Cantillon Iris
Description
Iris is a spontaneously fermented beer made yearly by Cantillon outside of the realm of traditional lambic. Instead of using a traditional 35% wheat base the beer is brewed entirely with pale malt. It is dry-hopped with a 50/50 blend of both aged and fresh hops and is then barreled for approximately two years. After the maturation period, Iris is "cold hopped" one more time before bottling to give it a fresh-hop bitterness and aroma. Though the brewery states that Iris is available only in 75cl bottles, many vintages have been bottled and distributed in 37.5cl bottles as well as in 20L kegs.
History / Other Notes
Iris was first brewed and released to celebrate the 20th Anniverssary of the Musée bruxellois de la gueuze in 1998 after having been brewed in 1996. It was bottled again in 2000 and became a part of the core lineup soon after. The name Iris, as well as the label artwork, recognizes the marsh irish that grew in and around the swampy Brussels city center. The labels has remained generally unchanged since the first batch with only minor adjustments to its size and age-statements. Iris has been labeled both with a vintage date that is two years prior to the cork date, and without a vintage date. It is generally bottled during the first four months of the year.
Bottle Log
Bottle date
(mm/dd/yyyy) |
Cork Date | Vintage | Bottle Size | Label / Notes | Image Link |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A | 1998 | 2000 | 750mL | Vintage date is hand-written by brewer ("Iris" is offset on label) | N/A |
N/A | 2000 | N/A | 375mL | Label is centered with "Iris 2000". Black foil. Lost the cork date. | N/A |
N/A | N/A | 2004 | 750mL | N/A | |
N/A | 2003 | 2005 | 375mL | N/A | |
N/A | 2003 | 2005 | 750mL | N/A | |
N/A | 2004 | 2006 | 750mL | N/A | |
N/A | 2005 | 2007 | 750mL | N/A | |
N/A | 2005 | 2007 | 375mL | N/A | |
N/A | 2006 | 2008 | 750mL | N/A | |
01/09/2008 | 2006 | 2008 | 750mL | N/A | |
01/29/2009 | N/A | 2011 | 750mL | Bottled on year and cork year are different | N/A |
04/02/2009 | 2006 | 2009 | 750mL | N/A | |
04/02/2009 | 2007 | 2009 | 375mL | N/A | |
02/12/2010 | 2007 | 2010 | 750mL | N/A | |
02/17/2010 | 2007 | 2010 | 750mL | N/A | |
12/15/2010 | 2007 | 2010 | 750mL | N/A | |
01/26/2011 | 2007 | 2011 | 750mL | N/A | |
01/27/2011 | 2009 | 2011 | 750mL | No year on label | N/A |
03/03/2011 | 2009 | 2011 | 375mL | No year on label | N/A |
03/08/2011 | 2009 | 2011 | 375mL | No year on label, brewed January 13, 2009 | N/A |
12/15/2011 | N/A | 2011 | 75 mL | No year on label | N/A |
02/20/2012 | N/A | 2012 | 750mL | N/A | |
01/28/2013 | N/A | 2013 | 750mL | No year on label | N/A |
03/19/2013 | N/A | 2013 | 375mL | No year on label | N/A |
Label Log
References
Photos
More pics