Originally published in What’s Brewing August 2004
Origin: Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium
ABV: 5 per cent
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Website www.cantillon.be
Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus
The lambic beers of the area in and around Brussels are the result of the ancient technique of “spontaneous” fermentation. Lambic brewers simply leave the wort exposed to the air overnight in a specially vented room so it becomes infected with wild yeasts, then seal it in closed vessels to continue fermentation.
Lambics contain a high proportion of unmalted wheat alongside lightly malted barley, with well-aged hops used as a preservative rather than for bitterness or aroma. To soften the sharp lactic character of the end result they are usually either sweetened, matured and blended or, most famously, flavoured with fruit such as sour cherries or raspberries.
Today lambic is a protected appellation of origin, and quite rightly so, because the success of the process and the character of the resulting beers is intimately linked to the local environment and its microflora. Even the room in which the wort is exposed makes a difference. As well as a goût de terroir, these beers even have a goût de chambre!
Big brewers have done their best to commercialise lambic production, resulting in a range of exotic fruit syrup concoctions dosed with enough sugar to keep the world’s dentists in business for centuries. But a few independents still offer more traditional, artisanal products and of these perhaps the most respected and uncompromising is the museum brewery of Cantillon, in the Brussels suburb of Anderlecht.
Lambics are always a challenge for the beginner since their taste is simply unlike any other beer, having more in common with real cider or fino sherry. Cantillon produces some of the most challenging examples of all, but you couldn’t find a better way in than Rosé de Gambrinus.
It’s an unfiltered, unpasteurised blend of two-year-old lambics and fresh raspberries, devised to contrast with the syrupy fruit beers of more commercial producers. But it’s also easily Cantillon’s most light hearted beer, its tone set by its cheekily playful label.
It pours a rich warm onion skin colour, lively and slightly cloudy, with a typical sharpish, musty and woody aroma, a sulphurous pinch and an immediate but restrained natural raspberry perfume.
The palate is tart, dry and puckering, softened by a subtle fruitiness with raspberry and cherry skin flavours and a touch of creamy vanilla. The finish is also tart, and very long, with dry cider, fresh lemon juice and tangy fruit.
Served lightly chilled in a champagne flute as suggested on the label, this most charming of lambics is a great al fresco treat on warm summer evenings.
Try also Cantillon Fou’Foune (apricot), Kriek Boon (cherry), Girardin Gueuze 1882 (black label), Hanssens Oudbeitje (strawberry)
Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/cantillon-rose-de-gambrinus/6014/
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