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Cantillon Iris 3.76 613

Cantillon Iris

Percentile
97
overall
Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended

Brussels, Belgium

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreABVStyle PctlServe in
6133.77/5.03.76/5.05%93.8Flute, Tumbler
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?  
 Rastacouere (5566), Montréal, Quebec, Canada
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/104/515/20
Oct 13, 2005  
2002 edition. Smelly grassy, floral hops ponctuate the tart, highly woody, vinous and cidery bouquet. The pour is almost headless, of a rusty golden tone. A fair bitterness adds a dimension to the already interesting beer, pushing the dryness even further. I imagine the sour, but not agressively so, nature contributes to the overall balance with the aromatic hops. Medium bodied, tart, moderately high carbonation. The result is a pleasant experiment with powerful wood flavors and magical unexplainable moments.


 Magicdave6 (5560), London, Greater London, England
5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
10/105/510/105/520/20
Jan 10, 2006    Updated: Jun 25, 2008
2000 bottle, with the cork saying bottled in 2001. Very dry grapes, wet horse and some crotch when i havnt showered for a while make for a very different and intresting aroma. Taste is very complex with similar flavours and lemon, and this is possibly the sourest beer iv ever tasted it is seriously seriously sour, with quite a bit of bittering hops too i must add. Very different beer, very good beer.....RERATE: Had this at ronnie’s and another in the cellar. I never realised the amazingness of the hops in this, it adds so much more to the lambic, the piney citrus and fresh flowers are all subtle but still there and alround add amazingness to the beer. up fromn 3.8 - 4.8RERATE: Bottle in the house at the bass party. Awsome, on the sweeter side of the cantillons, the floural citrus lychee character of the hops justr gives it soo much more. An amazing beer and one that you could session til it comes out yir tits.


 hopscotch (5558), Vero Beach, Florida, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/103/59/103/516/20
Jan 15, 2008  
Bottle (2004)… This beer rocks!... Hazy golden ale with a mid-sized, creamy, white head. Good retention. The funky aroma is full of acetic and earthy notes… horse blanket, wet leather, sharp cheese and white wine vinegar. Medium-bodied and abrasive with soft carbonation. The flavor is of underripe fuzzy fruits. Medium sourness, moderate bitterness and little to no residual sweetness. Lengthy, medium sour, mildly bitter, drying finish. Another world class lambic from Cantillon!


 CaptainCougar (5549), Rockville, Maryland, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/514/20
Jan 10, 2005  
Shared at the Tosa Tasting courtesy of 1FastSti: Pours a clear bronze copper with a pinkish tint and thin white lacey head. Has a very tart and fruity barnyard aroma. Body starts very dry and fruity with a tart, puckering acidic finish, which is right in line with the rest of the Cantillon products. Mildly complex and decently balanced, but I could only drink three ounces before I started to feel heartburn.


 Bov (5514), Bienne, Switzerland
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/103/515/20
Dec 18, 2002  
2000 edition: red-amber colour,fine head, cherry aroma, floral and vinous,fresh and sour, long dry cherryish aftertaste


 duff (5475), Surrey, Greater London, England
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/58/104/515/20
Jul 16, 2002  
Kind of strange really, very sour yeasty aroma, with hints of parsley, lemongrass and flowers. Quite sour and then bitter, with a grassy earthy flavour, complex and different.


 JorisPPattyn (5193), Antwerpen, Belgium
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
10/104/58/104/518/20
Apr 12, 2003  
Light-amber, little white head, unstable. Nose gives lambic with fresh hops and cheesy odour of old hops. Plus something fruity, and hard exotic wood, wetted. Taste is fruity, a subdued bitterness, then very outspoken lactic sourness. Palate finishes completely like old lambic. No more hops. Third version. Every new one seems better. The dry hopping with extra hops, this time, has marvellously complexed the beer.


 ThomasE (5178), Copenhagen, Denmark
2.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/102/511/20
Jun 1, 2005  
Cloudy golden colour with no head. Nice yeasty aroma with barnyard notes. yeasty and spicy flavor with some light sweet fruity notes.



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