Cantillon Iris
Cantillon Iris
Rated 3.722 by BeerPalsBrewed by Brasserie Cantillon / Brouwerij Cantillon
Brussels, Belgium
Style: Unblended Lambic
5% Alcohol by Volume
Availability of this beer is unknown
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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. Iris is brewed only once every season and all the beers come from the same brewing. This is why the beer is dated. The second fermentation is obtained by adding liquor. Although it is a spontaneous fermentation beer, the Iris is very different from the Lambic. The amber colour and the bitter and slightly caramelized taste make it a complex beer.
ID: 619 Last updated 4 days ago Added to database 23 years agoKey Stats
percentile
1
Drunk38
Reviews0
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Most noted beer attributes
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Statistics
| Overall Rank | 921 |
| Overall Percentile | 98.3 |
| Style Rank | 2 of 35 |
| Style Percentile | 94.3 |
| Lowest Score | 2.5 |
| Highest Score | 4.6 |
| Average Score | 3.779 |
| Weighted Score | 3.722 |
| Standard Deviation | 0.453 |
Rating Distribution
Beer vs Style
38 Member Reviews
Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7
The Cantillon Iris was one of the beers I had at Max's 72-hours of Belgian Beers Fest. I was interested in having an unblended lambic since that isn't a beer style that I've had before.
This one was definitely unique and was a niche beer. It's not one of those brews where people are going to be fighting over who get's the last bottle. The beer poured out an orangy color and was very flat and clear (unlike the reviews from those who got it from the bottle). There as absolutely nothing in the way of a head on the beer. The aroma was very tart, almost white wine like, with a definite horseblanketness to it.
The flavor is definitely unique and something that regular lambic fans probably wouldn't like too much. There is nothing sweet or easy drinking about this one. Super tart is what comes to mind (which I don't necessarily mind). It's almost like a fresh squeezed lemonade, without some of the sweetness that you'd normally find. You can definitely taste the yeasts as well. The texture is fairly dry on the tongue, yet somewhat enjoyable. It has a medium body with absolutely no carbonation at all.
Overall, this is probably not something I'm going to go reaching for in the future. It's not that it's bad, its just not my "cup of tea" or beer for that matter. I would probably entertain the idea of splitting a bottle with a friend, should he or she be interested in trying this out.
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Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7
Rated July 2008. 2005 vintage courtesy of Tony at his Oldsmar Tap House. Pours copper with thin white head. Big aroma of mustiness, sour cherry tartness, acidity, mild funk, a bit of rotting fruit and progressively funkier on a deeper draw. The taste has a brief moment of fruity sweetness before the tartness wells up with initial notes of un ripe cherries, lemon juice, lemon peel and grapefruit. It slowly becomes mildly funky replacing just a bit of the tartness and starting to head in the direction of ‘balance’. Ends dry and wanting another sip. This vintage could use a couple more years of age. Douglass88 shared a bit of the 2004 vintage with me last month and I enjoyed its milder tartness, smoothness and increased funky dusty complexity.
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Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7
Pours clearish topaz with a fair ivory head. Aroma features tart stonefruit, sweet floral and subtle tropical tones. Flavor yields tart stonefruit, sweetish tropical al and subtle floral notes. Texture presents OK body and fizz. Flowering.
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Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 7
Opaque orange without any foam head whatsoever. Aroma is vinager like, some sour fruits. You have to get used to this taste every time again, sourish, vinegar like, but still quite interesting. (Velp 201406)
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Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9
Amber hued go.den pour with loads of effervescent carbonation. Strong barnyard aromas of hay with a pleasant citrus/lemon undertone. Highly acidic yet cloyingly dry mouthfeel begs for small sips. Notes of wheat, hay, lemongrass and slightly bitter hops meld with a strongly sour finish, biting at the back of the jaw and drying the palate immensely. As it warms the hops play a bigger role, unique for a cantillon lambic, and play well off the strong orange/lemon notes. A phenomenal lambic, notably since its unblended.
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Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6
Pours an attractive apricot color with airy, white head. Aroma and flavor boast tartness. Flavor also has citrus and solid yeast character. Medium bodied with effervescent carbonation. Fun beer to sample, I've had it exactly twice orr a decade of beer loving, though I'm certainly no expert in the style.
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Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8
Reminiscent of a nice dry wine, I was pleased with how well this is put together without any blending. Golden yellow with a slight orange tint and a vibrant fizzy head. It sparkles in the glass. Fruity and pleasantly tart, not as assertive as other Lambics. A dry sourness adds to a crisp refreshing treat that helped cut through the heavier beers previously sampled. This would be a great bottle to accompany any fine meal.
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Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8
The aroma is really lively, sour (duh), some resin and a funky moldyness. It's a hazy light goldish brown, very fizzy of course. Very dry in the mouth, clean and palate cleansing, can only imagine all the foods you could pare with this. Sipped slowly it really reminded me of a good wine.
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Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7
if only these were reasonably priced. i've liked just about every cantillon i've tried, this included, but they are so darn expensive...and this one's on the cheaper end of the spectrum. lots of tart funk, sour apple, high acidity. more complexity in the nose than flavor if only because the tartness overpowers a little. probably the best i've had in style.
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Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8
750 ml corked and capped green bottle, vintage 2007, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6%. Deep golden to orange colour, moderate off-white head.Beguiling complex aroma, notes of farmhouse, rustic kitchen, oxidised apples, apple cider vinegar and hops. The flavour is sour but not extreme, hints of oxidised apples and spices, unlike other lambics it also has a distinct hoppy bite in the finish. ~
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Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8
Beer 11 of my 12 Beers of Christmas - and my first unblended lambic. Pours an orange-amber with a medium to thin head that maintains leaving some tight lacing. Tart apple aroma with a slight yeasty zing and some barnyard funk. Very carbonated. Zesty tart apples with a heavy yeasty funk and a distinct bitter. Big beer. Unusual, impressive, different, sour. Another one off the wish list - been on there along time. One more style to go...
