Brasserie Cantillon Brouwerij
Just outside the center of Brussels, the Cantillon Brewery sits as it has for over 100 years.
On our self guided through Cantillon, we start with the Mash Tun, were 35% raw white wheat and 65% malted barley are blended with 113 degree water and raised to 161 degrees over a few hours. Then the wort is removed from the grain and pumped to the second floor into the Boil Pot.
This brewery is very different from the modern counterparts. Old belts are connected to gears and sprockets that run off few engines to turn the mash. The lid to this Mash Tun almost looks like the blades of a helicopter.
Notice the hole next to the Boil Pot; this is were the wort is pumped via hoses from the Mash Tun. After the wort comes to a boil by steam coils from the Boiler, three year old hops are added not for flavor like American brews, but as an antiseptic, to help preserve the beer. Since these aged hops have lost most of their aroma and alpha acids over time, three times the normal amount of hops (5 grams per liter) are used to prevent some wild bacteria from growing in the brew.
This is the famous coolship. This is were Cantillon beers get their magic. The hot wort is pumped to this large copper container, to cool overnight. This coolship is a piece of art, riveted together, without any welds, not leaking the precious wort. The slats of the roof and windows are open, cooling the beer and inoculating the brew with spontaneous bacteria and wild yeasts.
After the drafts of the night have infected the brew, the cooled brew is pumped into Oak and Chestnut wood barrels to spontaneously ferment. Few beers are still made with these old traditions. This is what makes Cantillon so special. The beer is aged for the next 3 years in these barrels allowing the bacteria to work its unique fermentation.
In France, they speak of La Terroir or the geographic relationship with the homogeneous benefits of that region, help wines of a certain district with the yeast; building an alliance with the soil and crops. This holds true in traditionally brewed Lambics. A true Lambic is impossible to recreate spontaneously, with the same results. This is why the brewery is left as it is; cobwebs sit undisturbed, dust collecting over the years, the floor is sticky from foaming fermentations from an old batch, the pores of the wooden barrels infected with this La Terroir. All these factors work together, maintaining the same mix of wild yeast and bacteria’s that makes these brews so special. For some of the beers, after 2 ½ years are infused with fresh fruits like Cherries (KrieK), raspberries (Framboises), apricots, blueberries and grapes like Muscat, Merlot and Cabernet Franc are added to the barrels to age another six months. These sugars re-feed the bacteria’s, creating new flavors, some balancing out the acids that sour the Lambic while flavors others enhance the unique fermentation creating very special beers
My friend Carlos and I enjoyed glass of both 100% Gueuze and a Kriek. The cool day was a blessing; workers would add firewood to the small wood stove located in the corner, made from old used barrels, past the point of usable for beer. The sour aroma of Brettanomyces filled the tasting room, hints of Lambic and smoke lingered, creating a special atmosphere at the end of our visit at Cantillon.
A few days after our tour at Cantillon, we found ourselves at the Kulminator in Antwerp. Dirk was very kind in sharing his last bottle of 1979 Cantillon Framboise. To say this was a treat, does not give justice to this beer. After 28 years in Dirk’s cellar, the label had disintegrated; only the location known by the Cellar Keep would be able identify this beer. After the cork was removed, we passed it around, as if it was a rare wine. The cork was dark with mold, damp after being on its side for so many years and surprised that it hadn’t deteriorated further.
As the aged liquid filled our glasses, bottle kept at the perfect angle, preventing any of the yeast to enter the glass, the light red huge from raspberries over 29 years old were open to the environment. The small delicate bubbles showed their signs of life as the nectar was lifted to our lips. The fragrance of the tart berries still held true, with a sour flavor that had rounded over the years, mixing the Brettanomyces, Pediococcus and Lactobacillus all together, not identifiable as separate bacteria, but as a sour unlike any I have ever had the honor to try. “Wow,” was all we could say at the table. This was the an unbelievable beer, aged so perfectly, that conversations of what we were doing between 1976 and 1979, as this beer was being created echoed over the table… Truly a memorable beer and trip.
