Cantillon Spuyten Duyvil

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

2005 Bottle # 034 of 168, Sampled August 2007
Almost completely devoid of carbonation, at first it seems to be still, but there is some slight carbonation here. The beer is brilliantly clear and shows a bright gold color mixed with a hint of reddish pigment. The aroma is quite fruity, it almost even has an artificial cranberry note to it; this is not the dominant note, but I am quite surprised by how noticeable it is. The beer is quite funky, I haven’t smelled a properly funky beer in too long. Notes of oak, must cotton, slightly leathery, something like a woody mushroom, notes of urea and definitely sour. The sour aromatics are actually tempered quite a bit by the substantial fruit presence; the fruit reminds me of cranberry skins, artificial berry essence, . As my nose gets used to the beer a definite Brettanomyces driven funk becomes noticeable. Towards the finish, if you really dig for it, is a solid, toasty grain character that smells of fresh crushed wheat malt.

A very faint carbonation provides a hint of a tickle as it hits my tongue. The beer is quite sour, but for some reason seems note nearly as hard as I was expecting from Cantillon. Still this is definitely quite tart and sour; lactic acid notes are dominant, but overtures of citrus, urea and a hint of acetic character is noticeable. This is quite funky with interesting phenolics and lots of esters providing the following flavors at times: smoky plastic, grapefruit, Band-Aids and aspirin.

What about the cranberry, well it is here in the taste as well. My palate had to adjust to the Lambic notes, but now that it has I can taste the cranberry contribution in the finish; notes of artificial berries, astringent cranberry skins, and of course straight up cranberries are noticeable, though it is still fairly muted. Interestingly enough the cranberry notes in this remind me a lot of a cranberry mead I made; somehow they both had a sort of fake cranberry character to them, and they both seemed to accentuate some sharp phenolic notes as well. Despite that the cranberry notes seem manufactured in some instances, I am only really mentioning this as it is interesting that real cranberries make me think this once they are fermented. The second pour is a bit murkier & I now place that artificial aromatic note as being very similar to children’s aspirin. It even seems to pick up a wisp of sweetness, though this may just be the fruitiness.

I certainly could have wished for more carbonation & the ensuing fluffy head would have been nice, but this beer is still quite good, and the variability of the Lambic bottle conditioning is such that I don’t mind much. I was expecting the cranberry notes to be much more subtle, instead they are still quite noticeable, though in no way are they the dominant characteristic of this beer. This is far more fruit influenced than the FouFounes that I have had. This is definitely a good sour fix for me right now.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Hazy orange with a creamy head. The aroma is funky, wood leather and a touch of vinegar. The flavor is intensely sour, but not as harsch as some other Cantillon beers I’ve had. There’s also a decidedly floral note, but I’m not able to pick out the particular variety.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

08.05.05 750ml bottle, 89/110, thanks to slander at Heavyweight open house! Hazed gold, small but lasting white head. Hoppy, floral, citrus, pear. Acid. Sour/tart and rope plus some shoelace leather. Apple skin. Mild and balanced.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

This poured a golden color with a small white head. The aroma is musty and dusty. The flavor, not surprisingly, is tart. However, it's initially tart and finishes somewhat dry. It's a bit tangy.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Poured a hazy orange color with a small, white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of barnyard, brett, a touch of fruity cranberries. Taste of citrus, sour apple, brett, light cranberries. Very sour, though more drinkable than most Cantillons.