Cantillon 50 Degrees North - 4 Degrees East

Description

50 Degrees North - 4 Degrees East is a lambic aged in brandy barrels (either cognac or armagnac as of the 2018 bottling). It has been released in five batches since 2007 in 75cl bottles and is listed as 7% ABV.

History / Other Notes

50 Degrees North - 4 Degrees East is the general location of Brussels in terms of geo-coordinates (50°51′0″N 4°21′0″E). The beer was first released in 2007 with a brew date of 2005. This was the first wide-spread and commercial release of a Cognac lambic from Cantillon though there were other smaller bottlings including LH12 and Cognac Lambic. The second batch was released in 2013 the week following Toer de Geuze and was bottled in February 2012. The label notes that the second batch was aged in barrels from Grosperrin Cognac.

A third batch of 50 Degrees North - 4 Degrees East was brewed and barreled in 2013. On February 13, 2013, Cantillon posted pictures of new Cognac barrels with the following caption: "We have received today 8 Cognac barrels. These are coming from La Gabare - Cognac Grosperrin in Chermignac (France). The barrels have contained Petite Champagne from 1975 and were emptied November 2012. They will be filled in normally next week." ^[1]

The fourth batch of 50 Degrees North - 4 Degrees East was brewed and barreled in November 2014. It was released in the spring of 2018 and was aged in Armagnac barrels rather than Cognac barrels.

The fifth batch was released in 2019 and is the first batch to come from wort that matured in brandy barrels. Though the barrels come from the Cognac region of France, they were not designated as Cognac barrels.

Bottle Log

Bottle date (mm/dd/yyyy)	Cork Date	Bottle Size	Label / Notes	Image Link
03/30/2007	2007	750mL	Batch 1, Cognac barrel aged	N/A
02/27/2012	2012	750mL	Batch 2, ~2500 bottles, Brewed 2/23/2010, Cognac barrel aged	N/A
12/07/2015	2015	750mL	Batch 3, brewed 28th February 2013 and bottled in December 2015, Cognac barrel aged
02/07/2017	Season 16/17	750mL	Batch 4, brewed 18th November 2014 and bottled in February 2017, Armagnac barrel aged 7% ABV	N/A
09/05/2017	Season 17/18	750mL	Batch "4.5", bottled in September 2017, Cognac barrel aged 7% ABV	N/A
12/04/2018	Season 18/19	750mL	Batch 5, blend of brews from 8 Dec 2015 and 10 Dec 2015, wort placed directly in brandy barrels to mature.
02/28/2020	Season 19/20	750ml	Batch 6, blend of 30 November 2016 and 6 December 2016
03/10/2020	Season 19/20	750ml	Batch 7, blend of 30 November 2016 and 6 December 2016, wort placed directly in Cognac barrels. Small portion of rum barrel aged lambic.
01/12/2022	Season 21/22	750ml	Batch 8, Blend of 2- and 3-year-old Lambics aged in Cognac, Rum and Marsala barrels (with a 55%-25%-20% blend ratio, respectively)

Label

2007 US Import
2007 Europe
2012 Europe
2017, Armagnac label

Batch 1 2007 (European) Bottle Text:
In March 2005, the Brewery Cantillon had bought second hand barrels in the region of Cognac. For 15 years, the wood had been impregnate with cognac. Then for 2 years, our lambic has extracted all the flavors and aromas to make a unique gueuze. The name comes from the geographic location of the brewery.

Batch 1 2007 (US Distribution) Bottle Text:
Lambic breweries have a long tradition of using second hand casks to age their beer. Most barrels would have contained red wine, but some would have had white wine or even port. The first lambic to be stored in any cask would always have a unique taste.

In March 2005, Brasserie Cantillon bought some casks from the Cognac region of France, where the divine liquid had been stored in them for 15 years. The first lambic to be stored in them would extract all those flavors from the wood as it aged gently for about two years.

When we first tasted this lambic in early 2007, we were overwhelmed by the extraordinary flavour and decided to bottle this beer as a 'Cuvée Spéciale'. We selected the very best lambic from the 2005 brew in order to create this Gueuze, a blend with a truely unique taste.

The name of the beer reflects the geographical region of the brewery in the centre of Brussels

Batch 2 2012 (European) Bottle Text:
Lambic Brewed on 23 February 2010, aged for 2 years in Cognac barrels, and bottled on 27 February 2012.

This unique Gueuze is the fruit of a collaboration between the Brasserie Cantillon and the cognac Grosperrin.

Batch 3 2015 (European) Bottle Text:
Lambic brewed on 28 February 2013, aged for 3 years in Cognac barrels and bottled on 7 December 2015.

This unique gueuze is the fruit of a collaboration between the Brasserie Cantillon and the Cognac Grosperrin.

Batch 5 2018 (European) Bottle Text:
Lambic brewed on 24 February 2015, aged in Brandy barrels and bottled on 4 December 2018.