A little over a year ago, we were in Brittany to submerge a few dozen bottles of Gueuze in the sea as a collaboration with Sylvain, an abalone farmer in Finistère. These bottles are still fermenting at a depth of 10 meters in the company of his charming creatures.
Once a month, Sylvain brings up the cages to add various types of algae for the mollusks to feed on. We tasted these same algae in tartare during our visit, and the idea came to us to try them in maceration with Lambic to create a partnership between the brewery and Sylvain's company. After several attempts, it turned out that seaweed, specifically the sea lettuce, gave the best result.
The beer is, of course, very different from the fruity, vinous, or floral tastes traditionally found in our products. This Zwanze 2024 exudes aromas of exotic fruits; it has notes of iodine with a slight salinity reminiscent of oysters. In short, a very different beer from what we are used to discovering at Cantillon - a true Zwanze!