Cantillon Crianza Helena
Blended and bottled for De Heeren Van Liedekercke to mark the birth of the daughter of the owners on 23.10.08. This gueuze is a blend of lambic aged in cognac and Bordeaux barrels and jonge lambic.
4.2
290 reviews
Brussels, Belgium
Community reviews
750mL bottle drunk 8/13/16.
Peachy-maize-golden body shows good clarity and a fluffy, white head that shows strong retention for the style.
Pure brett goodness is joined by rich oak and cognac in the nose. It comes off soft and gentle, yet certainly highly aromatic, with light plaster and musty/funky notes. With extended breathing, a juicy stone fruit character, with light lime and band aid really takes hold. The brett has hit its expressive stride seemingly perfectly here. Impressive, as I usually associate this type of aroma with 3F and sure enough, the Milennium and 1999 both smelled similar, or at least, much more similar to this than Spuyten and Bourgogne. Back to the barrel, I’m not usually a big fan of barrel character in lambics, but it’s done perfectly here, adding very light toastiness and rich, woody notes in just the right proportion so as not to dominate, yet very much complement the more dry, tart, headier brett notes. With a bit of work, a moderate pepper/spice character is notable as well, also from the cognac. As the Zenne Y Frontera would prove to be, a few beers later, this is a masterwork of integrating barrel character without going overboard. No alcohol or flaw.
Dry, oaky and yet still quite bright, thanks to all of the brett. Perfect texture with ample, tight carbonation and a soft, wheat/tannin-laden feel to it. Not terribly acidic but just incredibly juicy. Not sure where it’s coming from but it balances the cognac/wood perfectly, just as in the nose. Soft, moderately sour, highly flavorful, lactic acids linger on the finish, keeping the beer intensely crisp, lip-smacking and bright. Favorite beer of the tasting, and that’s saying a lot, given the competition.
Poured a nice peach color with a suprisingly big amount of carbonation given its’ age. Aroma was perfumey, citrus fruits, must, light asprin, minerals, lemon juice. So well rounded. Flavor similar, a bit more tart than expected, floral, grainy, fruit skins, grassy and funk. Beautiful beer.
Bottle shared with big thanks to Dan. Thanks for sharing! Rate #3000. Pours a slightly hazy golden orange color with a white head. Aromas of slightly floral characters. Light rose petals, slight rubbery dead yeast, light must minerals. Dank basement. Taste is super well balanced. Slightly tart with some mineral qualities. Body is medium light. Spot on. Still a little carbonation after 8 years. Lovely stuff. An experience in itself just to get to drink this beer. It was even better that it was among good friends.
Bottle. Golden pour, lightly hazed, with a white head. Funky, hay, barnyard, lemon zest, tart, leather, musty grain, brett, and lemon grass. Very good, but not much better than other Cantillon Gueuze.
Bottle shared thanks to the superstar Dan. Poured light haze orange with light white head. Aroma funky fresh hay cow. Light carb med bod. Taste light stone fruit light acidic. Very subtle barrel that pretty much drys it out with little oak.
This is a beer that I’ve been fortunate enough to have had several times, and each time is a fun experience in its own way. It has a nice head and is perfectly balanced with tartness and leathery lambic notes.
750 ml bottle to snifter (shared with the Mrs.). Looks good; a very hazy deep orange with ample fizzy, foamy eggshell head. Smells outstanding; an excellent blend of funk, oak, citrus, and cheese alongside an awesome damp basement presence and some grape notes from the barrels. Tastes like it smells, but not quite as robust and funky. Still incredible though, as the nose is as good any gueuze (or beer, for that matter) I’ve ever had. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied and pleasant with mild to moderate tartness. Stunning gueuze that lives up to the hype.
(750ml bottle @ DHVL, Nov 16 2015, split w/ phyllomedusa) Pours hazy gold with a dense white cap of small bubbles fading to a ring. Aroma of pear, apple, stone fruits, slight stewed cognac sweetness, white grapes, wood, light cheesy funk, hay, and some citrus zest. Surprisingly bright for its age, a stellar nose! Taste brings all that fruit from the nose together in a nice bright, tart body with floral, grassy notes and a feeling of just slight under-ripeness in the fruit for bite. A little grape sweetness, probably the cognac. Some wood, musty attic funk and zesty citrus lead to a dry, tart and slightly bitter finish. Mouthfeel is just stellar, light but vibrant and not watery, with a fine carbnation that comes alive in the mouth. This is an absolutely top flight gueuze. The fruit notes and complexity were really stellar, and it all blended together and felt so nice to drink. Awesome!
