all their beers have a bit of variation, so YMMV.

 

[LukeAleTime]

It was a 2009 but a 330cl. I had a 750cl 2010 a week later and it was outstanding.

So bottle size was probably a factor here. It wasn't horrible by any means, but 6 months or a year less and it would've been perfect.

33 and 75* - used to using mls etc.

I finally drank my 2005 750ml about 4 months ago.... A shell of its former self. I definitely think 1-4yrs is perfect for the Grand Reserva, but all their beers have a bit of variation, so YMMV.

I'd agree with that. For the ones I've had 3 years is tops.

Belg in a Box has 2005 33cl atm, which I'm tempted to try, just out of curiosity

(thread derailing like a maniac).

 

[Rowingbrewer1]

So a few weeks ago I mentioned here that I was drinking blauw. At the time I was pretty excited to try it but was unimpressed with it. That was also the general consensus of the group. Certain whales were worth it others were not and blauw was the biggest disappointment. I actually opened a 4 year old cuvée Rene with a brown bag over it and had people try it withou knowing what it was. People really liked it and 2 people guessed what it was one said cantillon, the other said Tilquin. Everyone really enjoyed it. I asked several people later and they said it was better than the blauw and I agreed. These beers were drank back to back. I know at 10+ years a lot of things can happen but everyone praises blauw so much and I was wondering if anyone else had this experience with blauw. We also had other beers that ate or older that were better