Event: Cantillon Zwanze Day 2016

Doors open at 9:30am- Taps open at 10am! Zwanze 2016 tapping is at 2pm. We have a great day planned with rare beers, & special bottle releases throughout the day.

Draft List:

Imported
Zwanze 2016 Framboise • Brasserie Cantillon, Belgium
Guest Drafts TBA…

Domestic
Guest Drafts TBA…

Etc…
Cantillon Zwanze 2016 T-Shirt • Black or Raspberry with White Print • Unisex Sizes – 20$

Ticket Information:
Tickets are 85$ each w/ 2oz sample of Cantillon Zwanze 2016. Tickets will be available the day of the event.  Cash only. Credit cards will not be accepted for Zwanze Day event tickets. We have a limited number of 2oz Zwanze Tickets and they will be sold on a first come first served basis.  Tickets for the event without a sample of Zwanze are 75$ each.

• Ticket includes one Limited Edition Cantillon/WLV Zwanze Day 2016 Rastal Glass for sampling.
• Ticket w/ Zwanze  includes one 2oz pour of Cantillon Zwanze 2016 and unlimited samples of all other drafts while they last.
• Ticket price includes food.
• Ticket purchasers must be 21. No one under 21 permitted into the event.
• A valid State issued ID or passport are required for entry
• No refunds.
• The event is rain or shine.
• If you break your glass you can purchase an additional one for 10$.
• Zwanze Day 2016 ticket holders will be permitted access to WLV’s exclusive collection of cellared bottles for purchase. Credit cards are accepted for bottle & merchandise sales.

Jean Van Roy on “The Zwanze 2016”:

When I was a kid, I would come to the brewery to lend a hand during my summer vacations. My father needed help refilling barrels of lambic with sour cherries and raspberries that came to the brewery by the ton. I would go home with red hands and a small case of indigestion after having stuffed myself, too!

At the time, sour cherries and raspberries came from the Pajottenland, harvested within about ten kilometers of the brewery: local fruit for a local beer. The summers were subject to the whims of the weather, going from sunny and hot one year to wet and cold the next. Being finicky fruit, raspberries were particularly sensitive to the changing weather, and went from being very flavorful and brilliant red to bland and colorless – something that of course determined the degree of acidity and the color of our Framboise Lambic.

At the beginning of the ’80s, we compensated for the lack of color in our Framboise with the addition of Kriek Lambic. The excessive acidity added by the fruit was tempered by the use of vanilla. This is how, during the decade to follow, Cantillon Framboise evolved into a blend of 75% raspberries, 25% sour cherries, and .05% vanilla.

Throughout the ’90s, with increasing demand for housing, labor costs rising, and artificial flavors and syrups coming into use by many of the Lambic brewers, there was an almost complete disappearance of cherry orchards and raspberry farms in the Pajottenland. We were therefore forced to look for our fruit outside of Belgium. Today, our raspberries come from Serbia. Brighter, more flavorful, and more consistent than their Belgian cousins, these Serbian raspberries mean we no longer need to turn to cherries and vanilla to make our Rosé de Gambrinus, which is now 100% raspberry.

For Zwanze 2016, I wanted to do a bit of a throwback and revisit one of these old blends. Since the intensity of today’s Rosé de Gambrinus approaches that of the Kriek, the additions of cherries to the raspberries no longer seemed necessary.

Instead, we had to turn to a fruit that would bring more intense color and flavor sufficient to stand out. My choice was to bring in the blueberries that we’ve used for the last ten years to create our Blåbær Lambic, a special beer done for the Danish market.

For our third ingredient, we’ve opted to use the finest possible Bourbon vanilla beans. During the ’80s we used vanilla extract for reasons purely financial. Traditional Lambic-based beers were, at the time, under-appreciated and the breweries that produced only spontaneously fermented beers struggled to make ends meet. Cantillon was no exception, and it was impossible for us to use real vanilla in our Framboise. Zwanze 2016 is the new incarnation of what should have been during the dark years of Lambic.

To best appreciate the complexity of this beer, we suggest tasting it at a temperature of 12 to 15° C (55 to 60º F). Don’t hesitate to warm your glass a bit if the beer is served too cold.

We’ve stepped back in time 30 years for Zwanze 2016, which is the result of a blend of 82% raspberries, 18% blueberries, and .05% Bourbon Vanilla beans, on which we’ve aged two-year-old Lambic at a rate of 300g fruit per liter.

À votre santé et vive le Lambic!

Jean