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Cantillon Iris

Cantillon Iris - Lambic - Unblended

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 Percentile 
96
overall
Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended

Brussels, Belgium

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
5923.76/5.03.75/5.05%93.8Flute, Tumbler
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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.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 Marsiblursi (1631), Göteborg, Sweden
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/104/515/20
Aug 30, 2007  
(Bottle) Pours hazy amber orange. The heavy air of wild yeast inside the Cantillon brewery comes through as a notable tone in the aroma. Mould, wood, tannins and citrus like, lemon-ish, acid notes are all present. Light toasted grain and also more hops than your normal Cantillon. Hints of grass, hay, herbs, white wine, yoghurt, vanilla and fruits like pears, apples, grapes and maybe some unripe apricot. Aggressive grapefruit, acid, dry and tannin-ish flavour with a grapey and light white wine-ish touch. Tart and dry finish. Perfect carbonated. The fresh hops make this Cantillon beer quite different. Hints of wet suede, lemon and wood. Medium bodied. A very special Lambic.


 haukur (682), Reykjavik, Iceland
4.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/59/105/518/20
Aug 21, 2007  
a simply amazing lambic! aroma: oak, apples, acid, some oranges. cloudy orange, tart but well balanced. Really refreshing but incredibly comlex at the same time, lambic at its very best


 DarkMagus (433), San Jose, California, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Aug 20, 2007  
Pours a dark hazy golden-yellow color with a bit of bubbles forming in a ring on the surface. Funky sour citrusy aroma with a bit of an earthy hoppy grassiness, lemon peel, a woodiness, but overall not too much sourness in the aroma compared. Flavors were an intense explosion of sourness and an earthy, "dirty", woodiness. Really sour stuff. But the extra hops produce an interesting semi-bitterness (which can’t really compete with the super sourness) and some nice green piney resinousness. Pretty lightly carbonated, super sour dry finish. Very interesting stuff, a bit expensive, but worth having again.


 mtdshn (174), Moline, Illinois, USA
3.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/103/513/20
Aug 18, 2007  
750mL bottle, 2004 vintage. Poured a dark golden brown with just a ring of a head that dissipated quickly. Strong, pungent aromas of skunky hops, stinky cheese, with a little bit of caramel. Taste is very organic, and predominately tart and harsh, with some red wine notes. This one burned going down.


 Beershine (2678), Hue, Vietnam
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/59/104/517/20
Aug 18, 2007    Updated: Feb 21, 2009
Bottle. Cloudy dark orange, the color of fresh squeezed pink grapefruit juice. Aroma of intense barnyard funk with leather, pine, citrus zest, and an apple-like sweetness in the background adding enormous complexity. The funk enhances everything and even has a dash of spice and old furniture worn in from happy memories. Intense grapefruit skin and citrus complexity. Long fruit skin finish. Highly carbonated, effervescent. Super dry and almost tannic as if from tea steeped too long. Bitterness coats the tongue but it’s pleasant. The start is all grapefruit, the finish all herbal leafiness as if sucking on a hop bud. Some green olive and gooseberry in here too. Olive pits. Pink grapefruit and green olive are predominating in this for me. Ends up tasting very natural. The bitterness is like that found in fruits, flowers and leaves. The slightest sweetness enhances the palate. A lovely experience.


 Tranquillity (1165), Espoo, Finland
2.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
5/104/55/102/57/20
Aug 16, 2007  
Bottle @ Pikkulintu, Helsinki. 1996 bottle (!!). Beautiful sunsett colour. Could be that this is too old, but the strong woody flavour is a bit too winegary for me. Extremely sour. I’d like to taste a younger sample.


 GriffinAvenue (395), Winchester, Massachusetts, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/103/513/20
Aug 12, 2007  
Bottle. Deep lemon, golden color. Ringed sudsy head. Sour, tart, wine-like scent. Oak, citrusy, tangy in flavoring. Flavoring improved greatly as it warmed. Sampled @ BCTC 2007


estoves2 (98), Sweden
2.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/55/103/511/20
Aug 9, 2007  
This was my first lambic and i probably dont like the style. 2005 Bottle poured in a tumbler. Light hazy brown body with a smal fast disapearing head. A sour aroma of fruit and flowers, and some wood. Sour flavor of citrus wood little earthy and flowery notes. A bitter aftertaste. Palate was dry and woody. Hate to say that i couldnt drink it all feeled that i had to throw up after a while and had to pour it out:(, but there were som parts i liked about it.



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