Brasserie Cantillon: Difference between revisions

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By 1900, Paul Cantillon and his wife Marie Troch began a gueuze blending business in the industrial quarter of Cureghem which was part of the southern Brussels community of Anderlecht. The brewery was located in a very busy area near the Bruxelles-Midi train station, the Mons boulevard, and the canal that ran through the city. Jean-Pierre Van Roy, who wrote the forward to [[Books#La_Gueuze_gourmande|''La Gueuze Gourmande'']], calls the period between 1900-1937 the ''"première periode de la brasserie."'' During these first thirty-seven years, Cantillon never actually brewed a beer. Instead, they bought lambic from a variety of producers in the area to blend and sell on their own, considering Cantillon a ''biersteker'' (beer blender) and ''marchand de bières'' (beer merchant). They would house their beers at Gheudestraat 56-58, where the brewery is located today.<ref name=“LaGueuzeGourmande”>Nicole Darchambeau, [[Books#La Gueuze gourmande|La Gueuze gourmande]], 2006</ref>

[[File:BrasserieCantillon-12.jpg|thumb|left|Boiler]]

Paul and Marie had four children, two sons named Robert and Marcel, and two daughters named Georgette and Fernande. The early years of Cantillon produced unblended lambic, mars, faro, gueuze, kriek, and framboise. After the First World War, Paul was ready to expand the business and bring his two sons into the fold. In 1937, Paul, Robert, and Marcel purchased the Brasserie Nationale du Néblon, located in Ouffet, which had closed the previous year ~~in 1936~~. They moved the brewing equipment to its current location and the first batch of Cantillon’s own beer was brewed in 1938 shortly before the brothers were called to mobilize for World War II.<ref name=GeuzeKriek />

Paul and Marie had four children, two sons named Robert and Marcel, and two daughters named Georgette and Fernande. The early years of Cantillon produced unblended lambic, mars, faro, gueuze, kriek, and framboise. After the First World War, Paul was ready to expand the business and bring his two sons into the fold. In 1937, Paul, Robert, and Marcel purchased the Brasserie Nationale du Néblon, located in Ouffet, which had closed the previous year. They moved the brewing equipment to its current location, and the first batch of Cantillon’s own beer was brewed in 1938, shortly before the brothers were called to mobilize for World War II.<ref name=GeuzeKriek />

During the Second World War, with supplies in demand for the soldiers, it was more difficult to continue to brew beers. The period during the war saw the brewery at a near standstill. The immediate post-war years did not see the same demand and production of beers as the 1930s had. To make matters worse, a massive heat wave in Belgium destroyed many breweries’ stocks including Cantillon’s. Sometime around 1950, the brewery began to recover and reached an all-time high production in 1955. Paul Cantillon passed away in 1952, while his wife Marie lived until 1958. Starting in 1960, the demand for traditional gueuze and lambic began to decline once again, and Robert sold his share to Marcel and left the business. Marcel, too, was on his way out of the brewing business when his only daughter, Claude, married Jean-Pierre Van Roy. In August 1969, Van Roy had agreed to take the reins of the brewery. From October 1969 until April 1970, Jean-Pierre apprenticed with his father-in-law Marcel Cantillon, learning the trade. <ref name=Trends>Jean-Pierre Van Roy interview, Trends Family Business, November 2017. [http://acties.trends.knack.be/acties/trends/familybusiness/archief/2017-11/portret-1.jsp "Hoeders Van De Traditie."]</ref>

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 By 1900, Paul Cantillon and his wife Marie Troch began a gueuze blending business in the industrial quarter of Cureghem which was part of the southern Brussels community of Anderlecht.  The brewery was located in a very busy area near the Bruxelles-Midi train station, the Mons boulevard, and the canal that ran through the city. Jean-Pierre Van Roy, who wrote the forward to [[Books#La_Gueuze_gourmande|''La Gueuze Gourmande'']], calls the period between 1900-1937 the ''"première periode de la brasserie."'' During these first thirty-seven years, Cantillon never actually brewed a beer. Instead, they bought lambic from a variety of producers in the area to blend and sell on their own, considering Cantillon a ''biersteker'' (beer blender) and ''marchand de bières'' (beer merchant). They would house their beers at Gheudestraat 56-58, where the brewery is located today.<ref name=“LaGueuzeGourmande”>Nicole Darchambeau, [[Books#La Gueuze gourmande|La Gueuze gourmande]], 2006</ref>
 [[File:BrasserieCantillon-12.jpg|thumb|left|Boiler]]
-Paul and Marie had four children, two sons named Robert and Marcel, and two daughters named Georgette and Fernande. The early years of Cantillon produced unblended lambic, mars, faro, gueuze, kriek, and framboise. After the First World War, Paul was ready to expand the business and bring his two sons into the fold. In 1937, Paul, Robert, and Marcel purchased the Brasserie Nationale du Néblon, located in Ouffet, which had closed the previous year in 1936. They moved the brewing equipment to its current location and the first batch of Cantillon’s own beer was brewed in 1938 shortly before the brothers were called to mobilize for World War II.<ref name=GeuzeKriek />
+Paul and Marie had four children, two sons named Robert and Marcel, and two daughters named Georgette and Fernande. The early years of Cantillon produced unblended lambic, mars, faro, gueuze, kriek, and framboise. After the First World War, Paul was ready to expand the business and bring his two sons into the fold. In 1937, Paul, Robert, and Marcel purchased the Brasserie Nationale du Néblon, located in Ouffet, which had closed the previous year. They moved the brewing equipment to its current location, and the first batch of Cantillon’s own beer was brewed in 1938, shortly before the brothers were called to mobilize for World War II.<ref name=GeuzeKriek />
 During the Second World War, with supplies in demand for the soldiers, it was more difficult to continue to brew beers. The period during the war saw the brewery at a near standstill. The immediate post-war years did not see the same demand and production of beers as the 1930s had. To make matters worse, a massive heat wave in Belgium destroyed many breweries’ stocks including Cantillon’s. Sometime around 1950, the brewery began to recover and reached an all-time high production in 1955. Paul Cantillon passed away in 1952, while his wife Marie lived until 1958.  Starting in 1960, the demand for traditional gueuze and lambic began to decline once again, and Robert sold his share to Marcel and left the business. Marcel, too, was on his way out of the brewing business when his only daughter, Claude, married Jean-Pierre Van Roy. In August 1969, Van Roy had agreed to take the reins of the brewery. From October 1969 until April 1970, Jean-Pierre apprenticed with his father-in-law Marcel Cantillon, learning the trade. <ref name=Trends>Jean-Pierre Van Roy interview, Trends Family Business, November 2017. [http://acties.trends.knack.be/acties/trends/familybusiness/archief/2017-11/portret-1.jsp "Hoeders Van De Traditie."]</ref>