Cantillon 50 Degrees North - 4 Degrees East

Description

50 Degrees North - 4 Degrees East is a lambic aged in Cognac barrels that has been released twice by Cantillon as of 2013.

History / Other Notes

50 Degrees North - 4 Degrees East is the general location of Brussels in terms of geocoordinates (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.

Unsubstantiated Stories

A third batch is purportedly in barrels as of 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]

Bottle Log

Bottle date (mm/dd/yyyy)	Cork Date	Bottle Size	Label / Notes	Image Link
03/30/2007	2007	750mL	Batch 1	N/A
02/27/2012	2012	750mL	Batch 2, ~2500 bottles, Brewed 2/23/2010	N/A

Label

2007 US Import
2007 Europe
2012 Europe

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 Grosperin.