Cantillon Lou Pepe Age Debate

One of my LP's has a 2008 sticker and says "Bottled April 2011" on the back. So I think you're right. I'm also curious why you didn't just check that.

 

The OP had it on draft, not out of the bottle.

 

How are you functional?

(I would ask the pub)

 

Derp.

 

Weird, I've never noticed that.

 

I wish I made it out to Deep Ellum last night

...nothing further

 

Funny when you said "Cantillon only kegs to satisfy the American market" I immediately thought "there's plenty at Moeder..." Anyway, as I said I've had a bunch of Cantillon on tap and never really noticed a dropoff, but it's not like I've done a side-by-side. I'm not sure why kegs would be worse than bottles, since bottles are probably older than kegs, since kegs don't need to condition, and they could actually be fruitier. It depends, I suppose.

Really, I noticed the increased fruitiness with stuff in Belgium. I brought back a fresh Kriek to do side-by-side with a 2011, and the differences were pretty remarkable. That one's a bit weird since it gets so sour, and the really fresh stuff wasn't very sour at all. So unless the kegs were sitting around for a really long time, I just doubt that they're all that different in fruitiness (I'm sure that they're less funky/sour since they're not conditioned, but that might make them seem more fruity).

 

This thread is making me thirsty...

 

I talked to Jean Van Roy at Monk's in Philly on Tuesday and he confirmed that the 2009 LP Kriek I had was brewed in 2009. Fruit from the 2011 harvest (summer) was added to the beer and then it was bottled later in 2011, before they started brewing for the next season.

I also noticed that kegged versions of the beer seem to have not the vitality of the bottled beers. I'm not sure if it's because the bottled versions are exposed to more oxygen and have a little more acidic bite. There's definitely less carbonation in the kegged versions than in bottles. Maybe the beer ages faster in bottles or if there's more yeast growth in a bottle that is often kept warmer than kegs are. In the end, it might be perception, but I'm not the only one that things that kegged versions are different after talking to others at the Monk's event

 

I had a bottle of the 2009 at a local bar and the sticker on the bottle said 2009, but once we popped the cork, the cork said 2011, so we figured that meant 2 years of aging.

 

2009 is the year the base beer was brewed the cork date is when it was bottled

 

They're doing a terrible job at satisfying us

As for the dating I would say the '09 refers to the sticker date that is on the Lou Pepes. So bottled in 2011. I would also say this since I bet it is more likely Max would put on a more recent vintage last night. I don't think I've ever seen 3+ year old Cantillon drafts at Deep Ellum. At least not in recent years.

And with kegs vs. bottles, never done side-by-sides and vintages can vary so it's hard to really say. Draft gueuze seems better than bottles to me. St. Lamvinus too. Hop aroma is a little more forward with Champions in bottle. Fou Foune, Lou Pepe Kriek and Framboise, Rose, Kriek, and Iris all seem sort of the same to me. The Lou Pepes may have a little more punch to it on draft than bottle. I've never been a big fan of LP though.

 

You did a 2012 kriek next to a 2011? Haven't had any newer batches in a while but I think around 2009/2008 the kriek started getting more fruit forward and less sour. Also, noticed a decline in sourness all through most Cantillons. Could've been because of the rumor that belgians complain that Cantillon is too sour. Anyways, after having gotten into Cantillon when the kriek smelled like a livestock farm the difference with fresh batches was like night and day. They were much easier to stomach and less of a novelty.

Then again, there is a strong argument that Shelton and/or distributors have left pallets of Cantillon out in extreme heat during the summer so I'm sure they can change a lot during transportation. I have no clue what they were supposed to taste like back then.

 

Yeah, it was '12 next to '11. And I haven't had much older kriek, but I hear it becomes sour, which isn't surprising, because even with a year on it it's pretty damn sour.

And who knows what Shelton does with it. I hope it's better than that.

 

Has anyone told marquis about this thread?