Cantillion, one of the most sought after lambic brewers in the world might be changing things up a bit in the near future. Their lambics (sour wheat beer endemic to Brussels) have been aged in wooden barrels for years. Soon, you may partake in a Cantillion lambic from a new style of barrel – an amphora.
John-Pierre Van Roy writes:
Until recently I would have never even imagined myself putting my beer into anything besides a barrel, and yet… And yet, a blind wine tasting session completely changed my vision of things. On that occasion I tasted something which truly caused me to lose my composure. Its exceptional fragrance and finish, unbelievable complexity bringing together fruitiness, freshness and minerality made it incomparable with a “traditional” wine. There was clearly something different at work here, but what?
Amphora. What’s that you might ask? It’s pictured below.
An amphora was a vessel to carry liquid in the Mediterranean, and more notably the Roman Empire. It even became a unit of measurement by the Romans. There are a few winemakers these days that are using this pots to make natural wine, without the addition of extra yeast. The method of making these wines are similar to lambic making.
Cantillion has recently acquired 12 of these vessels, soaked them in water, and filled them with lambic this month. First tastes of these amphora lambics will ready this fall.
Side Note: A reader inquired about what wines inspired this. There’s a bit more from Cantillion:
Wikipedia can give you a full rundown on amphoras…
