Cantillon Brabantiae

Description

Brabantiæ is a gueuze finished in port wine barrels, made to honor the Belgian King Baudouin (7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993). It was released for the Koningsfeesten (King's Celebrations) in 1991.

History / Other Notes

Jean-Pierre brewed three batches of lambic (November 1987, February 1989, and January 1990). He first aged this lambic in 650 L wine barrels ("pijpen" or "pipes") from Spain. Next, the batches were finished in Old Tawny Superior Port barrels from Portugal.

Francis De Hondt requested that Cantillon create a special cuvée to honor King Baudouin (also Duke of Brabant) to celebrate the Koningsfeesten. This particular anniversary was special as it represented a triple anniversary for the King (30 years of marriage, 40 years of reign, and the King’s 60th birthday). Brabantiae, which was already in barrels, was named and provided for this celebration.^[1]^[2]

Indeterminable Bottle Date

There is conflicting information regarding the bottling date of this beer. Piet Sierens at www.wiels.nl presented the three lambic brew dates referenced above and declares that Brabantiæ was bottled in December 1990.^[2] However, according to Raymond Buren in Gueuze, Faro, et Kriek, Brabantiæ was bottled on May 16, 1991. ^[3]

New blends

In March of 2016, Cantillon announced the arrival of freshly emptied port barrels at the brewery. A total of 50 barrels of 500 L each will be filled for a future release of the second batch of Brabantiæ.

Jean Van Roy stated that "twenty-five years ago, in 1991, my father, Jean-Pierre Van Roy released a special Gueuze in response to a demand from the Province of Brabant. The "Brabantiæ" was born. It was a lambic matured in fresh port barrels and refermented in bottles. To end this brewing season 2015/2016, we bought 50 Port barrels from 500 liters, freshly emptied. If everything goes as expected, after 2 years of maturation in these barrels and 1 year of secondary fermentation in the bottles, a new "Brabantiæ" will be launched in 2019, 28 years after the first one!"

Port barrels being filled March 2016, photo courtesy of Don Lowman
Port barrels being filled March 2016, photo courtesy of Don Lowman
Port barrels being filled March 2016, photo courtesy of Don Lowman

Bottle Log

Bottle date (mm/dd/yyyy)	Cork Date	Bottle Size	Label / Notes	Image
ca.1990-1991	N/A	750 mL	Disputed bottling dates	-
11/19/2018	Season 18/19	750 mL	New label
11/25/2018	Season 18/19	750 mL	New label
11/27/2018	Season 18/19	750 mL	New Label
02/12/2019	Season 18/19	750 mL	New label	-
02/12/2019	N/A	Keg		-

Label

The original label for Brabantiæ was designed by Luc Putnam, a Belgian painter who was living in Brussels and known for his architectural drawings. He passed away in 2002. The label for the 2018 release was drawn by Brussels artist Ammo (Amaury Dastarac).

Original label, hand signed by Luc Putnam, courtesy of Berto Carduus
Original label, hand signed by Luc Putnam with bottle size and ABV handwritten, courtesy of Berto Carduus
Original label for 37,5cl bottle (never used or known to exist in this size),courtesy of Berto Carduus
Original label
2018 label