Bottle at Dangerous Bottleshares WHLZBRZ edition, thanks Fredrik! Light hazy dark golden pour with a long lasting head. Tons of stone fruits, re apples, apple skin, minerals, musty oak, leather, barnyard, lime juice and a light spritzy mouthfeel. This was super good!
Bottle @ Dangerous Bottleshares WLZBRZ edition thanks to Phredrik! Pours hazy orange with a white head. Aroma is stunning. Where to begin? Lots of green grapes, funk, cheese, oak, mould, citrusy notes, goose berries, stable, horse blanket, leather among other subtle notes. Could sniff this 4dayz yo! The taste is tart, oaky and rather dry with some juiciness to it though. Apples, vinegar, wood, dank basement, citrus, weak orange, leather, ginger and weak lime. Just delicate and deep like a basement filled with awesome gems. Mysterious woody quality with lots of fruits and funk. Best gueuze I have had yet.
Golden pour. Very bright. Nose and taste are lemony, apple. Taste is tart lemon, some barrel. Muted compared to the other lambic tasted that night. Watery mouthfeel
750ml bottle enjoyed @ Dangerous Bottleshares - WLZBRZ edition, thanks to Phredrik. Pours hazy orange with a long lasting white head. Aroma is funky, gooseberries, lemon, apples, earthy, stone fruits, barnyard, wood and sour grapes. Quite complex! Medium bodied, thin texture but not watery, lively carbonation. Finish is dry, sour and complex.
Bottle brought by Phredrik to Dangerous Bottleshare WHLZBRZ-edition. Thank you so much for sharing this buddy. Pours hazy orange with a medium white head. This looks so good! Aroma hits you in the face with so much complexity right from the start. Right from the start it’s very funky, green tart apples, mold, red apples, red grapes, apricots, vinegary, cheese, gooseberries. Taste has lots of sour green apples, sweet red apples, elderflower, vinegary tart notes, citrus, lemon zest, cheesy funk, oak, hay and some tannins in the back. God damn, this is amazing. Best gueuze I’ve ever had for sure.
75 cl bottle at Dangerous Bottle share Whrzblz edition. Long time want, so stoked to finally drink this beast. Beautiful hazy orange pour, lasting white head. Aroma is heavenly funky, lots of lemon zest, grapefruit, layers of pedio-driven lactic complexity, apricots, peach and white grapes. Perhaps the best geuze aroma I’ve ever encountered. The first beer I would give a legit 11 in aroma. Taste is intensely tart, lots of citrus, elderflower, apricots - just bursting with fruity notes. This beer is truly mysterious, in every way. A true work of art. I am truly amazed by how perfect this beer is. Best geuze I have ever had, this one takes the price. First 5 from me, and this is truly worth it.
Bottle at Dangerous Bottleshares WHLZBRZ edition thanks to Phredrik (2008). Pours a a lovely hazy golden with a big, long lasting, rather dense, white head. Surprised to see this nice a head on an old gueuze! Aroma is extremely funky, dry, vinegary, white grapes, oak, just lots of wood characters, apricots, medium hard cheese, gooseberry. Taste is sour, complex, very velvety actually. A weird presence of elderflower, leather, vinegary tartness, subtle apple and grape fruity sweetness. Lots of lemon as well. Dry and funky. Just insanely complex! Body is extremely light and smooth without being watery. High carbonation. Easily the best Gueuze i’ve had!
Bottle shared at DHVL. Pours very hazy orange with an off white head. Aroma of cobwebs, dusty cellar, barnyard, oak, light earthy notes and light citrus. Flavour is moderate sour with a really dry finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation. Awesome!
Pours clear orange gold. Aroma is awesome, so funky and grimy, sweetish sourish with cognac accents and a brett end. Flavor is sour and bitter, lemon juice and a melange of funk, weird buggy malty basement, fungal wet firewood. Cognac lends a sweet accent. Whoa.
Lovely aroma, murky citrus, mild funk, green apples. Some elderflowers and tart berries. Tart and slight bitterness at the end.
Bottle at home with friends, courtesy of Dave. Huge thanks man! Pour is hazy orange with big white head and good lacing. Super funky, sweet tart, lemon rind, urine, oaky, white wine, herbal, cobwebs, and oranges in the aroma. Taste is white wine, funk, oaky, grassy, earthy, lemony, some biscuit, urine, fruity, and dusty with a semi-tart, dry finish. Medium body with high carbonation. Extremely dry, funky and well rounded. Such a treat.
