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Cantillon Iris

Percentile
96
overall
Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended

Brussels, Belgium

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreABVStyle PctlServe in
6053.76/5.03.75/5.05%90.9Flute, 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?  
 ruggedman (619), Portland, Maine, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/57/104/513/20
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.


 GRM (1269), Aylmer, Quebec, Canada
3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/103/512/20
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


NickTheElder (25), California, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/510/104/517/20
Apr 10, 2009  
A hazy yellow color with a thin head. Lots of floral and citrus aroma with some wood. Very acidic with lemon and grapefruit. A great lambic beer for the fans of the citrus, bitter and acidic beer.


 daniele (1714), Italy
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Apr 6, 2009  
oro buona schiuma quasi abbondante piuttosto persistente note classiche di una labic legno citrico in armonia con una nota luppolata floreale in bocca ritornano lke note acide legnose con un finale piacevolmente amaro non abbondante un gusto un po insolito ma piacevole


 mspindler (318), Alta Loma, California, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/59/104/517/20
Apr 4, 2009  
Bottle shared with NickTheElder at The Back Abbey. Pours a hazy orange/yellow/red like a sunset with a thin white head. Aroma has plenty of barrel and funk with floral and citrus notes. Flavor is sharply acidic with loads of lemon, some oak, fresh fruits, a slight hop bitterness, and a very dry, citrusy finish that makes you want more. Palate is light and carbonation is prickly making for a very tasty, refreshing lambic.


 esox (266), Oulu, Finland
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/104/517/20
Apr 1, 2009  
375 ml bottle. Orange to amber lambic, some sparkling. Minimal off-white head. The aroma is acidic, earthy and stable-like, slightly grainy and clearly hoppy. Some delicate ripes , oak, nuts and some citrusy and floral hops. The flavor has oaky dryness and well acidic character of Lactobacillus-bacteria. It is very bitter for a lambic, with a clear flavor of fresh, green hops in the finish. Wonderful. The palate is very, tart and lingering. Medium bodied, some carbonation but not much. A spectacular lambic if you like bitterness in this style.


 Rciesla (3700), Exit 15W, New Jersey, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/59/104/518/20
Mar 30, 2009    Updated: May 25, 2009
Vintage 2005 Bottle. Pours a hazy orange golden body with a white lacing. Floral funky earthiness, some sour notes and a hint of flowers, wood, and burlap sacks. Dry citrus and a tart finish. I thought it was delicious. 4.1 Vintage 1998 shared by BrianK. Pours a hazy orange amber with an off white head. Floral, funky effervescent citrus and woodiness with a light acidity and some funk’d honey and lemon. Awesome. 4.4


 nuplastikk (1197), Madison, Wisconsin, USA
4.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
10/104/510/105/519/20
Mar 28, 2009    Updated: Apr 10, 2009
750ml 2005 vintage drank in late March of 2009. Wowsers. The aroma on this one is perfect, stanky brett-wheat funk dreaminess. Deep orange color, not all the way opaque though. Foamy head. Classic lemony wheat crushes your taste buds. Wow, no wheat in this one? Achieves supreme sour and funkiness nonetheless. This beer is phenomenal, no trace of old age, holds up perfectly. Hyper bitter, full on Lambic.



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