They call Cantillon the King of Beers - which is a hefty cross to bear, considering the hundreds of styles of beers that exists, much less stemming from a category, that is a Lambic Sour, that is rather niche even within the wide world of beers - and yet ask any beer fan if they agree or not, and regardless of said fan's personal die-hard preferences, they're actually more likely than not to agree. Some will cite its 125 year history, it's lasting family ownership, the artisanal utterly handmade small-batch craftsmanship, that it's 100% spontaneously fermented with no guarantees any batch will happen, its excellence across a wide breadth of styles, its complexity and ability to age for decades, and of course just how scarce it is - plenty of reasons to say the least! So let's talk about it!

The Brasserie Brouwerij Cantillon was first established in 1900 by Paul Cantillon and his wife Marie Troch in Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium. At the time of its founding, Brussels had over 100 active breweries - today there is only one, and that is Cantillon.

Lambics, which is what Cantillon is best known for, is a style of Belgian wild yeast fermented sour beer that goes all the way back to the 13th century, originating from the southwest of Brussels. It is made through the vigorous mashing of a combination of about 40% unmalted wheat and 60% barley, which is then boiled for an extended period of time with the addition of aged hops (at least 3 years old, necessary to give the lambic tannins that serve as a natural preservative, with most of its bitterness dissipated).

The coolship where the wort is allowed to be naturally inoculated with ambient wild yeast.

The resulting wort is then exposed to yeasts native to the Zenne Valley, with the use of an open top wooden container called a coolship, so that spontaneous fermentation can occur. As the wort is exposed to the ambient air, it naturally comes into contact with wild yeasts. The beer is then aged in wooden oak and chestnut barrels for several years, with the porous wood allowing the beer to breathe with the surrounding environment, where inside the wild yeast creates the lambic's characteristic sour taste.

Whilst any number of steps in the lambic making process can be considered unique from typical beer-making, it is ultimately the rather amorphous and hard to pinpoint ambient wild yeast that is native to the area in Belgium, that most would consider the defining aspect of a lambic. The result in the simplest of terms, is pretty much a funky, zingy and quirky sour beer that most associate as being synonymous with the region in Belgium.

Often times lambic producers will go a step further and blend together various ages of lambics together to produce a gueuze (where the younger lambics provide residual sugar for the older lambics to bring about a second fermentation), and/or allow them to be re-fermented over fruits (commonly cherries, raspberries, blackcurrants), florals or herbs, which is called a kriek.

Interestingly enough, for the first 37 years of Cantillon's existence, Paul Cantillon had never actually brewed any beer, but instead had purchased lambics from other producers, which he then blended and sold. It wasn't until the end of WWI that Paul's two sons, Robert and Marcel, had gotten hold of second-hand brewing equipment that the first ever batch of Cantillon was brewed in 1938.

Fourth-generation Cantillon brewer Jean Van Roy.

And so for the over 125 years that the brewery has been family-run and operated, it's unsurprising that it's seen its fair share of ups and downs, with also the waxing and waning of popularity of lambics, gueuzes and krieks, and yet through it all, has almost payed little attention to the opinions of those outside the brewery, focusing entirely on what is essentially their way of life, which so happens to involve the making of these world class, traditional lambics. Nevertheless, for what it's worth beer fans are almost in unanimous agreement that no one makes lambics that can come toe to toe with Cantillon, and no one else has found a way to get on par in terms of typicity of its category, its breadth of styles, consistency and longevity. And so it is in Anderlecht that Cantillon simply makes its beers, and it just so happened that the world finally caught on - and in a rare instance, everyone can agree that the hype in this case is very much real. 

Today, Cantillon is helmed by the family's fourth-generation Jean Van Roy.

Druggists is beautifully housed in a rejuvenated traditional shop house!

And so given how rare Cantillon's are - basically unicorn status, if you will - it was then eye watering to find an opportunity where not one or two, but seven of Cantillon's most emblematic expressions were put together for one grand tasting - we had to grab a ticket for ourselves! The Cantillon Session is of course thanks to Singapore's The Drinking Partners (Great Beer Experiment is their online shop, and Druggists is their craft beer taproom, which also features incredible food)! 

Big cheers to Lincoln and Corinne for making this happen! Insanely cool!

Let's give them a go!

Beer Review: Cantillon Gueuze

From the 2025 vintage, tasted in 2025.

