This week, one of our favorite lambic lines arrived. We chose five that represented a variety of tastes and flavors, including Iris, which is actually an all-malt brew made in the style of lambic. The brewery is Cantillon, which was built back in 1900. Cantillon is one of only two breweries that still produces true lambics. The other is Boon. And while Hanssens gets props for producing fantastic lambics—the strawberry Oudbeitje is always a treat— they don’t quite qualify. Hanssens is a blender, which means they buy their lambics from other brewers to make their beer. From Shelton Brothers:

Master Brewer Jean-Pierre Van Roy remains a tireless champion of authenticity in lambic brewing. … The mash at Cantillon consists, by long tradition among lambic brewers, of two-thirds malted barley and one-third unmalted wheat. The hops that are added to the boil in great profusion have been aged for several years, eliminating all trace of hop flavor or aroma, but not diminishing their original preservative powers. Twenty or more different strains of wild yeast may be represented in any one batch of lambic beer. The fermenting casks are all at least 40 years old and most held French wine, while a few held either wine, port, or sherry from the Iberian peninsula.

CANTILLON Classic Gueze
CANTILLON Iris (2005)
CANTILLON Kriek
CANTILLON Lou Pepe Framboise (2005)
CANTILLON Rosé de Gambrinus

Image: Cantillon