(Belgium, EU) - Cantillon Brewery has some good news for fans of lambics. They have an update on their Zwanze 2011 release. They have decided to have one day to celebrate the opening of the barrels and bottles --- Zwanze Day 2011. That day is September 17th, 2011. The list of locations are bwlow. Further details are also below...

Clips from the Cantillon website post (it's a LONG post, but worth the read, link is also below):

In keeping with our approach to brewing and selling beer, as well as out of respect for the product and the attitude implied with the name Zwanze, we don't want these vintages to become marketing tools designed exclusively to make a few bucks. A case in point: Zwanze 2010 was bottled with numbered stickers, and after one bottle had been sold at the brewery for 6 euros another one ended up on eBay less than a week later with a price tag of 80 euros. Because of my dedication to my work as a brewer and out of respect for the product itself, it is very important to me for prices to stay reasonable. Unfortunately, there are those out there who couldn't care less about spontaneous fermentation beer but who do care a lot about making easy money. For this reason, it has been decided that not a single bottle of Zwanze 2011 will be sold by Cantillon Brewery.

The story behind Zwanze 2011 is one of friendship between a brewer of organic lambic and an «organic» winegrower, Olivier Lemasson. In a lot of ways, working with lambic is similar to winemaking, and so we in fact have much in common with viticulturists who use a biodynamic approach to agriculture. Although our products are different, we speak the same language: that of devotion to our respective trades, natural methods and harmony with nature. Olivier Lemasson, who produces Vins Contés, is an organic viticulturist in the French region of Val de Loire who works with what are often long-forgotten local grape varieties.

Also from the website post:

So to recap, there will not be any bottles of Zwanze put on sale so as to avoid any overpricing. On top of this, contrary to what was done with the Zwanze in previous years (with 80% of the production going into bottles), 2/3 of the Zwanze production for 2011 has been put into barrels. The goal here is to try to make certain that Cantillon enthusiasts everywhere will have a chance to taste the beer while short-circuiting those whose just want to make a fast buck.

In order to create an ephemeral event for this ephemeral beer, I decided to have all these barrels opened and enjoyed on the same day, when possible at the same time, by our friends throughout the world in places like Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the United States, Japan, Canada, France and Belgium.

This event, which we'll call «ZwanzeDay», will take place on Saturday, 17 September at the following locations:

• America - USA :
  • Monk's Café in Philly
  • Spuyten Duyvil in New York
  • Lord Hobo in Boston
  • Novare Res in Maine
  • Churchkey in Washington DC
  • West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago
  • The Avenue Pub in New Orleans
  • Holy Grale in Kentucky
  • Russian River in Northern CA
  • Stone in Southern CA
• America - Canada :
  • Canada - Montréal : Dieu du Ciel
• Europe :
  • Belgium - Brussels : Moeder Lambic Fontainas - Moeder Lambic Saint-Gilles
  • France - Paris : La Cave à Bulles
  • France - Fougères sur Bièvre : La Gardette - Les Vins Contés
  • Italy - Rome : Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà
  • Italy - Bergamo : The Dome
  • Italy - Nicorvo : Sherwood Pub
  • Finland - Helsinki : Pikkulitu
  • Denmark - Copenhagen : Olbutikken
  • Sweden - Stockholm : Akkurat
• Asia :
  • Japan - Osaka : Dolphin's

Link to Cantillon website post