Cantillon Druivenlambik (Cuvée Neuf Nations)
Description
Cantillon Druivenlambik is a 2-year-old lambic with muscat grapes brewed and labeled for the Les Neuf Nations de Bruxelles (Nine Nations of Brussels) organization, who asked for a new beer made especially for them. It is considered the predecessor to Cantillon Vigneronne. There were two batches made. The first was served still and bottled in unlabeled white wine bottles. [1].
The second batch was carbonated and served in champagne style bottles. It was brewed in 1985 with Muscat grapes added in 1987.
History / Side Notes
Cuvée des Neufs Nations was not the first grape lambic made by Cantillon. Jean-Pierre Van Roy stated that grape lambic was not new and that he had known about it for years, as when he was younger he found an old commercial from 1901 displaying a Druivenlambik. However, in the 1970s nobody was using grapes in lambic anymore. In 1973, he was having dinner at the Denaeyer restaurant (closed since), and the owner found an old bottle of lambic in the cellar which indicated the use of Muscat grapes. Having an affinity for wine (which he shared a few times in his Grummelinkske, the quarterly letter he writes for the members of the Brussels Gueuze Museum), it gave him the idea to restart that trend again, and in 1973, he bottled a grape lambic using 100 kg of Royal (also called Royal Belge or Royal Emile), a black table grape varietal grown in Belgium, on 2000 L of lambic. It was served straight from the barrels at the brewery and served to friends. A few bottles have been made but never sold. According to him, his experiments with grapes brought this style back into style and other producers started using grapes in lambic again.[2]
Unsubstantiated Stories
In 1994, Kulminator had this listed on their menu as "Der Zeven Naties (Cantillon Druivenbier)" which appears to be a typo. We cannot find any other references to the Seven Nations. The price for this beer was listed as 370 Belgian Francs, or slightly under $11.00 USD for a 750 mL in June of 1994.[3]
Bottle Log
| Bottled | Bottle Size | Label / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 750 mL | Unlabeled, white wine bottles |
| 1987 | 750 mL | Labeled champagne bottles |
References
- ↑ Joris Pattyn, Ratebeer, http://www.ratebeer.com/forums/cantillon-druivenlambic_169976.htm
- ↑ Jean-Pierre Van Roy, Interview with Lambic.Info, February 2025
- ↑ Lambic Digest, June 8, 1994, http://192.185.42.233/lambic_digest/1994/364.txt
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