Made with a blend of lambics of different ages, where younger lambics (1 year old in oak barrel for Cantillon) hold enough natural residual sugars needed for the mature lambics (3 years old in oak barrel for Cantillon) to undergo a secondary fermentation that occurs in the bottle. Once blended, the bottles are left to age for about one year (laid horizontally) for the secondary fermentation to take place - not to dissimilar to Champagne! This practice was in fact informed by the legendary Benedictine monk Dom Perignon, who had helped to refine and develop how Champagnes were made in the 18th century. It was thus brewers from Brabant who had utilised the technique and began mixing lambics which created a second fermentation in bottle, thereby creating a Geuze, which is essentially a sparkling lambic.

According to Van Roy, "The brewer's most important role is that of taster. They must taste around ten Lambics from different barrels to ultimately select five or six. This is how 100% Lambic Gueuze is made, embodying the original character of Brasserie Cantillon beers. Each blending vat will produce a unique Gueuze. The natural elements at our disposal do not allow us to produce a "standard" product."

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Gold

Aroma: It opens alittle candied, with honey and maltose coated barley and wheat, alittle rustic and nutty, yet still allowing for some of that yeastiness of brie rinds to come though. At it's core, it's rich and firm, with this crystalline brightness and candied richness, filled in with delicate and bright fruity tones of apricots, green apples, bruised pears and pineapples. Wrapped around is that more rustic, light funkiness, of barnyard, horse saddle, hay, with some meadowy grassiness and soil. It's really evocative, giving an impression of a fresh morning walk by the countryside with that brisk and rustically earthy air.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, lush and rounded, gently honeyed and enveloped in a rustic and aromatic yeastiness of brie rind, with also barnyard notes of hay, soil and animal saddle. It's got great richness, plump and supple with those barley sugars and sweet wheat coming through. At its base is an undercurrent of soda water or isotonic. There's also this bit of savoury umaminess, at times sweet even, of the burnt ends of teriyaki grilled meats. 

Finish: That umaminess carries through to the finish, here with crushed apricots, that develops into a savouriness of overripe apricots and grilled apricots even, alongside some pith, brie cheese, hay and animal saddle. That savouriness grows through the finish, backed up by that deep sweetness of barley sugars and soft notes of honey, even if it's not particularly sweet. It's rich through the finish, still guided by that minerality of soda water, with also a light whiff of flinty smokiness. It's a gentle yet firm finish, with an earthiness of old oak that lingers.

My Thoughts

Super impressive! This was so starkly pure, conveying this total sense of oneness, where all you have here is the lambic to stand for itself, giving all those rustic notes of barley, wheat, honey, soft cheeses, barnyard, meadows, with some intrinsic fruitiness of apricots, apples and even pineapples. It feels like a raw beauty!

It's lush and rounded, gently honeyed, with a perfect composition of notes and flavours that come together so harmoniously and deliver such an understated complexity. Even into the finish it continues to develop! This was if anything a reminder that beyond the intensely popular fruited and spiced lambics, Cantillon at its most fundamental is already incredibly impressive, at times I found myself thinking that this Geuze strikes me as even more impressive than some of the more popular fruited Cantillon's, and that maybe the brewery ought to remind folks every now and then that if anything the adjuncts can sometimes mask the great purity and complexity of its lambics.

Beer Review: Cantillon Nath

From the 2025 vintage, tasted in 2025.

This is a blend of rhubarb with one and two year old Lambic. Nath pays tribute to Jean Van Roy's wife Nathalie, and was named after her after she had called the beer her favourite! The rhubarb Lambic was first created in 2008 and was originally a take on the Belgian classic rhubarb wine. As Van Roy had already made the Mamouche and Lou Pepe cuvees as a dedication to his mother and father, he had thus wanted to do something for his wife, Nathalie, and so Van Roy had gotten the children of the kindergarten class that Nathalie had taught to paint a piece of art that represented their teacher!

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Gold

Aroma: Kicking off with bright funkiness of hay and animal saddle, there's a whiff of freshly poured kombucha, and almost carbonic quality of aerosol, and brie rinds, backed up by a light base of honey. As it continues to open up, there's a firm wheatiness that's revealed, along with a really supple and almost chewy bit of barley sugars with a starchiness of mochi or glutinous rice. It's almost of a gummybear aromatic texture. Really fragrant and with time more on bright and candied maltose and crushed apricots.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, it's lightly honeyed, really rich and firm with this rustic touch of hay. It's lush with freshly harvested peaches, tinned peaches, with bushels of wheat, coaxed into a body of soda water. There's a distinct depth of that chewiness of delicate, earthy sweetness of barley sugars too.

