Cantillon Iris

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended
Brussels, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

Bottled 75cl. Vintage 2007. Darker than expected with a nicely remaining, surprisingly tall head. I don’t get the importance of the hops and the brewing technique that should be translated into the taste of this beer. A fine beer and complex lambic anyhow. The cherry and caramel components are a little too prominent for me. Murky, dark (as mentioned before) appearance.

Vintage 2006. Bottled in 2008. Serving date: 2009-01-10. 750 ml bottle, corked and capped. Bottling date and freshness date on label (Bottled 2008-05-26, best before 2015-12). The pour is golden/copper - almost reddish - and semi-clear. The color of this brew is very appealing. The white, 1 cm head is lively but quickly dissipates leaving a minimal ring of lacings. The head is not as big as anticipated (perhaps due to the chosen glassware). The smell is rather complex: Scents of unripe green apples sit side by side with hints of grapefruit, and in the other corner vinegar tags up with a faint funky smell. Amazing smell. The taste is even more complex than the smell. Where to start, where to start... First of all, this is a very sour beer. Sourness and tartness thus being its main characteristics. Tastes of especially lemon, but lime, are up-front and linger on throughout the experience. A fruity character of unripe green apples and grapefruits is also prominent. Vinegar also reappears in the taste, but is not as dominant as in the smell. A faint hint of yeast is also detectable. Subtle hints of a funky barnyard taste adds an interesting tension to the taste of the concoction. The very long finish is primarily sour and a bit dry. The body is medium. Carbonation is good. The sourness sends a tickling feeling to the cheeks, which is a pleasant sensation. I really like lambics and in my opinion this is a really good one. The distinct sourness actually doesn’t become overwhelming, even though the bottle is 750 ml. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

I have had 1999 and 2005 vintage within the past couple months. The beer is always great but gets even better with a little age. A: Pours a nice deep golden hue that is a bit hazy. Tight white head, okay retention with a spot or two of lace. S: Light, tart, with bold citrus notes. T: Nice tart citric acidity with strong lemon zest notes. Simple beer, but it is simply great. M: Light, zippy, bubbly with a nice citrus bitterness. D: Very good. Wonderful little beer we have here.

Vintage 2004, on Draft at Capone’s. Amber pour. Floral sweet aroma. Flavor is woody, floral and subtly tart, light carbonation. Have a bottle that will have to see age, to bring out more funk.

Bottle 2003. Hazy deep golden body with a dense creamy off white head. Citric acidic sour aroma with light citric hoppy notes. The flavour is heavy acidic grapefruitish with lots of barnyard and dusty notes. The hops are very present and the finish is heavy grapefruit and acidic. Very tasty and acidic sour gueuze.

Bottle labled 2007 (2009 on the cork) Pours hazy brown with a dirt white head. Sour beer with some hop oil- and bitterness.

Still new to the Lambic scene, I’m not quite sure what to look for. This looked and smelled a lot like a dry champagne or white wine with bubbles. Taste was very acidic and the mouth feeling very dry. Very refreshing. The experience was remarkable to me as it was served in a strange looking glass that was to be held some distance from the mouth. So I drank a ray of beer. Sampled @ La Cerveteca in Barcelona in June 2009 by recommendation from the bartender.

Bottle. Not the most interesting brew I’ve tried from Cantillon. This one has a particualry dry quality to it and is also very bitter for the style (due to the dry hopping). Add some funky earthy tones to it and you pretty much get the picture. A little too one dimensional for a higher score.