At Stephen’s 2nd annual Great American Beer Festival Tasting on 10/1/14. Pours orange murky with layer of white foam head. Aroma is Classic Cantillon funk but more delicate, nice. Taste is complex and delicate gueuze lemon zest funk. Hay.
bottle shared by fux, huge thanks! pours hazy if not cloudy very pale golden with a very nice white head showing good retention and lacing. funk-plenty, lemony, peppery tropical fruits, very fruity - apricots amongst others, smooth oakiness - way better integration of cognac barreling than 50n, for instance, light acidity - gently citric and lactic - right on the spot, grassy and herbal old nobleness. bright carbonation, light body, very nice balance, ending tart and fruity. excellent!
Bottle shared by Fux, many many thanks F-X for this once in a lifetime opportunity! Pours a really hazy golden with a medium white head that leaves nice lacing. Nose is of funk, hay and fruits. Taste is acidic and dry, never too sour and really classy. I can’t say that I tasted any cognac unlike in 50’N 4’E but it was really fruity. More cheesy funk. Body is medium, carbonation as well and mouthfeel really vinous. Overall this was really, really good... awesome even I might say! Cantillon one-offs are just where it’s at! ;) Surprising since I usually choose 3F and Tilquin when looking for a "normal" oude gueuze...
Acquired one bottle in a trade and another @ DHVL in Belgium. Not sure which of these I’m open but both have been sitting horizontally in the cellar @ 55F for 6 months. Enjoyed split many ways but I made sure to get my pour first and tried to keep yeast out of things.
A - You still get this slightly off-cloudy orange like golden beer. champagne bubbles but only faint. 1 finger head fades to half a finger white fluffy and remains.
S - The nose is interesting. It’s a lot of sweet woody almost light candy aroma. Some very light spice, orange peel and a LOT of funk!
T - Well, the taste is incredible. I already like it far more than Blauw but it’s more acidic, more sweet-tart candy and less refined but a lot less oak. I’m guessing most of the intense flavors of 2008 are long faded most notably the distinct cognac. Honesty, I get a brandy note at the finish, some really moldy old grapes, old cheese. There’s a really nice present of sweetness and something else I can’t really describe. A well melded lambic
M - Very dry, acidity is higher than I would have hoped.
O - Worth the 125 Euro plus shipping? It’s really good! I’d drink Armand & tomme or fresh 3F Oude Gueuze any day. Still an interesting beer and I’d like to have tried it fresh.
Hazy golden pour. Big white head. Little lacing. Nice funky aroma. Citrus and grass. Taste is tart citrus. Lemon rind and malt.
Bottle. Pours gold with a white head. Tart and acidic, with faint fruity notes, rustic grainy notes, and a bright lemony tart finish. Awesome stuff.
One of Cantillon’s many one-offs, this time for De Heeren Van Liedekercke, a geuze made from the regular Cantillon lambic, one matured on bordeaux barrels and one matured on cognac barrels. Coarse and crispy, off-white, quickly dissolving head, colour an ochre blond, murky. Typical Cantillon nose, sulphuric, dry sherry, wet hay, horseblanket, white grapes, gooseberries, lemon and very, very faintly a hint of brandy. Fruity taste, grapes and gooseberries again, quickly overwhelmed by lactic acid and subdued citric acid, vinous mouthfeel, , grapefruit, sherry, tannines, very complex and dry finish, sour and bitterish. I’m a sucker for old geuze and this is one of the best I ever had the pleasure to taste.
Bottle thanks to Minh. Pours a cloudy orange with small frothy white head that lasts. The aroma is strong funk, oak, earth, and cognac. Medium mouthfeel with strong funk, citrus, pepper,bourdeux and nice lingering dry finish. Stoked to finally try this, very good.
From notes. Bottle. Pours a lightly hazy blond with minimal head. Aroma is very peppery, even green pepper and light barnyard funk. Cognac notes are definitly perceptible, there is decent oak presence, Taste is moderate lactic tartness with a strong oak presence. Softer than your average Cantillon. Carbonation is still very lively after aoll these years. Not a spectacular gueuze but well done and refined.
At Heeren van Liedekercke, with S&G Tasting group, first day trip.
APPEARANCE: light clouded blond beer, small unstable white head.
NOSE: barnyard, very sour, fruity, little sweet.
TASTE: completely, like Cantillon geuze actually, slightly aged though. Little more fruity maybe? But very nice geuze in general.
Bottle - pour a dark murky yellow. Nice tart notes in the nose plus a hint of brandy. The taste is sour and tart w/ a little peppery hint. Damn good!!!