Finish: More on crushed apricots and tinned peaches, it's rich and seamless, still giving that core of barley sugars, along with fragrant rustic touches of hay and animal saddle. It finishes clean and fruity, with light splash of soda water, as tinned peaches, apricot fuzz and apricot peels linger on.

My Thoughts

This was very enjoyable even in its youth! It showcases a good deal of understated complexity, grounded by lots of chewy, supple barley sugars, some rusticity of wheat with then also macerated peaches and apricots, accented by that farmhouse funk. The acidity here is pretty strong and broad, which should ease up with some time. I suspect this will taste like a rhubarb pie in years to come, with baked fruit and rich honey. Excited! I especially really, really loved the aromas which gave this almost delicate chewy sweetness akin to mochi or glutinous rice - it's so unique and such a textural beauty!

Beer Review: Cantillon Fou' Foune

From the 2025 vintage, tasted in 2025.

Made from a blend of 18 - 20 month old Lambics with Bergeron apricots. These apricots are sustainably grown and a staggering 300 grams of fruit is used per litre of Lambic. Maceration time here is kept very short, with the Lambics given just five weeks to extract the flavours from the fruit. Each season, Fou' Foune is the first label to be bottled, and is today the third most produced fruit beer by volume for Cantillon (just behind Kriek and Rose de Gambrinus).

From Van Roy:

"A beautiful winemaker's house overlooking the Rhône. A large table set with a superb roast kid goat and wonderful Hermitage and Saint-Joseph wines. Friends all around.

It was 1998. Atmosphere, friendship, and good food. All the ingredients for remaking the world and endlessly fantasizing. Remaking the world was truly a dream, while of all our fantasies, one became reality.

François Daronnat, an apricot grower nicknamed "Foufoune" by all his friends, was at the meal. He talked at length about his "Bergerons" apricots. The most natural, the most beautiful, offering the best taste, both sweet and tart.

"With apricots like these, I could easily brew you some beer, François," I told him. But the great wines of the Rhône cloud the mind, and with time, all the dreams and wild ideas that are born during those great moments in life had faded away. Foufoune, at least, hadn't forgotten the story of the apricots and the beer. And so it was that, unexpectedly, without warning, I discovered 300 kg of perfectly ripe "Bergeron" apricots on my doorstep one day in July 1998. You could say Foufoune had a knack for following through. It was our turn. The result was perfect, and the small batch of apricot Lambic was destined for only a small part of the French market. Given the success of our "Provençal" beer, more than 4000 kg of apricots now arrive at Cantillon every year."

Tasting Notes

Colour: Hazy Gold

Aroma: Total peach and apricot domination! Heaps and heaps of fresh and tinned peaches and apricots, it's estery and saccharine, super fresh and juicy, with an undercurrent of soda water minerality.

Taste: Medium-bodied, striking first with that chalky soda water with just a touch of honey, before then a full blast of juicy tinned peaches and apricots, also with some pith and peach flesh, bringing across that fresh stone fruit fleshy and juicy tartness and savouriness. It's rich and lush, yet compact and firm with bracing acidity without quite so much sharpness.

Finish: Persistent savouriness with flashes of juicy tinned peaches on a canvas of chalky soda water. Clean finish with lingering stone fruit acidity and firm savouriness.

My Thoughts

I know it's supposed to be apricots, but for some reason it feels really peachy to me! The apricots and peaches come through intensely, although right now given its youth, it's still alittle separated from its body, with the apricot and peach notes staying rather surface level, almost as if it were above the lambic, keeping to apricot and peach skins, slightly unripe flesh and pith, bringing with it that crunchy tartness. Nevertheless it's already showing some richness of the body and should be great in a couple of years time when its settled down and better integrated, with the stone fruit bits mellowing out.

Beer Review: Cantillon Ashanti

From the 2025 vintage, tasted in 2025.

The newest addition to Cantillon, this was made in response to the popularity of the Gorilla Pepper Lambic that was released for Zwanze Day 2022. This follows the same recipe and uses the same Ashanti pepper (from Misao La Maison des Poivres in Brussels, with the pepper collected back after use by Cantillon, where it was then dried and sold), although here with more of a focus on the Lambic. It is made with a two year old Lambic that has been blended with Ashanti black pepper. This came after Sandrine from Misao La Maison des Poivres had worked with Cantillon to test out using various Congolese peppers, after which Van Roy had decided on the poivre de Gorilles pepper, which grows in the forests of Congo, Africa - the name itself comes from the area from which it is grown, in the Likouala Forest, located in the northeastern region of Congo, that is also home to a population of Lowland gorillas, which is a species that is endangered. Therefore a portion of the profits was donated to an event that supports preservation work to protect these gorillas.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Hazy Gold

