Cantillon & Belgian Lambics: The Ultimate Guide

Published by Johan Clerc — Wines & Spirits SA, Switzerland

There are beers, and then there is Cantillon. Founded in Brussels in 1900, Brasserie Cantillon remains one of the most revered names in the entire world of craft beverages — not just beer. A bottle of Cantillon Gueuze or Rosé de Gambrinus is not something you pick up on a whim. It is something you seek, cellar, and share with people who understand what they are holding.

This guide is for everyone: the curious newcomer who has just heard about lambic for the first time, and the seasoned collector who wants to know which bottles are worth hunting down right now. Let’s start from the beginning.

What is Lambic Beer?

Lambic is one of the oldest and most radical beer styles in existence. Unlike virtually every other beer in the world, lambic is not fermented with a cultivated yeast strain. Instead, the wort is left exposed to the open air — in Brussels, in the Senne valley — and wild yeasts and bacteria naturally present in the environment begin fermentation. This process is called spontaneous fermentation, and it is completely uncontrollable. Every batch is different. Every vintage is unique.

The result, after months or years of maturation in old oak barrels, is a beer unlike anything else: complex, acidic, funky, evolving. A good lambic is closer to a fine wine or a farmhouse cider than to anything most people call beer.

Cantillon uses a mash of roughly 65% malted barley and 35% unmalted wheat, aged hops (which lose their bitterness but retain their preservative qualities), and the wild microflora of Brussels. Their barrels are at least 40 years old, many of which previously held French wine, port or sherry. Master Brewer Jean-Pierre Van Roy personally tastes every single cask, deciding when each lambic is ready for blending.

The Key Styles: A Beginner’s Map

Lambic (Straight Lambic)

The raw, unblended base beer. Flat, intensely sour, and deeply funky. Not widely available outside the brewery itself. An acquired taste, but endlessly fascinating.

Gueuze

The masterpiece of the lambic family. Gueuze is a blend of lambics of different ages — typically one, two, and three years old — bottled and refermented, creating natural carbonation similar to the méthode champenoise used in Champagne. The result is effervescent, complex, and age-worthy. Cantillon Gueuze can be cellared for 20+ years and will continue to evolve beautifully.

Kriek

Lambic refermented with whole cherries — traditionally the rare Schaarbeek variety, small, intensely flavoured and deeply tart. Cantillon Kriek is not sweet. It is sour, dry, and extraordinarily complex. Nothing like the industrial cherry beers sold in most bars.

Rosé de Gambrinus

One of Cantillon’s most celebrated expressions. A lambic refermented with raspberries (and a small amount of cherries), producing a brilliant pink-orange colour and an intensely fruity, acidic nose. Best drunk relatively young to capture the vibrant raspberry character.

Lou Pepe Gueuze

A premium cuvée, distinct from the Classic Gueuze in that it uses only two-year-old lambics. The result is richer, more concentrated, and highly sought-after by collectors.

Grand Cru Bruocsella

Three years in oak barrels, unblended, unbottled until full maturity. An old lambic in the purest sense — no secondary fermentation, bone dry, extraordinarily complex. Among the rarest Cantillon expressions.

Why is Cantillon So Hard to Find?

Cantillon produces a tiny quantity of beer by any commercial standard. The brewery — still located in the heart of Brussels — operates on a human scale, with Jean-Pierre Van Roy and his family overseeing every step. Production cannot simply be scaled up: spontaneous fermentation depends on the specific microbial environment of Brussels, and the old oak barrels that give the beer its character take decades to season properly.

Demand, meanwhile, has exploded globally over the past decade. Cantillon regularly appears at the top of BeerAdvocate and RateBeer rankings. A single bottle of Gueuze 2-3-4 Magnum, as served at the 2025 Quintessence event, represents something most collectors will never taste.

The practical result: in most countries, Cantillon allocations are tiny. Retailers who receive any at all are lucky to get a case or two per year. Bottles sell within hours of release — sometimes minutes.

