Am I missing something with the Cantillons?

Also probably didn't help that even those "other seasonals" started disappearing from shelves rather quickly.

 

If you have any Loons, I can help you out with this.

 

The looniest I have right now is a St Gilloise. That probably is not looney enough...
It's not like JC Nomad, Brabantiewhatever and the likes are off the shelf beers here. Närke on the other hand...

 

Oh yeah! I forgot all about that, I used to see it on shelfs before that happened. Before the Cantillon craze you could find most of their lineup year round, I remember seeing St Lam for 38$ sitting year round.

To answer the OP, the super rare, hyped up beers from any brewery are NEVER otherworldly. If you have tried enough easy to get world class beers and try a few of the super rares, you will see they are just beers. For example, I have yet to come across a stout that can put KBS to shame, or a sour that can shame Supplication.
1K$ for 750ml of beer? C'mon, we all know there isn't 1,000$ worth of goodness in that bottle, it's all about the rarity.

 

I think I see some kind of a bias against a lot of things one can't afford.

Cantillon Blabaer is the greatest lambic/sour in the world.

I can't afford it. Doesn't mean it doesn't kick ass.

 

It wasn't really a rumor. It was stated as fact by JVR that he wasn't going to brew it for a while. The public outcry against that made him change his mind. But from that I never really understood why all the Cantillon fell victim to hoarding.

 

Because people needed something to put in their cabinets/closets so they could have a 'cellar'.

 

it could also have something to do with the rise of craft beer in general, and cantillon being the essential benchmark for sour beers. the clamoring for more is only magnified by the lack of supply, creating a rush on any and all cantillon product that hits shelves, almost regardless of the price. at least, that's what is happening here.

 

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love the chase of the one-off rare lambic. That said, for me it's all about trying the full spectrum of what lambic-blenders/brewers are able to do. There are so few examples, that I want to explore it all. Is Don Q "that much better" than, say, Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze? No, but it's the only lambic made with Fox grapes. Same with Blabaer, Fou Foune, the Reed Geuzes, etc etc... one of a kind offerings. Which, for me, makes them unique and increased the enjoyability. Will I go out of my way to trade for Blabaer at the cost that it commands, probably not. But that's not to say that it wasn't worth it that first time around.

 

Lately I have been concentrating on older vintages of "normal" Cantillon varieties. I can get Gueuze from the mid 90s/early 2000s a lot cheaper than the big name bottles(DQ, Nomad, etc)...and like them just as much. Definitely still expensive...but a better bang for the buck.

You can probably get 4 bottles of St Lavimnus 2004 for the same price as a DQ. That's my idea of value in Cantillons.

 

Reminds me of the poser that showed up to a bottle share empty handed, drank a few beers nonetheless (until called out by a dashingly handsome beeradvocate) and blamed his empty handedness on the fact he "just drinks all the beer he buys the same day, he doesn't have a ****y cellar to bring to a bottle share."

When in reality, the dude in the story is unemployed, and while his wife will let him play video games all day on the couch without having a job, she won't actually let him use her money to buy beers worth cellaring.

 

I've had the regular ones and Loved them all so yeah I don't mind spending the normal shelf price tag. I won't go and buy them off the internet for hundreds of dollars because that's not worth it or fun. As far as the rare ones go, I can't wait to try some of them. I loved all the others so obviously i'm going to want these one offs but I won't be stupid about it because as soon as I get one, I know i'll just drink it right away.