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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.


3.6
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
Trev (1424) - Lakeville, Minnesota, USA - APR 26, 2009
2005 vintage Pours medium gold with a thick white frothyhead. Aroma is grapefruit, lemon, earthy barnyard funk. Very funky flavour, light lemon sourness, floral tones as well.

4.1
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
JMerritt (1568) - Macomb, Illinois, USA - APR 26, 2009
Hazy two-toned orange with a small white head that is mostly diminishing. Sour, apricoty/citric aroma - some barnyardy straw, soft cheese - very acidic and musty at the same time. Punch-in-your-face grapefruity acidity, very sour and mildly oaky flavor. Acidity is crazy, but I dig it. Brie/soft cheese finish. Yeasty notes - like banana -in the finish with a feeling I can only describe as humid. I was still tasting this the next morning, so I’m glad I split a bottle with a buddy.

3.7
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20
Hank1980 (942) - Athens, Georgia, USA - APR 22, 2009
UPDATED: AUG 27, 2009 Bottle shared at tasting. Poured cloudy gold with a white head. Aroma of funk, sour, spice. Taste is very sour and funky with plenty of hop and malt notes. A very well balanced sour ale. The hops give the beer a bitter finish. The mouth is a bit carbonated. A very nice lambic.

4.4
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 10/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
matt7215 (1566) - Cambridge, Ontario, CANADA - APR 18, 2009
750 ml bottle from a trade with thecheeseman. shared with the KW crew. pours hazy golden with a low white head the actually stays around. huge sour aromas and some minty hops. the flovour it huge and sour but i still got some minty hop elements. a marvel and a great sipper. very enjoyable and a great change of pace from the brews at the tasting. i want more!!

3.9
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 16/20
MatSciGuy (866) - Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA - APR 18, 2009
[Bottle] Pours hazy gold with a small, effervescent white head. Aroma is super funky and barnyardy, with some horsehair and manure. The tartness is slightly evidenced by some vinegar and lactic notes. Flavor is only lightly tart, and not as funky as the nose, some floral hop notes, and a touch of malt. Very nice flavor, I was just hoping for a little more sourness.

4.5
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 17/20
JesseM (918) - Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA - APR 18, 2009
750mL, 2004 vintage at our KW group tasting. Big thanks to Matt for this one! Pours a very nice and surprisingly lively (for a 5 year old beer) orange with haze. Nice! The aroma is just out of this world! So insanely sour and tart, it practically punched me in the face, and for some reason I loved it. Pine, citrus (to the max!), brett funk, darkness, very sharp, armpit and sweaty socks that somehow work well within it. The flavour is equally stunning, so damn sour it blew my mind! So damn good! All the same characteristics are present and WOW does it pack a punch! It shocked the whole inside of my mouth with how sharply sour it is, damn. This was so freaking good! A bit of a sipper which is ridiculous sounding for a 5% beer but that’s just how intense I found the sourness. Thanks again Matt! An amazing style I’d otherwise never get to try. Simply stunning.

3.4
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 13/20
ruggedman (643) - Portland, Maine, USA - APR 15, 2009
Bottle from RSVP. This is a delicate flower of a brew from Cantillon. The color is a very straw like color. Lighter than the gueze, with a similar quickly diminishing head. Looks very much like a champagne. The aroma is a little mild, floral and slight horse blanket. The flavor is mildly sour, the fresh hops are hinted in a floral taste. Iris isn’t my favorite from them because it’s almost too subtle for what I like in a Lambic.

3
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 12/20
GRM (2050) - Aylmer, Quebec, CANADA - APR 12, 2009
Green bottle, 750 ml, 2006, bottled in 2008, best before 12/2015, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, savoured on April 12 2009; eye: copper, hazy, average effervescence, tiny ring of tan head, no lacing; nose: Brettanomyces yeast, horse, light fruity; mouth: Brettanomyces yeast, horse, slight wood, light fruity, finale is rather sour, good acidity, medium body, rather carbonated, a bit watery; overall: ordinary FRANÇAIS Bouteille verte, 750 ml, 2006, embouteillée en 2008, meilleure avant 12/2015, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, savourée le 12 avril 2009; œil : cuivrée, voilée, effervescence moyenne, petit anneau de mousse fauve, pas de dentelle; nez : levure Brettanomyces, cheval, léger fruité; bouche : levure Brettanomyces, cheval, très léger boisé, léger fruité, finale plutôt aigre, bonne acidité, corps moyen, plutôt carbonatée, un peu aqueuse; en résumé : ordinaire


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