Aroma: Intensely perfumed! It's incredibly aromatic with scintillating and exotic florals of lavender and lemongrass, with the perfect counterpoint coming through in the form of a tinge of spice of green szechuan peppercorn. It is strikingly and vividly reminiscent of spa essential oils. Beneath that intoxicatingly wondrous aromas is a base of crushed apricots and peach, with also a light cereal note of wheat and some drizzles of honey. It's impeccably cohesive and well integrated.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, really gentle yet rich, filled in with the same honey, lemongrass, lavender, green szechuan peppercorn, wheat, layered over an undercurrent of crushed apricots and peach. It's juicy and incredibly aromatic, here more juice forward, with the floral aromatics still perfumed yet more evenly balanced with the rest of the flavours. It's got a light tingle of the peppercorns too.

Finish: Lingering spa aromatics of lemongrass and lavender, with more juicy tinned peaches and apricots here. It's a seamless finish with a lingering light tingle of the szechuan peppercorn.

My Thoughts

Holy! This is so powerfully aromatic! Think aromatherapy, essential oils, spa, - I narrowed it down to lemongrass and lavender - and then counterbalancing that powerful perfume is this little earthy spiciness of green szechuan peppercorns! What a pairing! It's aromatic with a little spicy tingle. The body is then filled with macerated apricots and peaches, with tones of honey. It's really cohesive and well-integrated too, with the body being more juice forward. The balance between perfume and spiciness is just perfect! Had to grab a couple of bottles! I have no clue how this will develop but man! This was insanely mindblowing!

Beer Review: Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus

From the 2025 vintage, tasted in 2025.

Perhaps the most well known of Cantillon's stable! The Rose de Gambrinus is a blend of 20 months old lambics with raspberries from Serbia at a ratio of 200 grams per litre. Particular care is taken to select lambics that are smooth and mellow to harmonise with the delicateness of the fruit, and so after a 2-3 month maceration period with the lambics extracting flavour from the raspberries, it is then blended with one year old lambics which provide natural residual sugars that allows for a second fermentation in bottle.

It is said that Framboise Lambics date back to at least the early 20th century, and Cantillon themselves had in the early 1900's even held on hand more Framboise than Krieks, although fruit beers eventually disappeared during WWI, and were only sporadically produced, before eventually reintroduced as a flagship beer in 1973 when a family friend, Willy Gigounon, had dropped off 150 kg of raspberries at Cantillon!

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Garnet

Aroma: Kicking off with some immediate funkiness of natural red wines, with that kombucha ferment aromas, brie cheese rinds, alongside rustic barnyard, hay, animal hide, tilled soil and freshly unearthed mushrooms. This rests on a body of raspberry preserves and raspberry jelly, alittle bit of cherry too. They come together to give a sense of purity and rusticity, with such depth and evocativeness, almost like being out in the countryside. With time, it settles on wild raspberries, raspberry jellies and sour patch candy, with also dark chocolate and animal saddle.

Taste: Medium-bodied, really rounded and with good richness, lots of red fruits, of wild raspberries, strawberries, cranberries, blackberries and cherries, in the form of preserves and jellies, bright and tart yet with good richness and concentration. There's an element of minerality of spring water here, wet stone too, with then that more subdued funkiness of animal hide still to be found, although much more subtle. More on red licorice, berry gummies, with even alittle greenness of strawberries leaves. The acidity is bright yet rounded and firm, so that it's tart but not quite sharp.

Finish: Supple and chewy barley sugars come through, some sweet wheatiness, with then more of those wild strawberries and raspberries, although more mellow here, and also a light tartness of cranberries and cherries. Subtle funk here, with some earthiness of animal hide and dark chocolate still making its way into the finish. That light rustic barnyard aromatics do nevertheless linger on.

My Thoughts

Thoroughly enjoyable, the Rose de Gambrinus is always such a joy with how fresh, rustic and pure it is! It's got great fruit concentration that is supple and rich, combining really well with those funkier barnyard flavours that makes you feel like you're right in the countryside enjoying a red berry pie. The two seemingly contrasting bold flavours are evenly matched, and makes for a really complete expression where there are equally as much bright and dark, lighter and darker tones that makes for a very immersive depth and experience. The acidity here definitely starts off bright and tart in its youth - not unlike fresh red fruits - but isn't quite so sharp or slicing, although can be somewhat nevertheless bracing. In the same vein, the funkiness here might sound intense, and yet it's not quite so overwhelming as it is detailed and vivid. If you're a fan of natural wines or Rhone style, more rustic wines, then this is might be your gateway to beers!

