Cantillon (brewery) explained
Brasserie-Brouwerij Cantillon ("Brewery Cantillon") is a small Belgian traditional family brewery based in Anderlecht, Brussels. Cantillon was founded in 1900 and exclusively brews lambic beers.
Overview
The brewery was founded in 1900 by Paul Cantillon, whose father was also a brewer, and his wife, Marie Troch., the owner is Jean-Pierre van Roy, the fourth-generation brewer at Cantillon.[1] Since launch, the only major change has been a shift to organic ingredients in 1999. Cantillon was one of more than one hundred operating breweries in Brussels when founded, and was the only one to remain operational through the 2000s.[2] In 2014, van Roy announced that the brewery would be acquiring more maturation space, effectively doubling production by 2016–17.[3]
Cantillon produces 400,000 bottles of beer a year.[4]
Beers
In the traditional lambic style, beers, with a mash bill of 2/3 malted barley and 1/3 unmalted wheat, are spontaneously fermented in open topped attic mounted vats called coolships, aged in oak or chestnut, blended (from different batches and ages), bottled, and then bottle conditioned for a year. Half of the brewery's production is gueuze; once a year a batch of kriek is made.[5] For fruit-flavored beers, empty casks are filled with various fruits and macerated for three months to dissolve the fruits; young lambic is added to supply sugar for fermentation.
- Blåbær - bilberry (made every year for a bottle shop in Denmark)
- Cuvée Saint Gilloise - This is not a traditional gueuze, in that it is made from only two-year-old lambic, not from a blend of old and young beers. It is also dry-hopped in the cask for three weeks with fresh Styrian Golding hops. Re-fermentation in the bottle is achieved with the addition of a small amount of candy sugar.
- Fou' Foune - apricot[5]
- Grand Cru Bruocsella - unblended lambic aged for three years, and refermented with liqueur d'expedition[5]
- Gueuze[5]
- Iris - 100% pale barley malt beer with half fresh hops aged for two years and then dry-hopped[5] with Hallertau hops[6] [5]
- Kriek - lambic made with cherries[5]
- Lou Pepe Gueuze - blended from beers of the same age, thus not a strictly authentic gueuze[5]
- Lou Pepe Kriek - with more fruit (cherries)[5]
- Lou Pepe Framboise - with more fruit (raspberries)[5]
- Magic Lambic - 80% Lou Pepe Framboise and 20% blueberry lambic with vanilla[7]
- Mamouche - elderflower
- Nath - brewed with rhubarb
- Rosé de Gambrinus - framboise[5]
- Saint Lamvinus - Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes[5]
- Soleil de Minuit - cloudberry (made in 1999 and in 2013)
- Vigneronne - Muscat grapes[5]
Gueuze Museum
The brewery also houses the Gueuze Museum.[8] Patricia Schultz listed the brewery and its museum in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.[9]
External links
50.8418°N 4.3353°W
Notes and References
- Book: Koch. Greg. Allyn. Matt. The Brewer's Apprentice: An Insider's Guide to the Art and Craft of Beer Brewing, Taught by the Masters. 27 May 2012. 2011. Quarry Books. 9781610581592. 272–84.
- Stange. Joe. Brasserie de la Senne Versus the Universe. Draft. 7 December 2010. 29 January 2015. 24 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160924202400/http://draftmag.com/brasserie-de-la-senne-versus-the-universe/. dead.
- Web site: Nason. Adam. Cantillon to double production with help of new building. BeerPulse.com. Beer Pulse. 22 January 2015. August 2014.
- News: Boffey. Daniel. One of world's oldest beer varieties 'at risk from climate change'. 10 September 2018. The Guardian. 9 March 2020.
- Book: Oliver. Garrett. Colicchio. Tom. The Oxford Companion to Beer. 27 May 2012. 2011. Oxford UP. 9780195367133. 216–17.
- Book: McFarland, Ben. World's Best Beers: One Thousand Craft Brews from Cask to Glass. 27 May 2012. 2009. Sterling. 9781402766947. 100–101.
- Web site: Cantillon Magic Lambic . lambic.info. 30 May 2019.
- http://www.europe-cities.com/en/786/belgium/brussels/place/22659_brussels_gueuze_museum/ Brussels Gueuze Museum
- Book: Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, the second edition. 27 May 2012. 2011. Workman. 9780761168713. 92.