Drie Fonteinen: The Other Great Name

No guide to Belgian lambics is complete without mentioning Drie Fonteinen. Based in Beersel, just south of Brussels, Drie Fonteinen is Cantillon’s closest rival in prestige and scarcity. Founded as a blendery (gueuzerie) rather than a brewery, they purchase lambic from multiple producers and blend it into expressions of remarkable complexity.

Key bottles to know: Oude Gueuze (the flagship), Armand & Gaston (a prestige blend), and their seasonal fruit lambics. Like Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen bottles sell fast and age magnificently.

How to Buy Cantillon and Belgian Lambics in Switzerland and Europe

This is the honest answer: it is difficult. Cantillon does not sell direct internationally. Most bottles reach the market through a network of specialist importers, and then through a small number of dedicated retailers who have built relationships with those importers over years.

At Wines & Spirits SA, we have been sourcing Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen through careful allocation for years. Our stock is limited by nature — that is the reality of these beers — but when we have bottles available, they are genuine, properly stored, and available for worldwide shipping.

→ Browse our current Cantillon selection

→ Browse our current Drie Fonteinen selection

How to Cellar Belgian Lambics

One of the great joys of lambic — and one that sets it apart from almost every other beer style — is its ability to age. A well-stored Cantillon Gueuze does not just survive years in the cellar; it improves. The beer continues to slowly referment in the bottle, the acids integrate, the funk mellows, and new layers of complexity emerge.

Guidelines for cellaring:

• Temperature: 12–15°C, stable. Avoid temperature fluctuations.
• Position: Store upright, like Champagne. The cork needs to stay moist from the inside via the carbonation, not from the wine.
• Light: Complete darkness. UV degrades lambic rapidly.
• Time: Most Cantillon Gueuze is excellent from release and will improve for 10–20 years. Rosé de Gambrinus is better young (within 5 years) to preserve the fruit character.

Tasting Notes: What to Expect

Cantillon Gueuze — Golden yellow, effervescent. Aromas of lemon, green apple, hay, earthy funk, and a hint of white wine. On the palate: bracingly tart, dry, with a long mineral finish. Improves significantly with 3–5 years of cellaring.

Cantillon Kriek — Deep ruby. Intense sour cherry on the nose, complemented by barnyard, leather, and a faint calvados note. The palate is dry, complex, and extraordinarily long. Not for the faint-hearted — and all the better for it.

Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus — Vibrant pink-orange. Explosive raspberry aromatics, tart and fresh. Drink within 3–5 years for maximum fruit expression. One of the most beautiful fruit beers ever made.

Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze — Similar profile to Cantillon Gueuze but often slightly more restrained in acidity, with more stone fruit and a rounder mouthfeel. Exceptional value relative to its quality.

Are Cantillon Bottles a Good Investment?

This is a question I get often, and the honest answer is: it depends on what you mean by investment.

Cantillon bottles do hold their value and often appreciate, particularly rarer expressions and older vintages. A 2010 Rosé de Gambrinus or a Lou Pepe from the same era will today command a significant premium over its original release price. The secondary market for Cantillon is active and liquid.

That said, I always tell people the same thing: buy what you want to drink. The best investment is one that gives you pleasure — either the pleasure of drinking the bottle, or the pleasure of giving it to someone who will truly appreciate it. Cantillon does both magnificently.

Our Selection at Wines & Spirits SA

We stock Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen on an allocation basis — which means availability is limited and changes regularly. If you are looking for a specific expression, contact us directly and we will let you know what is coming next.

We ship worldwide from Switzerland, with careful packaging designed specifically for fragile bottle formats. All bottles are stored in optimal conditions at our facility in Eclépens.

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Johan Clerc is the founder of Wines & Spirits SA and has been collecting and sourcing exceptional beers, whiskies, and wines for over 25 years. Based in Eclépens, Switzerland, Wines & Spirits SA ships worldwide.