Saturday, December 1 was this year’s Cantillon Zwanze Day, and I was fortunate enough to attend a Zwanze celebration in Cambridge, MA. (For information on Zwanze Day and a recap of the Zwanze Day event , read this post.)
Like many beer nerds, I collect beer glassware. And some of the more difficult glasses to obtain are Cantillon glasses. Sure, you can order some of them online from Belgium, but the shipping costs more than triple the price of an already expensive glass. So I’m always on the lookout for different ways to obtain Cantillon glassware.
Prior to the 2012 Zwanze Day celebrations, I’d read a number of recaps about Zwanze events in past years at which attendees could purchase Cantillon Zwanze glasses. So I was really looking forward to grabbing a few at Lord Hobo in Cambridge. But unfortunately, Lord Hobo didn’t have Zwanze glasses or any other Cantillon crap for sale. (I later read that the bar was supposed to get t-shirts and glasses, but they never showed up on time, but I’m not sure if that’s true or not.)
So I had to take things into my own hands. After some online research, I found a liquor store in Chicago that’s selling both Cantillon Zwanze 2012 tees and tulip glasses. The glasses have the West Lakeview Liquors name on them, but that’s a small price to pay for a unique Cantillon glass. (West Lakeview hosted its own Zwanze celebration on December 1.) Now if you didn’t attend any of the events, or you’re just not particularly interested in Cantillon glassware, you might be wondering why you should care. But if you’re thinking that than fuck you, man, I didn’t tell you to read this post.
If you do care, you too can get yourself Cantillon Zwanze 2012 glasses and t-shirts from West Lakeview Liquors. The glasses cost $9.99 each, and I paid $21.99 for my shirt–$19.99 plust $2 for the XXL size. The glasses have the liquor store’s name on them, but I don’t mind. And the t-shirt is the definition of beer-nerd chic, with a small Cantillon logo on the front left breast and a list of all the 2012 Zwanze Day locations on the back. West Lakeview even still has a few Zwanze Day 2011 t-shirts, if you’d rather than vintage.
Visit the store’s website for more details on the glasses and tees. But you should act fast if you’re interested; the glasses in particular will be gone before long.
UBN
Urban Beer Nerd 
Oh hell yeah. They did not have XXL shirts when I was at Zwanze Day at Novare Res. Thanks for the link man!
http://thefuj.com/2012/12/03/zwanze-day-at-novare-res-bier-cafe/
No problem. I was really bummed when Lord Hobo in Cambridge, MA, didn’t have tees or glasses, so I was equally psyched to find glasses and tees online. The t-shirt is badass too. Cheers.
UBN
I grabbed a Novare Res shirt which I have no complaints about. My GF ended up with the Zwanze 2012 shirt which and I was completely jealous. No glassware up at Novare Res, either but I am holding out for some “official” Cantillon glasses at the moment.
I hear ya. As I wrote in my post, and you probably know, you can find “official” glasses online. BelgiumInABox.com has tasting (http://belgiuminabox.com/shop/1566-cantillon-lambic-geueze-tasting-glass-sherry-style.html) and tulip glasses ( http://belgiuminabox.com/shop/belgian-lambic-gueuze-glassware-/1514-cantillon-fruit-lambic-tasting-glass.html). And a number of sites in Europe sell Cantillon gueuze glasses, including BelgianShop.com. But the shipping charges are absurd.
Nice post by the way. Great images. I love Novare Res. ( https://urbanbeernerd.com/2012/11/11/barflys-view-novare-res-bier-cafe-in-portland-maine/). I’m actually headed to Portland next week, and Novare will be one of my first stops.
UBN
[…] in Belgium, attend some special event, like Zwanze Day, at which the shirts were being sold or find some random online retailer. Now you purchase Cantillon t-shirts and sweatshirts online directly from […]