During our trip to Belgium, my Husband’s beer enthusiast friends had been recommending he visit Cantillon brewery in Brussels. While there are plenty of excellent world class beers avaialble throughout Brussels, Cantillon specializes in brewing Lambic, which is a very unique style of beer. Lambics are the oldest style of beer, made long before humans even knew what yeast was. So I’ve asked my Husband to share his experience of the brewery visit, to feature on my site. The following are his words, documenting his experience on the tour:
Unlike most traditional brewing methods over the last 150 years which are fermented using carefully cultivated strains of yeast specifically for brewing beer, lambic beer is allowed to spontaneously ferment in open vats, innoculated by wild yeasts naturally occuring in the air. After fermenting, it’s stored in oak barrels where it’s allowed to age for some time, then bottled where it’s allowed to condition for more time, typically another year or more, where it gets its carbonation and changes in flavor a bit. This entire process gives lambic beer its distinctive dry and sour cidery flavor, varying from a light tart flavor to an intense sour.
Cantillon was originally one of more than 100 breweries in Brussels at its foundation in 1900, and was the only one to remain operational through the 2000s. With a recent resurgence of lambic beers there are several other breweries now producing it in Brussels. I did the self-guided tour of the brewery, where upon completion I got to taste some of their beer.
I’ve tried many sour beers from various brewers in the US, and I wasn’t really a fan of the style so I was skeptical of going to Cantillon, however my friends (who love sours) insisted that I go since they’re one of the top brewers of the style. Upon arriving I knew I stumbled onto something special. The location was a relatively unassuming building on a quiet street, but once inside there were quite a few people there for the tour. I did the self guided tour which was pretty engaging and very convenient. After paying the modest admission fee (€7) I got a pamphlet with all the stations identified and a description of each station. I took my time and made it through in about 30 minutes. One of the most interesting stops was the copper fermentation vat. I’m familiar with commercial brewing processes and equipment, yet I’ve never seen anything like this. They use a very large shallow copper vat up high in the attic of the building, with open windows to allow the natural yeasts to innoculate the beer.
Depending on what time of the year and what time of the day you visit, you could see the workers performing any of the steps required in the complex brewing process. I visited late in the afternoon near closing time in April. Due to the warming weather, they weren’t making fresh beer because lambic is best brewed in cooler temperatures (warm weather could upset the balance of yeast and bacteria and cause bad bacteria to contaminate the brew.) However I did get to see their bottling machine in action.
At the end of the tour, they give two samples. In my case they poured their classic Gueuze and their Kriek, which is their blend of lambics of various age with a generous dosage of sour cherries added. Both were excellent, and while I was tempted to get a bottle to enjoy on site, that’s something best shared with a companion, or by yourself if you have a good book to read.
After the tour I stopped at a great bar nearby for a glass of Cantillon’s beer and tried a few other local beers as well. I tried a variety of styles, all of which were incredible. I learned that you’ll be pleased no matter what beer you order anywhere in all of Belgium.