Beer Review: Cantillon Saint Lamvinus

From the 2025 vintage, tasted in 2025.

A blend of lambics with an average age of 16 - 18 months along with Merlot grapes from the Cotes de Bourg in Right Bank Bordeaux, France. Maceration is about 8 weeks long, allowing for the lambic to extract tannins from the grapes. Given the success of the label, Cantillon has regularly made experimental small batches that are available at the brewery, where it's blended its lambics along with a variety of grapes from the family's winemaking friends, with a particular preference for biodynamic and naturally cultivated grapes. The Saint Lamvinus was first initiated by Pascal Delbeck, who was a manager of the Belair castle in Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, with the first two batches of the beer actually produced in Bordeaux itself! And so during those early days, instead of having the fruit be transported to Cantillon's brewery, two year old lambics were sent instead to Saint Emilion for blending! This was eventually moved over to Cantillon's brewery given its success and a desire to produce at larger scale. The goal is of course to be a bridge between lambics and wines, given how they are often compared and likened to one another!

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Garnet

Aroma: Deep notes of darker fruits of blackcurrants, plums, prunes, blueberries and blackberries, garnished by sensual florals of rose petals, and grounded by an earthiness of soil and animal saddle, with just a light funk. It's really aromatic and rather reminiscent of Bordeaux style wines.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, hitting first with a light fruit tartness, with again those darker fruits of blackcurrants, blackberries, prunes, plums and blueberries. It shows good richness with a whiff of barnyard funk, of hay and animal saddle. There's a good saturation of the fruit, with lots of macerated fruit and fruit preserves that wraps around a core of barnyard funkiness and dark fruit paste, over a current of soda water.

Finish: More of those crushed blackberries, blackcurrants and plums, with still some more of that seltzer water. Clean finish, with the some lingering barnyard of hay and animal saddle.

My Thoughts

Tasted pretty much fresh, it's of course got all that bright zingy acidity without yet having developed that depth and richness. Nevertheless I was very much looking forward to trying this as close to its start point, which is always instructive! At the moment, it's of course heavily fruit driven with lots of macerated dark fruit, and what's very interesting is that those roses, soil and animal saddle that is characteristic of Merlot and the sort, really translates to this lambic too! It'll be really interesting to see how they develop. It's almost reminiscent of fresh, really young Bordeaux wines. At youth, this lambic is still tart, although already showing some richness, great fruit saturation, with the fruit wrapped around a core of funkiness, with then an undercurrent of seltzer water with that touch of minerality. It's got a good body, clean finish, still very much the same as what was found on the palate. Very intriguing! 

Beer Review: Cantillon Sang Bleu

From the 2025 vintage, tasted in 2025.

And finally we have the Sang Bleu, or also known as Blue Blood! This is a lambic blend with blue honeysuckle or haskap berries, sometimes also called Camerise.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Ruby

Aroma: Exotic florals of lillies and irises, with also blue and dark fruits of blueberries and plums, really juicy and fleshy too! Touch of barnyard funk of hay and animal hide, along with an earthiness of espresso coffee. The fleshy dark fruits sit in the form of fruit paste and pate alongside a serving of plum and prune pomace, with a dash of coffee grounds.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, still giving lots of those fleshy dark fruits of blackberries, blueberries, plums and prunes, with now some tart red fruits of dark cherries, raspberries, cranberries and hawthorn. The body shows a great depth of richness of these darker fruits, outlined by a brighter acidity of the red fruits, the acidity here bright yet firm and polished without sharpness, although somewhat zingy still. A whiff of that barnyard hay and animal saddle completes the palate.

Finish: More of those fruit pomace and fruit skins carry through the finish, plums and prunes, some fleshiness too, with an undercurrent of seltzer water. Clean and firm finish.

My Thoughts

This was quite impressive in its vibrance, with both fruits and exotic florals that give it this perfumed quality, with quite an extensive palette that goes from bright and exotic tones all the way to dark and earthy, from lilies and blueberries to coffee grounds! It's got great richness on the palate too, with more red fruits coming through, it's lightly tart but quite zingy, which makes it more approachable in its youth. The funk here is definitely much more subdued even though still apparent. Into the finish, this all recedes to show more of that underlying mineral quality. My guess is that with some age, this will see the various parcels of flavours become more cohesive and harmonious and fill in the gaps, with the lillies due to stand out even more, whilst the body will likely be plusher and filled in with dark and red fruit, backed by those coffee notes. Very excited for this one! Lots of potential here!