Cantillon Iris

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended
Brussels, Belgium

Thanks to Beer_Hawk for bringing this one out for the tasting! Dark sparkling yellow body with a frothy white head. Sour citric aroma, earthy yeast. Tangy citrus flavor that’s delivered on a lively light body. The sourness is well balanced in this one. I’m not a big sour beer fan, but this wasn’t sour in an objectionable way.

Bottle. Pours a hazy orange with a white head that fizzed to a head quickly. Some partials noted. Aroma is an earthy, musty cellar mix. The flavor was of tangy fruits and light spices. Slightly acidic. More bitter than sour. Enjoyable. Thanks to my bro (Vac) for sending this one out for the Tennessee Tasting!

Cloudy copper, with some sedimant. Lemon lime aroma, with a slightly acidic edge. Traditional lambic flavors at first, but nicely restrained. Finishes rather bitter. Thanks to Beer Hawk for sharing this one.

I was expecting this to be good but in a different way than what was delivered. This was a lovely beer, easily sessionable as I imagined the summer months- at a quiet café in the back streets of Brussels, maybe- as I hastily sipped this, lapping up its intoxicating flavours. Ignoring the fact it is freezing cold right now here in Oz. Anyway; tasted from the crown-corked bottle and poured into a shallow chalice. Presented well in the glass; a bright sunny orange with very, very fine whispy carbonation raising up to a thin layer of creamy white froth that lasted and left some fine lacing. Took a moment for the aroma to release, but then it all flowed freely for the length, tickling the nose in good Cantillon fashion. Fresh, grassy herbs, biting spices and driftwood up first before some sour, acidic grapefruit and lemon, sweaty ’goat hair’ yeasty notes, soft watery cheese and an odd hint of fresh kilned clay. Interesting and pleasing, even to my not-all-too-impressed wife. Tart, bitter and dominated by fruit in the mouth. Light hints of pine-needles, almonds and cork sit under layers of unripened grapefruit, tart and bitter oranges and some vine-clippings. Lambic base-beer is soft and musty, only adding it’s fuel to the long fruity aftertaste. Light sweetness shows as it warms. Body is extremely light, delicate and softly, prickly on the tongue. I had more notes but I fear I’m starting to ramble on. I could honestly sip this all day as it changes character as it goes along. Perfectly balanced and fine tuned Lambic from one of Belgium’s finest. Absolutely lovely!!! (75cL, 2003 vintage, Int’l Beer Shop, W. Leederville)

Sampled from magum bottle (bring a corkscrew to this party). Iris pours peach in color. It’s cloudy with a thin white head. Aroma is tart fruit and earthy. Flavor is balanced, quite tart with wild yeast esters dominating the profile. Pretty clean finish for the style. Medium-bodied and well-carbonated. Very enjoyable and unique.

Bottle (per label 2003 batch – per cork 2005 batch) drank in 2006: Poured a hazy orange color lambic with a quite big foamy white head with pretty good retention. Aroma of hops is clearly detectable and I thought it provided an interesting ‘’mariage’’ with the sour and brett character of the original lambic. It also seems to help balance the level of acid in the beer, which is a real, plus since I sometime find the Cantillon lambic to be too acid. Horse blanket and farmhouse quality are still apparent as well as the citrusy hops. Very nice experiment from the folks at Cantillon.

Bottle. Amber, thin white head, sour lemon aroma, subtle funk and cereal aroma. Trademark mouth puckering from a lambic. Acidic, sour, and more funk in mouth and finish. I mean I do like it. Sourness has mineral/metal quality to it and grapefruit on the finish.

bottle - Very cloudy orange/amber color with almost non-existant head. Aroma is bready, peppary, sour, vinegar notes. Flavor is pretty sour, sharp, acidic, very dry, with a smooth, spicey bitterness.