2007 Cantillon brewery Iris- Belgium, Brussels, Anderlecht (3/28/2012)
– crown-capped and corked –
– bottled in 2010; from 375mL –
NOSE: very expressive; lemony tangy funk; quite pleasurable;
BODY: hazy dark orange color; sediment present; slight whitish head disippates quickly.
TASTE: lemony; dry; malt; quite sour, but not as aggressively sour as many Cantillon brews – of course, that could be partly due to the age, as well; well-balanced, and could take more age if one so preferred. Very nice. 9.0/10.
From the bottle’s back label: ”The use of pure malt and the spontaneous fermentation make the IRIS a unique beer. It matures for two years in oak casks and undergoes a natural second fermentation in the bottle afterwards. The use of fresh hops gives the IRIS a delicate bitter flavour. This specific characteristic and the absence of wheat distinguish the IRIS from the other CANTILLON beers, that are made with a base of Lambic … if stored under ideal conditions, the beer can be kept until 2017.”
Had a couple bottles of this Chapeau - Gueuze at a beer bar in Kracow. Ordered the second bottle because the first bottle was so funky I thought it was probably corked. The second bottle was the exact same, and, in fairness, this aspect of the nose did dissipate over the course of 15 - 20 minutes. If I was served this beer blind, the dark color and relatively high sweetness would have likely brought me to guess Flanders red before gueuze. As a gueuze, 4.0/10.
Would it benefit from more age?
Well, that depends on how “aged” you prefer your sour beers. The 4-5 years it presently has under its belt has certainly softened it, but I wouldn’t say it has developed any tertiary elements. At most, I’d say the '07 Iris is in early maturity. (despite what Cantillon writes on the back label, as noted above, I believe the beer would age gracefully beyond 2017.)
Love the Iris. Last '07 I tasted was ~ a year ago, with an '04. The '04 certainly had added dimensions of complexity, & intensity of Gueuze-ness.
One thing that will be attenuated, & also overshadowed by the blossoming of flavor will be the fresh hops. DO love hops, & this added complexity, but for my palate, between 5-10 years is the sweet spot for the Iris.
As a side note, if you are interested in fresh hops in a Gueuze, the Cantillon Cuvee des Champions reigns supreme. An absolutely amazing, remarkable brew.
The one time I had a Cuvee des Champions (which I think goes by a different name now) it was way too hoppy for me. I mention this mainly because the beer is not always easy to get, and I’d be extremely disappointed if I’d spent a bunch of time and money to acquire this rarity only to find what almost tastes like a sour IPA. I love the iris.
2010 Tilquin - Oude Gueuze
My first time with this beer; very good; very clean; lots of orange oil on the Nose; less musty/funky than many other gueuzes. From 375mL. I also purchased a 750mL, which will spend a few years in the cellar.
I am particularly sensitive to hops. I didn’t mean to say that they hide the wild funk in that beer (you’re probably right about its new name, but I’m not sure), but that to me, it does have a hoppy enough profile to taste like some kind of wild-fermented IPA, which I don’t like. nothing against the beer itself. I only wanted to give my impression for anyone else out there who likes almost nothing labeled “IPA” (there are exceptions for me). Anyway, personal preferences aside, we both obviously are fans of Cantillon in general, and I applaud their willingness to experiment with new ideas while maintaining their core offerings of extremely traditional beers.
I may have figured this out, Rob. Do you remember if it was the “Kriek” or the “Oude Kriek”? The “Oude Kriek”, which is made in the traditional manner, would be what you were expecting, so if what you had was the “Kriek” that might explain things.
Matt, sometimes sitting in the half hr of traffic it usually takes for me to get to your place most of the time I think it’s a sign from above that i may be overindulging… then come home with a vigneronne and a tilquin and feel the good karma.
NV Brouwerij Lindemans Gueuze- Belgium, Flanders, Vlezenbeek (10/18/2012)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind out of tulip glass –
NOSE: smells a lot like cider – a tart cider;
BODY: light golden amber color; minimal head only upon pouring and with agitation – dissipates quickly; medium-light bodied
TASTE: tastes like it smells – like cider; I would be hard-pressed to identify this as beer, let alone gueze; it’s sweet for a gueuze; 4.5% alc. not noticeable. As a Gueuze: 1.0 – 1.5/10
When I returned from one of my bi-weekly visits to Wine Warehouse with a bottle of Matt’s '96 gambrinus, my friend and I were giddy to say the least. This has got to be the longest conditioned bottle either of us had seen/touched/been given by far.
After a two day storage, upright, in the fridge, the rose poured a dark gold/light copper. As you can imagine, there was very little carbonation. Nose gave way to some serious barnyard funk, some musty, yeasty breadiness. Whatever sour red fruit that this bottle used to contained had been muted to a ghost. Never having had a lambic this aged, after our initial sip, the freshness of this beer that complimented the barnyard I was expecting amazed me. There was a tart citrus zest that had us puckering. And again, the sour raspberry that might be expected in a younger bottle was greatly diminished.
Just another thank you to Matt. This was one of the coolest beer experiences we’ve ever had and one that we didn’t imagine would come so early in our pursuit of lambics and lambic based beers.
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