Super Blend

Blend of Iris and regular Cantillon lambic made back in 2015 for the twentieth anniversary of the legendary Swedish beer restaurant Akkurat - tasted there from a 75 cl bottle picked from their extensive vintage list. Tiny snow white ring of foam taking some forcing to develop and dissolving again quickly after that, hazy ochre-tinged peach blonde robe. Aroma of haybarn, very old leather, dried mushrooms, old furniture, sourdough, wakame, sulfur (freshly struck matches - could be yeast autolysis here), raw seafood (mussels), hard green plum (strong!), horseblanket, damp cellar, old dry sherry, mugwort, pickled cucumber, egg yolk, dried old lemon rind, bitter weeds. Tart, dry, estery, somewhat 'dirty' onset, unripe plum, some hard nectarine and then this odd 'side' saltiness of raw seafood; close to flat carb, slightly astringent, vinous mouthfeel. Sourdoughy core with this seafood element continuing, very 'hard' lactic and leathery effects, pickled gherkin and preserved lemon but without harsh acidity. Old woody tannins in the end - very strongly so - almost like chewing on old furniture, with retronasal horseblanket, grapefruit rind and old hop bitterness to finish everything off. Has some of Iris' breadiness so this element is recognisable, but otherwise quite 'contrarian', bone dry, funky and 'hard', peeking into Cantillon's past, bringing me back to the old days - in that sense far removed from the refined, elegant grape and other fruit lambics they produced in the past years. Not very accessible and not Cantillon's greatest, but very complex and interesting nonetheless.

750mL bottle at Akkurat. Pours murky gold with no head. Lots of must and mildew on the nose. Flavour has musty upholstery, mildew, nice funk, a fairly dry and tart finish. This is getting nicer as it comes to temperature.

750mL bottle at Akkurat, pours a clear copper with a tiny, white bubbly head. Aroma has a lot of dusty mildew, light funk, and some horse blanket. Flavour does indeed taste like a blend of Iris and Bruocsella, with bitter hops, dusty mildew, some leather, and gentle funk. Totally flat, which doesn’t help express the funk. Lots of old furniture on the finish. Good but underwhelming given the rarity and status this has.

Bottle at Akkurat. Pours a hazy orange gold with no head. The aroma is cedar, dill, earth, funk. Light body, funk, dill, barnyard, bitter finish, very good.

Bottle shared @ Akkurat. Pours lightly hazy dark orange with small white bubblys. Aromas of citrus, oranges, light hops, bread, oak, vinegar, gummibears. Taste has vinegar, oak, herbal notes, oranges, lightly rubbery, mandarin, leathery, bready finish. Not that good but huge potential. Hopefully I can revisit sometime.

30.03.2019, 0,75l bottle @ Akkurat:
Small bubbly shortlasting head, slightly cloudy. Aroma is slightly dry sour-ish floral, oak, hay, minerals, old rope, sorrel, bark, flowers, berry skin, fruit stones, unripe berries, minerals, hints of thinner and mild vinegar. Taste is slightly dry sour-ish, old rope, sorrel, flowers, oak, bark, mild vinegar, fruit stones, berry skin, old citrus peel, brett, unripe berries, soda powder. Medium bitterness, slightly dry sour-ish floral mouthfeel. Nice, but not fantastic. Very easy drinking though...

750 ml bottle, v2015, at Akkurat, Stockholm. Light unclear orange amber color with no head. Malty light hoppy and light yeasty aroma, reminds me a lot of a faro, light funky, floral and citrusy, vinegar, wood, salty and mineral notes. Sweet, light bitter and acidic notes, vinegar again. Light to med oily body, flat carbonation.

Bottle at Akkurat on 11/28/16.
Rapidly fizzling bubbles top a mostly clear, brassy-golden body with moderate carbonation visible.
Strong acidity in the nose reminds, to some extent, of Cantillon vintages of old (not that old though, maybe like ca. 2004). More acetic character than is found now. Very oaky, much more so than I can remember most any Cantillon beer being. Wouldn’t call it overdone but it doesn’t help with the already surplus of acetic character. Grapefruit rind on the end announces the lactic acidity and there is no flaw or alcohol. Certainly very mousey-funky.
The flavor follows the nose to a T. Unfortunately, that means a surplus of acidity, quite biting and dry and seemingly not supported by quite enough malt/body. Lots of oak, acetic character and lactic character. Quite sour, but just too thin, really. It gets a little softer, with warming/breathing, but it’s still so young. I assume, like GCB and Iris do, it will get much better with 5-10 years on it, but it’s a bit worrisome about the thinness.