Iris Grand Cru
Brasserie Cantillon

 

 

 

 

 

 

2016 vintage. Poured out of a 33cl bottle into a taster glass at Brasserie Cantillon.

Wine vinegar, lemon juice, blue cheese, wet oak, light horseblanket, and bready malts are the prime aggressors on the nose. More of the lemony citrus and some floral hops surface toward the back, joined by some vinous, tannin-like qualities from the oak. Some subdued earthy notes pop out of the glass as the drink warms up, but this is quickly overwhelmed by the wine-like qualities that become more and more prominent with the passage of time.

The tart lemony flavor takes center stage in terms of the palatable qualities of the brew; the wine vinegar surprisngly takes a secondary role behind the signature Cantillon funk. The aged seem to have also been allotted a greater mission in terms of the flavor, as the weak floral and herbal notes play a significantly larger role on the palate than it did on the nose. The finish is a mix of lemon and barnyard funk.

Light-ish body with absolutely no carbonation). The brew is every bit as refreshing and crisp as it is light.

A: Very floral and hoppy slightly spicy with a lemon/grapefruit aroma, pretty funky and lightly sour aroma.

A: Copper color, totally clear, with a moderate head that has adequate retention. There is light lacing in the glass.

T: Floral and hoppy upfront, slightly spicy, moderately funky, with a lemon/grapefruit note, very clean lingering sourness and a very dry finish.

M: Med-light bodied with moderate carbonation.

O: Tasty; the elderflower and dry-hopping process provides an interesting floral/hoppy aroma and flavor that’s slightly spicy and well compliments the gueze base.

 

 

 

 

 

2016-10-01
Small wine glass pour at Slow Boat Tavern for Zwanze day. This was my least favorite beer of the day.

Poured a clear light brown with no head. Smell is a hint of cherry, wet earth.

Taste is moderate tartness, strong bitterness, long bitter finish. Very strangely, running back through my lineup a second or third time, this one distinctly brought to mind a black cat firecracker -- gunpowder and gunsmoke.

Mouthfeel is Cantillon's signature velvet magic. Love it. Overall, it's definitely not my favorite Cantillon.

 

 

 

Had it at Zwanze day at Jester King. Bold, strong for a lambic,

Tap version at zwanze 2016. Very little head. Golden orange color.

Floral and herbal notes. Lots of funk. Cobweb and basement. Lemon with light acidity. Touch of sweetness. Honey maybe. Very bitter/hoppy for a lambic. Oily. Sweetness and syrup.

Light bodied. Fairly still.

Really awesome beer to try! This beer would be awesome to age for years. It needs time to round out. Better cold than warm.

2013 bottled version at cantillon. Likely same batch as the tap version. Consumed 12/18
Pours still. Caramel copper colored.

Some sweetness, a lot of herbal and floral notes. Earthy. a bit of mint. More complex and enjoyable after a few years in the bottle, as compared to the draft version. 4.5

 

The beer has a nice rose amber color and great clarity. It lacks any significant head with only minor lacing around the edge of the glass.

The smell is mouthwatering sour cherry andearthiness with hints of apple. The nose is great for this style.

The flavor profile is fairly basic but has strong of sour cherry with hints of peat, plum, white wine grapes and tannins.

The mouthfeel is a bit disappointing. It's smooth but that's because there's no carbonation. It has a nice residual sweetness that lingers in the palate.

Overall this beer is okay but not a great first impression of Cantillon.

A 375ml bottle at the brewery, brewed on 5th March 2013, bottled on 26th May 2016 and poured into a Cantillon tasting glass.

Appearance: It poured a clear copper orange colour with pretty much no head and sparse lacing.

Aroma: Funky, sour, grapefruit, lemon, leather and oak.

Taste: Funky, barnyard, sour, caramel, bitter melon bitterness, grapefruit, lemon and oak.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with no carbonation.

Overall: This was nice and easy to drink and I preferred it over the Bruocsella Grand Cru. I’ve yet to try Iris though, so can’t compare it to that yet.

 

On tap during Puckerfest at Belmont Station. Have no idea how old the keg was, but I assume this beer had some age on it (assuming it really is no longer being made by Cantillon).

The beer pours a light orange amber color with minimal head retention and lacing. The beer is pretty close to being completely still. The nose is just outrageous, and I guess it depends on the consumer whether that's a good thing. On the nose I get light vinegar, wet blanket, head cheese, light barnyard funk and maybe a hint of vanilla, fruit and dry malt. The flavor profile was just as odd, but no where near as complex. There was something of a mouth filing, cream cheese flavor, along some light lemon lime. The notes for this beer indicate that the beer is less bitter and more dry than the regular Iris, and I would agree. This beer is very dry and lean on the finish, with only some light bittering on the fairly short and abrupt finish. Mouth feel is fairly light and lean otherwise. Alcohol is completely unnoticeable.

Shrug. Hadn't had a Cantilllon beer in some time, so I thought it would be interesting to try a small glass of this at Puckerfest. My sour tolerance has increased significantly over time, but even so, it was slow going with this stuff. Definitely won't need to try this again any time soon.

 

2015.

Pours a flat, slightly hazed golden yellow color.

Smells of funky cream cheese, mold, old cork and wet hay. Leather adds to sun dried earth and old oak, while a flowery lemon inclusion is responsible for a prominent tartness.

Almost no carbonation in this, which leads to a sour smack on the tongue, refreshing and soft in the finish, while challenging sour and dry until the swallow.

Flowers, grass, dusty old wood and lots of blue cheese establish the foundation in this. Lemon zest hits the palate in an uncompromising, almost harsh fashion, numbing the teeth from the outside. Its flowery quality cuts through this dominant tartness during the finish, establishing a late softness on the tongue.

Big, as for its sour-dry blend, which is a bit too powerful for my palate, making it hard to pick up anything else. Has a nice finish though, with a great aqueous softness to it, soothing the lime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Classic Cantillon funky aroma, with added oak sourness. Surprisingly dark brown brew.

Malty, tart, and musty; earthy, woody, with strong tannins and a touch of vanilla.

 

 

 

This beer poured like murky, unfiltered city water.

The beer itself has no carbonation.

The taste pulls in three different directions, with tart, bitter, and sweet, all unable to come together nicely.

If I did not know that this was a Cantillon offering, I would not have finished my 6oz. pour.

I kept hoping that it would get better but it never did.