Tried and true followers will remember Cantillon from my post on Zwanze Day in week 37, I decided to revisit the highly sought after brewery after seeing their beer on the bottle list at Pizza Paradiso in Georgetown. Cantillon is so well known for their ability to create the best of the best in terms of Lambics, which go without saying that they make good Krieks and Gueuze as well. The brewery pays so close attention to detail and the history of brewing these quirky, sometimes scoffed at, beers, and the dedication shows.

Out of the bottle we have a clear red pour with a fizzy pink head. Much larger head than I was expecting. No lacing but decent retention. My server poured the beer, and set the bottle down before clearing the bottle, meaning my second pour was much more cloudy as the pour unsettled the yeast residing on the bottom of the bottle. More seasoned Lambic pourers keep the bottle on it’s side after the first pour to avoid this occurrence. It has a very sour smell with hints of cherries. While it is very funky, the acidity takes over.  Following the smell the taste is much more acidic than funky and the cherries fall in the background, providing balance. Very delicious. While the acidity is the forefront, it is not overbearing. The funk and cherries balance it out very nicely and leave a tart aftertaste, which hangs on well after the beer has left the palate. Light and carbonated very well. Extremely dry finish. Very tart. This is very, very good. Balanced, tart, funky, easy drinking. I can understand why these are so hard to come by.

When this week rolled around, I knew I had something special on hand. The recipe below, for a Rodenbach Grand Cru Cherry Pie really caught my eye, and I immediately went out to acquire the supplies.

Looks delicious right? Well getting the supplies turn out to be a bit more difficult than I expected. Apparently Cherry Preserves are not easy to come by, and Rodenbach Grand Cru is not readily available. I made a judgement call and went with Duchesse de Bourgogne (another Flanders Red Ale, that I decided would provide the same tart cherry flavors the Grand Cru would otherwise lend).

Following the recipe, I allowed the cherries to sit and absorb a bit of the Flanders Red overnight. Seeing that the bottle was already popped, I decided to sample a bit myself! Below are the pics, and a review

The beer pours a clear red to brown pour with a small light brown head. The very bubbly head really does not last long. Hints of vinegar, and a lot of tart cherries waft from the glass. Having just combined the beer in the dough recipe and soaking some tart cherries in it, the cherry smell really comes out well for me. It has been a long time since I had this beer last (on tap at Zeno’s Pub), and wow my palate has certainly evolved. The vinegar/sour flavor adds a nice accent to the very tart cherries. The lip smuckering taste really keeps you coming back for more. Light and carbonated well. The dryness of the beer coats your mouth with flavor as you drink. Great beer. Can’t wait to see how the pie turns out. Flavorful, tart, delicious.

I assembled the pie and readied it for the oven!

How delicious do those cherries look?

Above the pre-baking and below the post!

And now to top it all off with some whipped cream, open up a bottle of Hanssens Oude Kriek, and enjoy a boatload of tart, mind boggling-ly good, calorie filled cherry pie

The beer pours a nice, clear, red without any head. Looks to have a low amount of carbonation. Very tart smell, the vinegar and barnyard funk are strong but not dominant. A ton of cherries are noticed, sweet, wonderful cherries. The taste is extremely acidic, but the tart cherries and funk aren’t to be outdone. Very intricate taste that keeps you coming back. Acidic, low carbonation, not terribly drinkable. A sipping, after dinner beer for sure. This was great, paired nicely with the pie. Couldn’t do more than a glass though.

The pie was delicious. Tart, sweet, decadent, delicious. I would love to make this again.