RateBeer
Score
9996
OVERALLStyle
Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended
Brussels, Belgium
Serve in Flute, Tumbler

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution

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RATINGS: 833   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.79   EST. CALORIES: 150   ABV: 5%
COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
The Cantillon brewery is closely linked to Brussels, a city which has the iris as its symbol. As the name indicates, the "marsh iris" is a plant growing in humid areas. The historical center of Brussels is built on swamps where this flower used to grow abundantly.
In 1998, the Brussels Museum of the Gueuze celebrated its 20th anniversary. The Cantillon brewery decided to make a new spontaneous fermentation beer for this occasion, named after this symbolic flower.
It is a completely original beer which, contrary to the other products of the Brewery, is not brewed with 35% of wheat. The Iris, which is only made with malt of the pale ale type (giving a more amber colour to the beer) conserves the typical flavour of the spontaneous fermentation, the complex aromas and the vinous taste.
The hopping is different too. Lambic is made with 100% dried hops, for the Iris we use 50% of dried hops and 50% of fresh hops. The latter cause a superb acidity, the former, due to their tannins, enable to conserve the beer while preserving all its qualities.
After two years in the barrel, the Iris undergoes a second fresh hopping two weeks before the bottling. A linen bag, filled with hops, is soaked in the beer for two weeks. This technique, called "cold hopping", gives the beer a more intense savour and makes the smell and the taste more bitter.


4.1
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
DruncanVeasey (4800) - NUNEATON, Conference North, Warwickshire, ENGLAND - NOV 25, 2010
Cold-hopped unblended lambic?? Yes please. 750ml bottle- 2007 vintage. When I prised the cap, beer started foaming through the cork- quite an entrance, and not the kind of hissing carbonation I’ve come to expect from lambic. Pours clear to dusky honey-amber with a subsiding, uneven, slightly yellowed collar. Intense, drool-making scent of mouldy lemon, horseblanket, blackcurrant wine gums. Not as bone dry and teeth-squeakingly caustic as your typical Cantillon; plenty of lemon and sour apple acidity, but leavened with honey, green tea and Rowntree’s blackcurrant wine gum notes. I really can taste a citric, lemon zest softness from the hops here- deep in the mix, but reminiscent of a US variety (!). Goes from puckeringly tart to hoppily (almost) dry in one swig. Complex, approachable. Not overpowered by stomach-rotting acidity. Uncommonly good beer, and probably my favourite Cantillon I’ve had to date.

4.1
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
screwball (1073) - Motala, SWEDEN - NOV 22, 2010
Bought at the brewery and I had this at home here in Sweden. It was definitely worth the money. Pours a beautiful orange and little cloudy. Aroma is just fantastic. Complex. Has fruits, citrus, cops, barn and is vinous. Flavor is fruity, acid, vinous and bitter. Palate is dry and just fantastic.

4.1
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
BeerBaboon (846) - FINLAND - NOV 21, 2010
Dark orange and hazy. Big, frothy, off white head. As I pour it into the glass the air is filled with the smell of acid. Very sour and full with acidity. After a while I am rather sure that it is lemon that I am tasting. There is a presence of pine too. Aroma is mostly lemon, acid and yeast. This is a rather special drink.

4.2
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 16/20
italarican (797) - Astoria, New York, USA - NOV 9, 2010
2006 bottle at Where the Wild Beers Are. Murky bronze pour with eggshell head. Oak and oats in the nose that are topped by a great cheesy funkiness and some lemon peel. Flavor is rich of lemon undercut by horseblanket and some soft Honey Bunches of Oats. Intensely sour finish with a subtle emerging hoppiness. I don’t normally like that pine feature in tart beers, but it very much complements the lemon qualities here. World class.

3.5
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 15/20
darkseduction (348) - Zweibrücken, GERMANY - OCT 20, 2010
Bottle 375cl, 2007 vintage. Brett smell in the nose, wood, grassy hops. Cider-like first impression, then the wooden cask taste, yeasty but refreshing aftertaste. Very interesting brew and overwhelming complex.

4.1
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 18/20
kbutler1 (1078) - Minnesota, USA - OCT 18, 2010
Bottle. 2006 vintage. Pours a golden orange color with minimal head into my stemware. Very floral and funky type aromas in the nose. I’m taken aback slightly as this smells like nothing Cantillon I have had before. Beyond the floral notes are some fruity and lemony aromas. The taste is quite good although again, different, from other Cantillon beers I have had before. Fairly tart and sour. Lemony aftertaste with some barnyard. Light mouthfeel. Love to try this one again.

4.1
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 18/20
milewide (1021) - Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA - OCT 17, 2010
2006 vintage. $25.00/ bottle at HopCat, GR, MI and worth it! It was the only style of beer that I had not tried. Dark amber color with almost no head. Wonderfully sour aroma and taste. Malt and hops must have been there---but I couldn’t smell or taste them!

4.1
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
swoopjones (3258) - Buffalo, New York, USA - OCT 16, 2010
Draft at Blue Monk in Buffalo. Honey golden pour. Tart earthy aroma. Acidic tartness, mouth quenching. Horse blanket, barnyard funkiness. A real treat. Thanks to Matt Dinges from Shelton for setting me up!!!


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Rating Notecard:
Beer: Cantillon Iris Rating Avg: 3.79 No. of Ratings: 833
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