Brasserie Cantillon Zwanze (2021) Parasol

Zwanze (2021) Parasol

 

Brasserie Cantillon in Anderlecht, Brussels Capital Region, Belgium 🇧🇪

  Lambic Style - Fruit Special Out of Production
Score
7.52
ABV: 5.0% IBU: - Ticks: 48
In the early 50’s, Paul Cantillon tried blending Lambic and oranges. The result wasn’t exactly spectacular.
The refermentation in the bottles was so strong, that the brewery workers at the time were forced to sprint past the bottles through the cellar in order to avoid being hit by popping corks and drenched in beer.
Our grandfather Marcel Cantillon loved this story, and often loved to tell it to us as children.
So 70 years later, inspired by our great-grandfather, we’ve made a special blend of Lambic and citrus (a blend featuring mostly oranges) in his honor.
The acidity of the beer and the fruit and the freshness of the citrus in contrast to the bitterness of their zests makes for a particlarly thirst-quenching Zwanze.
The name Parasol will remind my fellow Belgians of a certain age of the orange-flavored soft-drink of the same name we used to drink back in the day.
 

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7.4
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 6.5

Bottle shared at the brewery. I had some reservations towards the citrus-in-lambic concept beforehand cause I was afraid of the excess bitterness-dryness combination, but in that aspect the beer turned out just fine. It is dry, but not too much so, and the citrus does not add much bitterness, on the other hand... It does provide a weird, lowkey chemical character that just makes me feel like I'm drinking soap. It's mainly in the taste, but the aroma is also very perfumey apart from the expected citric, funky and earthy notes. All in all still not terrible, but it's quite far from outstanding too.

Tried from Bottle on 17 Mar 2025 at 11:53


7.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Tried on 03 Feb 2025 at 21:32



7
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

750mL bottle, pours a clear golden with a large white head. Nose brings out lots of soapy, detergent-y orange peel, gentle funk, and more floral notes. Flavour is medium-high acidity, with orange peel, perfumey lemon cleaner, and lightly funky. Yeah, too much perfumey, cleaner-like character here, but the best cleaner I've tasted. Good but subpar for Cantillon.

Tried from Bottle on 16 May 2023 at 13:10


7.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

750ml shared with Ryan, Phill, Jonathan and his wife. Appearance: hazy straw with a white head. Vintage 2021. Aroma: lots of oranges (up to the artificial point basically), some funk, little sweetness. Taste: same. Overall: not bad.

Tried on 15 May 2023 at 13:57


7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Poured from 750mL bottle. Finally, a first Zwanze beer. Hazed gold with white head. Lots of citrus, verging on cleaning supplies, but still a subtle sweetness, decent.

Tried from Bottle on 15 May 2023 at 13:49


8

Great fruity orange nose. The beer starts deep fruity oranges, like bitter orange jam with no sugars. Hints of grain, fruits, orange peel. Fantastic sour fruity finish.

Tried on 22 Oct 2022 at 09:16


7

75cl bottle. A clear golden beer with a white head. Aroma of zest, orange fruits, tangerine, sour fruits. Taste of sour oranges, zest, lemon. Good.

Tried from Bottle on 22 Oct 2022 at 09:15


8.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle. Cantillon. Hazed pale gold. Huge foam settles to a slim ring. Nose has a big hit of juicy sweet orange. Orange jelly. Some honeyed flora. Taste is unexpectedly tart and dry. Super clean and bright. Brisk carbonation. Moderate acidity. Clean orangey finish. A bit different. Nice.

Tried from Bottle on 09 Sep 2022 at 10:55


7.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8.5

On tap at Green Bench. Yellow pour with a white head. Citrus bouquet. Surprise, it’s citrusy. It’s good but I feel like we’ve lost ourselves in experimentation. Good body and mouthfeel.

Tried from Draft on 06 Apr 2022 at 19:05