Cantillon Iris

Beautiful thinned lacing, soft and diminutive white head, creamsicle orange is clouded clouded by light tan yeast globules. Slow recession gives this behemoth of acidity a livelier appearance than some of its brethren. Grass tendencies rise to and spill over the brim of the glass. Beach-washed woodiness splashes into play, coerced forward by nose-tickling acids that reap the whirlwind that is dry-hopping a lambic. This is going to be crazy bitter, I know it already. Mild oak and fresh floral and vanilla tones lurk in the depths, coalescing as the lambic draws nearer room temperature. Mild barnyard and tired grain field notes seep out of the cracks in the acidic affront. Apricot, tangelo and bristling pear pulp flirt with edges of reason. An entirely new concept in the world of lambic is well-received; nonetheless I remain wary of just how powerful the impending acidity and bitterness combination may unfold in the flavor. The hop notes are a clever blend of aged and fresh, both with redeeming and offsetting qualities that serve the quest for complexity well. Alcohol is a nonfactor. This nose is tremendous and unforgettable. Bitterness is hefty indeed when the first sip passes the lips. Wood and some requisite leather pound into the palate unmercifully, but are supassed by waves of face-twisting acidity. It’s brutal, but enjoyable and oh so quenching. Sourness winds up up and punches everything out of its way whenever this seems to let up for even the slightest moment. Grassy notes are oft intercepted by herbal hints and superbly offered, seeming to ride along on top of the earthy and aged woodiness and farmhouse maltiness. The palate impact remains light because the body is light-medium and fully carbonated. Rarely does a hardcore lambic bring so much joie de vivre to the table, such bounciness melded into a brazen, tingling acid attack. The finish is highly bitter, lightly herbal, sour and funky. wood and grass linger. Delicious. Cantillon is consistently incredible - even in outlandish and eccentric expressions their beers seem methodically crushing but remain riotously fun to consume.

Heavy malty aroma with a complex aroma of flowers. Average frothy, white head. Fair lacing. Mostly diminishing longevity. Cloudy orange body. Harsh bitter initial flavor, and heavy bitter and sour finish flavor with a long finish duration. Light palate..

Bottle: Iris 2005: Clear light red colour, nice white head. Aroma of fruits,citric, sournes, and a nice balnced with a nice fruity sweetnes, and a nice citric nose. Flavor is almost the same, but has a kind of smokey(?)fruity endig. Thin to medium body, and a thin to medium finish. Nice Lambic!!

Pours deep gold into a Tumbler. Fluffy white head with medium retention leaves no lacing as it recedes. Sour funk aromas. Sharp feet with a lasting grapefruit rind finish.

I was rather impressed with this beer, although reading the commercial description I realize that I missed out on some of the flavors injected into the beer (lots of hops and iris). Nonetheless, this beer packs some intense and refreshing sourness that I found very pleasant. If you like gueuze or are into sour, I would definitely recommend this beer. Appearance was a hazy orange with a head of tiny bubbles. Aroma was lots of great sourness and a candy-sugar sweetness. Flavor was full-on sourness, which reminded me (if memory serves - which it probably doesn’t) of the Cantillon Grand Cru I’ve had before. I also got some sour apple flavor. I didn’t taste the hops or iris included in the brew, but enjoyed the taste very much nonetheless. Mouthfeel was astringent (owing to the sourness) and good. Definitely recommended for those into lambics/gueuze or sour flavors.

Hazy beer with the color of old gold. A small fine laced white head. Typical sourish aroma’s of the better lambic and geuzes. Mild sour flavor. Wood. A bit of citrus.

[bottle, 2004 vintage] Intriguing aroma, classic Cantillon, with some nice funky bacteria and earthy wood character. Amber, almost copper in color, with a ring of coarse bubbles. The flavor is quite acidic and funky along with some herbal hops-- grapefruit, mostly. The hops contribute a really interesting character to the finish of this lambic-- almost adding to the puckering abilities of beers like this. I really like the interplay of hops and wild bacteria.. an outstanding beer, overall.

2004, 750 ml bottle, from Fin. Thanks so much for this mate! Under the foil wrapper, a dusty layer of grime. The cork, under the cap, responds to the lightest touch of the corkscrew with a hiss. Excellent--I love a hostile beer! Clean white head on an warm orange pour, the malty orange color I associate with octoberfest beers. A nice touch of haze. A first sniff is funk--lovely peppery wool and dry red earth smell, a grape skin tannin touch. But around all that is an unusual sweet note--not sweet like candy, but sweet like spring air, etherial and soul-stirring. And I know this sounds nutty, but I feel like deep underneath there is a trace of gentle biscuit malt. Initial bracing grapefruit sour flavor gives way to herbal, peppery notes. The sourness blends very cleverly with an earthy bitterness that lingers into the finish. A subtle, elegant variation of the classic lambic formula. So refreshing. Mmmmm. I’m very happy this is the big bottle.