Cellaring St Gilloise v Iris v Gueuze

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

PDXAmbassador1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Messages
371
Reaction score
400
Location
Orlando FL
Hey I've not been able to find much info on long-term aging of Cantillon St Gilloise. How does it fair compared to Iris (which develops that beautiful petrichor character)? Have any of you personally tried and older bottle of St Gilloise?

Relatedly, LPG supposedly ages better than classic Gueuze, and I figured that was due to it being a blend of 2-year old barrels instead of 1-3 year old barrels. St Gill and Iris also are blends of 2-year old barrels. Is this somehow a benefit for aging?
 
Hey I've not been able to find much info on long-term aging of Cantillon St Gilloise. How does it fair compared to Iris (which develops that beautiful petrichor character)? Have any of you personally tried and older bottle of St Gilloise?

Relatedly, LPG supposedly ages better than classic Gueuze, and I figured that was due to it being a blend of 2-year old barrels instead of 1-3 year old barrels. St Gill and Iris also are blends of 2-year old barrels. Is this somehow a benefit for aging?
Oldest bottle of Gilloise I've had has been 5-6 years and it was spectacular. I love fresh CSG, but for my tastes the aged bottle was better. It could have been an exceptional bottle though. YMMV. I also love Iris with 5+ years on it. Come to think of it, maybe I just like old beer.
 
CSG was only first bottled in 2010, so there really hasn't been enough time to determine how it ages long term, unlike Iris which has been around since 98.

I absolutely love older vintages of Iris, but have yet to have a CSG older than about 2 years.
Do you think that Gilloise is different enough from CdC that they'd age differently? I have a hard time believing that, but think they both taste like soap so haven't really bothered with them. CdC has been around since 2004.
 
CdC and CSG are the same beers. In my experience, I've had CdC (and La Derniere Cuvee) dating back to '04-'05 and I think they age just as well as any Iris I've had of similar vintage. Strangely enough, you dont see a lot of folks aging CdC/CSG as long as Iris for some reason. Maybe people just prefer it fresh more?
 
We opened a 7 year old bottle (May 2009) of CdC last month that did not impress. Flavors were muted and we found it to lack the complexity expected from a 7 year old lambic/gueuze. I have a few more bottles, maybe the next one will be better.
 
We opened a 2004 CdC about 2 years ago and found it to be phenomenal. I do probably prefer it fresh, but developed a wonderful complexity with age.

As for iris, recently had a 1998 iris and it was otherworldly. That beer is just absolutely incredible with age.
 
CdC and CSG are the same beers. In my experience, I've had CdC (and La Derniere Cuvee) dating back to '04-'05 and I think they age just as well as any Iris I've had of similar vintage. Strangely enough, you dont see a lot of folks aging CdC/CSG as long as Iris for some reason. Maybe people just prefer it fresh more?
I enjoy both Iris and CsG fresh immensely, so I think I arbitrarily decided I was going to age one and drink the other fresh, then I bought a bunch of year old bottles in a bunk buy, then I started drinking them less, and now I am sitting on several I am aging until i feel like opening them. And somewhere in there is a CdC. Sooo if I have the chance to open one fresh, I will totally jump on it regardless of Iris or CsG at this point since I have a little catalog going, but they are good aged as well, and my choice was completely arbitrary. Possibly/probably based on already having (more) Iris in the cellar.
 
For me:
5 year Iris barely beat 5 year st gilloise imho
10 year iris is one of my favorite beers I've ever had
My take is that I age my iris and drink my CSG fresh, but its close.
 
Back
Top