Gueuze 100% Lambic
Brasserie Cantillon

Gueuze 100% LambicGueuze 100% Lambic
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Brasserie Cantillon
 
Belgium
Style:
Gueuze
Ranked #6
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
98
Ranked #294
Avg:
4.45 | pDev: 8.76%
Reviews:
968
Ratings:
3,991
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 26, 2024
Added:
Oct 14, 2001
Wants:
  1,201
Gots:
  1,213
This listing is for all vintages (Gueuze, Oude Gueuze, Bio, etc.).

Blend of lambics produced during different years.

Beer with a slightly acidic and fruity taste, delicate and woody fragrance and a dry finish that lingers on the palate.

Beer with taste evolution that will keep for a long time in a good cellar.

Color: golden yellow

IBU: 30

Serving Temperature: 15 °C/59 °F
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by metalshea:
Photo of metalshea
Rated by metalshea from Massachusetts

4.21/5  rDev -5.4%

Aug 14, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of SHODriver
Reviewed by SHODriver from North Carolina

4.75/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Cork says 2012 on it

A: Poured into a tulip glass to a deep gold color which is topped by a finger of dense and slightly rocky white head which fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of sour stone fruits with notes of peaches along with a hint of oak. Surprisingly sweet on the nose as well
T: Taste is bright acidity up front with some sour peach notes along with a hint of mineralic funk, some oak, and some nice funky barnyard notes with a little lemony zing. On the finish there's more sour peach, funky oak, barnyard, a little pepper, and some lingering sourness.
M: This beer has a body which is on the lighter side of things but it is not watery. Carbonation is effervescent and adequate for the style while the beer has a drying finish due to the acidity.
O: Overall this beer is incredible. Great flavors and complexity despite spending over a decade in the bottle. Really great stuff.
Feb 26, 2024
 
Rated: 4.47 by smi69 from New York

Jan 20, 2024
Photo of beerwithmeIRL
Reviewed by beerwithmeIRL from Ireland

4.86/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
750ml Bottle '20/21 - Pours an orange with golden hue and 2 finger cloud head that gradually dissapates. The aromas are simple incredible, a wonderful sour medley of vinegar, green apple, funk, wet hay. The taste is complex, a fabulous tartness balanced with sweet citrus fruit & zest. The sour apple & white wine vinegar are again magnified as the gueuze lingers. Outstanding doesn't do it justice. A top class example of gueuze.
Dec 19, 2023
Photo of AzfromOz
Reviewed by AzfromOz from Australia

4.06/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Purchased at Nardi's Cellarbations in Geelong in August 20023. Drunk in December of that year.

In the glass, the beer tends towards copper. If I were unkind, I'd say it looks like a movie set fake beer apple cider, the kind they use to ensure actors don't turn into alcoholics while shooting endless retakes. A bubbly, bright-white head quickly disperses and leaves a thin covering atop the glass. Not helping the impression is that the beer looks thick, like there's gelatin in it, and the many large bubbles of carbonation moving slowly up the glass add weight to those thoughts. It has none of the sparkling joviality of a modern-day kettle sour; it doesn't look like a soda pour, and it doesn't effervesce like a Berliner Weisse. But it does look unique. L: 3.5

The nose is vinous, yeasty and tart, like sour crabapples or small, overripe grapes. A touch of farmyard and fermenting hay round things off. The tartness I smell hints at what's to come, and I raise the glass to my mouth ready to pucker my lips, squeeze my eyes shut and raise the hair on my neck, expecting the tartness to pull me into its tangy, zippy embrace. S: 3.75

As expected, the taste of sour apples, grapes and fermenting hay fills my mouth. They throw a brisk tartness at me, producing layers of salivation after each swallow, causing me to reach for another mouthful to stave off the wash of lactic acidity that rushes in with the saliva. Everything ends vinegary, a touch salty, and ever so dry. Swallowing this is like having a sour candy Warhead punch you in the mouth.

