30th Birthday - 1983 Cantillon

There's probably someone out there with one, but trying to trade for it is going to be quite a search. A guy in one of the Chicago tasting groups has been looking for some '87 gueuze for a while now without much luck. Part of his problem might be that no one believes him to actually be 25 years old, though...

 

Probably going to be very difficult to find, I hope you have a DEEP cellar. Good luck!

 

The likelihood is pretty slim unless you have some very solid contacts across the pond with deep cellars. I'd think finding one domestically that is for trade is very unlikely. I bet you could find something from Eylenbosch from the early 80's for a bit less though.

 

Very slim. I'm sure there are a few in existence, but I'm not sure how many bottles of something like that would even be floating around in the trading community. And then if you do find one, you're going to need to part with the whitest of whales to get it.

Your odds on a 93 are certainly better, but probably not by a lot. Anything from Cantillon prior to 2000 is generally considered to be firmly planted on the ethereal "white whale" trading list. Which means you're looking in the ballpark of giving up stuff like Cable Car, Pappy Dark Lord, Blabaer, etc, assuming you can even track one down.

 

'84 Cantillon + locals

 

Hahahaha

 

I'd say you're better off trading for a Thomas Hardy's or other assorted english ale of that era- much easier.

Also, I'd wager the likelihood of actually landing an 83 cantillon to be zero. Sorry.

 

Sorry for the sarcasm, but Shogo is right. Cantillon is a huge longshot, but there are definitely other beers of that vintage you could locate.

Knifestyles could probably provide some advisement on the subject. I don't think he drinks anything bottled after 1992.

 

FTFY.

 

I offered Knifestyles a 6 month old pliny once and he passed saying it was too young.

 

I hear Knifestyles coined the term "cougar" for older women, but doesn't understand how it's applicable to anybody under 75.

 

You guys have any info on some really old Cuvee Rene? I got to try a bottle from 1988 in 2008 when I was just getting into craft, and the only descriptor I can remember was pine trees, though I had absolutely no experience with sours at the time... May have actually been my first one ever. I figure something like that may hold less trade weight as well for the OP.

 

Yup, still the only BA who's ever opened something with me that was bottled before I was born - and I'm 34.

 

Did someone say something about old beer??



OP, I think I might have a 1983 Burton Bridge English Bitter if you're interested. Only looking for equally old and undrinkable liquids.

 

I managed to luck into a 1982 Cantillon Framboise for my girlfriend's 30th last year, traded a (new) Framboos for it.

One thing to note is that old lambic isn't really that great, at least in my (limited) experience. (It's been hit-or-miss with Gueuze, but pretty much entirely miss with fruit lambics, though small sample size of both.) That Framboise was an interesting experience, but if I had the option of drinking a (non-special) beer that tasted like that, I'd pass. It's neat as a one-time experience and if you really want to try then go for it, but I think you'd be just fine looking elsewhere (and may well come ahead on taste, although I haven't had JW Lees that old I did have a '90 once, and it was better on balance than the Cantillon).

 

'83 Dirty horse is a fantastic(ly old) fruited lambic, and it is really great.

 

All the 10-20 year old gueuze I've had has been great.

 

Drank a 93 Cantillon Gueuze not to long ago. It smelled like a high school gym locker which I found oddly appealling.

 

I know of a website that has '84 eylenbosch gueuze and they say they will ship to the states. If you wanna stretch it part of it was made in '83. I bit pricy but that kind of vintage always is. Maybe with extra locals you could trade it for a '83.