Cantillon Iris

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended
Brussels, Belgium

Cap and cork, 2005. Golden pour with a white head. Smells amazing. Oak, hops, yeast, hay, bread, cheese, citrus. Full and superbly clean nose. Flavor is all sour and tart - pithy lemon, under ripe banana, lightest hops. A little watery on the palate. One of the better smelling lambics I’ve ever had.

37,5 cl bottle. 22MAR07 bottled. Very nice bitterness from the hops. Ties to the gueuze-family are clear, especially at the start of every sip. The bitter aftertaste is amazing. A unique beer.

2005 bottle. Pours a hazy orange/yellow, fizzy white head. Fruity, grass, honey, funky leather, and a nice biting sourness. Tart green apples, lemon zest, and hay. Very nice.

75cl, vintage 2004 @ Old Bank, Turku. Attractive orangey amber with small pale head. Lovely exotic fruity hops aroma with fresh cut grass, honey and little funk. Great sweet and sour mix, can’t belive the hops are so complex and fresh after over four years. Flavor is classic mind puzzling tartness with exotic fruits and grass. Passion fruity, acidic finish with lingering barnyard sourness. Yeast smoothens things down a bit. Medium bodied, round mouthfilling carbonation. Just blew me away.

Dark golden color with a medium sized beige head. Aroma is tart with apples, lemon, and oranges. Flavor is tart with light citrus notes. very dry.

Special bottle shared with friends at my going away party, thanks trevor211, at Brouwer’s in Seattle. Dry, fresh hop notes that are slammed with the most wonderful tart and funk. very acidic, very dry short finish. wonderful, perfect evening capper.

12.7 oz bottle into snifter. Been looking forward to this one a long time. Hopefully it isn’t unfair that I’m sampling it after Temptation, which was damn good. 2005 vintage (cork says it was bottled in 2007). After filling my snifter I spilled the last 2 to three ounces -- DAMN (!) at least I got the good clear pour and spilled mostly just the dregs. Pours with a bigger head than I would have imagined for an unblended (the 1900 had no carbonation at all). Beautiful still amber body with a bit of a tangerine/orange hue to it. Nice white head that leaves great lace too. Very unique aroma -- funky, barnyard, and peppery in a way I have never experienced (almost burns the nostrils). Both the aroma and flavor are the most unique ones I have encountered in any lambic BY FAR. The flavor is similar to the aroma but there is a very organic flower quality, not like the flower quality that can result from hops, but like a flower was actually sitting in the bottle all this time. So unique I cant describe it any other way. All of this weirdness in the flavor and aroma are lingering of a solid gueuze backbone. Medium tartness. Finished medium dry and pretty quick. Medium bodied with minimal carbonation. Overall: if you are into lambics you MUST try this because this is crazy shit! After you get used to the flowery quality this stuff is outstandingly drinkable.

750 ml bottle (2005) at Brouwer’s. Pours a cloudy, dusty orange, with a small head that lingers as a thick lace. Aroma has a wonderful barnyard funk - dusty citrus, oak, and tart lemons. A bit of sweeter mandarin comes through in the flavor, with a near-perfect dry, musty tartness to counter. Maybe not quite as crisp as the best ones I’ve had, but simply delicious - I could absolutely drink this all night long.