At first, it's too much, too heady, too tart, but somehow, eventually, it all works. Maybe I become numb to the tartness, or maybe it backs off as the beer warms, but as the shock wears off, I become a junky to the tangy hit that surges through me, and I can pick out the barnyard notes, the wet hay and the musty cobwebs that inhabit the beer's DNA. Its acidity has smoothed out, and there's a delicate balance - still sharply tart, mind - that is irresistible in its command that I drink more. Like any good junky, I give in to my cravings and eagerly down more of my new poison of choice. This is a big bottle, and seemingly without noticing, I've hit my stride and am drinking it far too quickly... T: 4.25

The mouthfeel matches the sharp acidity of the beer. Carbonation is medium, and carbonic prickle is low, but the beer snaps as you swallow it, like a cracked whip in your mouth. This is not a beer you can drink mindlessly; it simply won't let you. M: 4

A few mouthfuls in, I thought this beer would be a chore to drink. Halfway through, I realised I'd gotten there far quicker than I had thought. By the end, I wanted more of the vinegary, salty, sharp, smooth, acidic monster of a beer that it became.

This beer is a matter of acclimation, of letting go of the wheel and letting the beer drive. It's a masterful lesson in what makes a beer great: it challenges, it overcomes, and then it dominates the palate. This beer has an expert blender's loving hands guiding it to the Goldilocks Zone. In the end, it's neither too sour, too bracing or too barnyardy. It's juuuuuust right.

I grab Cantillon whenever I see it. It costs about a week's wages, but it's sometimes worth it. This is definitely one of those times. O: 4.25

Cheers!
#386
Dec 09, 2023
 
Rated: 4.73 by KeithGreatNorth from Canada (BC)

Dec 02, 2023
 
Rated: 4.24 by Dethark from England

Nov 30, 2023
 
Rated: 5 by doctorgary from New York

Oct 29, 2023
Photo of Rug
Reviewed by Rug from Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Bottled 10/5/21

This is Cantillon’s most popular beer, and I’m somehow only getting to it now. I was originally intending to just buy another bottle of Fou Foune from MBC, but when I saw the seller had this one available for a good price I figured I had to get it. Let’s pop it open and see what it has to offer

Pours a cloudy orange gold with 2 fingers of soapy off white head that quickly fades to a thin cap and leaves minimal lacing

There's a lot of funk in the nose here, but it's very well integrated. i'm picking up on aromas of wet hay, sharp oak, lemon zest, wildflower honey, crabapple, white wine vinegar, white pepper, light cracker, and pear

The funk is certainly more aggressive in taste, though it's more than welcome here. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting lemon juice, earthy wheat, sharp oak, white wine vinegar, crabapple, pear skin, wet hay, jammy apricot, and white pepper. The swallow brings notes of lemon juice, wildflower honey, crabapple, sharp oak, white wine vinegar, pear skin, jammy apricot, earthy wheat, tobacco, light cracker, and a touch of smoke

A medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a sharp yet slick beer. Finishes oddly sticky but eventually dries out

This is wonderful, but I'm honestly a bit surprised that it's not super dry. The sticky finish takes away from the experience a bit, but overall it's still a great expereince
Jul 10, 2023
Photo of Lucular
Reviewed by Lucular from Maryland

4.5/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
750 ml bottle split with my wife, poured into red wine glasses. 2019 vintage. This is a wonderfully complex gueuze. Green apple, plentiful but not overwhelming acidity, leather funk, oak tannins, and a hint of vinegar are the primary flavor notes. Mouthfeel has average carbonation and a dry finish. Stellar.
May 30, 2023
Photo of Hat_Fulla_Beer
Reviewed by Hat_Fulla_Beer from Canada (AB)

4.34/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
750ml bottle poured into tulip. Date on bottle says December of '21.

Pours a deep golden orange with half a finger of dirty white head that leaves clouds of lace as it recedes.

Smells of white wine vinegar, sour green apples, zesty oranges, juicy stone fruit, barrel wood and some lacto funk.

Tastes more fruit-forward. Apricot, pineapple, sour apple, navel orange, more sharp vinegar, barnyard funk and barrel staves.

Feels smooth and delicate. Light bodied with soft carbonation. Finishes sour and fruity.

