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 10/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
Sigmund (3495) - Hafrsfjord, NORWAY - MAY 28, 2010
750 ml corked and capped green bottle, vintage 2007, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6%. Deep golden to orange colour, moderate off-white head.Beguiling complex aroma, notes of farmhouse, rustic kitchen, oxidised apples, apple cider vinegar and hops. The flavour is sour but not extreme, hints of oxidised apples and spices, unlike other lambics it also has a distinct hoppy bite in the finish.

4.1
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
MrBunn (2006) - Western, Pennsylvania, USA - MAY 25, 2010
Bottle (2007 batch, bottled in 2010). Pours a fairly fizzy orange. Lots of fizzy head at first and earthy, sour aromas. Flavor is really where the true greatness lies, however. Lots of lemon, vinegar, oak. It ends with a bit of a bitterness that seems odd... I’m guessing it’s due to the impatience of the guy drinking the beer in this case and that after a year or ten it might fade out.

4.8
   AROMA 10/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 10/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 20/20
madsenbryg (230) - Holstebro, DENMARK - MAY 22, 2010
UPDATED: JAN 22, 2011 Når bare bliver bedre for hver gang hvad giver man det så? citrus, grape, lemon, vinegar,amber, cloudy, tan foam, heavily sour, salty, medium body, lively, creamy, bitter, long sour finish, Dejlig drikkelig sur øl der passer til alt.

4.1
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 18/20
Brix (633) - DENMARK - MAY 21, 2010
Tasted 2010-05-07. Sample at festival. Pours clear, golden with small white head. Bretty, sour aroma. Barnyardish taste of rotten apples. True lambic. Very tasty.

3.9
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
womencantsail (3572) - Home of Rebecca Black, California, USA - MAY 14, 2010
A: The pour is a really nice looking amber-orange in color with a light and fizzy white head. S: Plenty of acidity and green fruit notes. I pick up apples and grapes with some lemon. A strong oak aroma with a somewhat subdued funk. T: A nice tartness up front with some fresh sour apples and lemons. The back end is actually a bit bitter with lots of oak and tannins. A bit of must and leather finish things off. M: The body is medium with a fair amount of carbonation, especially for a lambic that is so "young" in the bottle. A nice acidity and dry finish. D: Not my favorite of the Cantillon beers, but still really nice and better than many American sours. A really pleasant beer to sip on after watching the Sharks beat the Wings.

2.9
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 2/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
JanVittrup (244) - København V, DENMARK - MAY 11, 2010
Non-complex. Watery. Surprisingly not very sour. Not interesting, but easier to drink than the others. Sampled at Ølfestivallen.

3.5
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 15/20
chrisv10 (4033) - DENMARK - MAY 9, 2010
Sample. Hazy yellow body with white head. Flavour is sour, vinous and fresh.

3.7
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 17/20
NachlamSie (2077) - Tennessee, USA - MAY 8, 2010
750mL of the 2005 vintage from Bruisin’. The cork pops off violently, though no gusher ensues. Poured into a Trappist glass this ale is very apparently cloudy with a orange colored body and an explosive white head which disappears into nothing after a minute. The aroma is bluntly sour. The blended lambics I’ve tasted have a complex, woody character and a deep, layered sourness. This one lacks those deep nuances and rather displays aggressive, one-dimensional sourness with a surprising bitterness as well. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, I can appreciate a "to the point" type of beer. The flavor packs lots of bitter bite, almost like grapefruit but without the full citrus character that some PNW hops can provide. I don’t get any real oaky flavor that I associate with blended lambics, again making this unique. Tart vinegar is all over the place, making for a puckering beer. The palate is medium-light with a prickly mouthfeel. It’s a good beer and different, indeed. But in the end I think blends provide more bang for the buck flavor-wise.


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