Cantillon Nath Retail Price

Not brewed often (3 times only?), limited supply, desirable to collectors, hard to find --> High prices on sites..

 

Before I can voice an opinion/respond, what price do you see for Nath? And also what regulars do you see priced at $25 and finally are we talking same bottle size as well for Nath vs the $25 options?

 

Oh hell no...$104 for one of the lowest rated beers...I'd grab the Gueze ($15) and 2017 and 2018 Krieks for $28...they're rated alot higher as well over Nath. Quantity + quality...win/win without the rarity hype costs. (funny to say "without rarity" involving Cantillon regulars).

 

I never pay secondary or secondary-like prices, so I couldn't justify the price, but I want to point out that Nath 2018 is superb--in no way a low quality beer. To me, better than fresh Bio Geuze.

 

Ha - That site is telling and funny. It's called "Lambic World" and their store categories are:

Cantillon
Westvleteren
Cellar Sale
Glassware

 

Here's their timeline from Trappist World to Lambic World.

 

I'm going to start a website called Motorcyle World. We will only sell Suzuki. Then, when I realize that people also buy cars, I will change the name to Car World and we will only sell Suzuki motorcycles and Mazdas. It's a wide world out there.

 

That site is the worst. The absolute worst. They were banned from Drie Fonteinen a year or two ago for bringing in their mule teams to flip bottles for ridiculous prices, yet they completely ignore the ban and still continue to sell 3F with absurd markups. So shady. I’ve heard their packing and customer service is terrible too. Every once in a while they’ll have something at a relatively reasonable price but I don’t even consider it as there’s no way I would ever support that site.

To answer your main question, Cantillon seasonals are typically around 13 Euro at the brewery. When they make it to the US, stores that don’t charge a Cantillon premium, sell seasonals for around $30.

 

Just wondering what is big deal about Nath except its a more limited release? The ratings on Beer Advocate put it pretty low on Cantillon's overall beer listings.

 

Most of the online lambic shops are getting the beer from the source and just selling it for whatever they feel they can get for it. In just about every case they're charging based upon rarity. Nath's going for the price that the non-typical but not super rare bottles tend to go for.

As far as Nath goes, it's very much a love/hate beer. While there are some other divisive beers from Cantillon (like Grand Cru Bru. and Mamouche), Nath seems to flat-out disgust some people. I'm not a fan, but I know some people that genuinely can't stand even a sip of it. Other folks dig it.

 

While I didn't mind that beer's previous release under the Nath name, I found the one this year to be very acidic. It wasn't just tart, it was sour in a way where it hits the back of your mouth and makes your jaw contract. It also had a bit of that asphalt note that some people (myself included) get from GCB. The one from 2017 tasted mostly as you describe, but this one went in a different direction. I found it to be pretty disappointing, but not undrinkable. Some of my friends straight-up hated it. From memory, I don't think Chad from Crooked Stave was a big fan of how it tasted either. The fact that it was being served along with RdG, Kriek, and this year's Zwanze (which was decent), I don't think people felt bad admitting they didn't like it. Different strokes, though. Plenty of people downed their pours and I still see bottles trading in the $80-100 range locally.

 

I'm not sure if it hit US retail or not. I don't think I've seen a Cantillon on the shelf (not counting Crooked Stave @ Zwanze) in something like 7-8 years. Out here shops tend to raffle them off, give them to top customers, or ninja them onto the shelf with no warning.
If someone actually visits Cantillon, they can absolutely load up on bottles of all sorts, though. I think that's the main source of trade and gray market bottles. Some members of their family/staff are pretty strict with bottle limits (like JVR), but others don't seem to care if someone buys more or keeps coming back. At least that has been my experience. I think they're a little more wary about large visitor groups rolling up when unusual bottles go on sale, too.