Verdict: Vigorously recommended. World class for sure.
May 20, 2023
 
Rated: 4.88 by CAcker from California

May 11, 2023
Photo of sokol_1993
Rated by sokol_1993 from California

4.5/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Got one from Taiwan and one from La village de la biere in Strasbourg. Great example of the style.
Apr 28, 2023
 
Rated: 4.37 by MGibbons from Maryland

Mar 05, 2023
Photo of taxandbeerguy
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)

4.49/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2,500th review! It's only been 9.5 years. Super excited to try this legendary Cantillon as I've been sitting on it for a few months hoping for a milestone brew. 2021 bottling and purchased from Durand for a small but worthwhile fortune. My first Loon. Served cold into a goblet.

Appearance - Picturesque bright golden color with a small amount of haze. A finger of small soapy cap that continues to fizzle on as more head forms from the bubbles rising in the glass.

Smell - Tartness with subtle bits of cherry, apple skins, woody and slightly musty barrel, some earthy funk. There's sort of a deep underlying sweetness there too that ties all the aromas together.

Taste - A little sourness and green apple tartness. Elements of wood and musty barrel. Light grapey qualities too. Funky without being too far out in left field. Cohesive in the flavors. A slightly spicy element in the aftermath maybe. As it warms the woody barrel note seems to be elevated with a trace of honey. Depth of flavor is awesome and lingers on really well in the aftertaste,

Mouthfeel - Medium-light body, good expressive carbonation and very dry finish.

Overall - Awesome sour beer, the depth is unreal and it's difficult to decipher everything you're tasting. Super stoked to have finally tried this and boy does it ever live up to expectations. One of my best new beers of 2022 and a very worthy milestone brew. Absolutely worth trying if you can a) find it and b) afford it.
Dec 27, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by Ushouldbeworkinh from England

Sep 16, 2022
Photo of perfumer
Reviewed by perfumer from Canada (BC)

4.49/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
September 2021 bottle.

Looks: Slightly cloudy orange/gold, no head or legs.

Smells: Sour and funky, lots of fruit for an unfruited lambic (bacteria are amazing, hey?). I get apricot, orange zest, citron, green apple, pineapple, wood, a bit of bread, and apple cider vinegar levels of fermentation.

Tastes: Similar to the nose but less fruity, mostly apricot, citrus, and green apple plus the woodiness and bready malt, with the sourness and funk being more prominent. Gave me a big initial pucker but was smooth after.

Feels: Nice medium body, a slight fuzzy carbonation that doesn't linger very long.

Overall: Heck yeah. Awesome gueuze, lives up to the Cantillon hype even if it's not mind-blowing.
Sep 03, 2022
Photo of kitch
Reviewed by kitch from Hong Kong

4.34/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 20/21 season, bottled on 1st October 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.

Appearance: A mostly clear golden orange colour with a big two finger white head that had pretty good retention and eventually settled to a thin cap while leaving some nice lacing.

Aroma: Sour, tart, funky, musty, wet wood, green apple, grapefruit zest, with a touch of white grapes.

Taste: Sour, tart, slightly sweet, funky, oak, apricot, with some light lemon zesty notes.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

Overall: A nice enjoyable easy to drink gueuze. Perfect for a hot summer day.
Aug 24, 2022
Photo of socon67
Reviewed by socon67 from New York

4.42/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Smell of tart cherries and some yeasty bread. Orange-ish pour with visible active carbonation. Flavor is tart but nothing like the kettle sours of today. More balanced, and smooth enough to allow for the fruit notes to come through. This is surprisingly mellow in the finish, with the bready notes of the yeast taking hold.

My first Cantillon offering, and shared with a couple friends at Monk's Cafe in Philly. Absolutely a must try for any beer enthusiast.
Aug 21, 2022
Photo of sjrider
Reviewed by sjrider from California

4.19/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottle pour- opaque dark golden color with quickly dissipating white head. Nose is a bit funky with hints of tart fruit and yeast.. Taste follows with a a tart and tangy crispness. An interesting brew that I liked more than expected.
Aug 06, 2022
Gueuze 100% Lambic from Brasserie Cantillon
Beer rating: 98 out of 100 with 3991 ratings