Delete, Protect, administrator
8,485
edits
Changes
no edit summary
== Overview ==
Cantillon is the only traditional lambic brewery located within the city of Brussels. Founded in 1900, today Cantillon operates both as a brewery and as a living [[Musée bruxellois de la gueuze]]. They use 100% organic grains and hops in all of their beers. Cantillon brews traditional lambic products, using 65% malted barley and 35% unmalted wheat. Their beers are spontaneously fermented using a large coolship in the attic and fermented in Oak barrels. Their flagship products, which are discussed further below, include:[[File:BrasserieCantillon-18.jpg|thumb|right|Wall of Gueuze]]
<div style="column-count:2;-moz-column-count:2;-webkit-column-count:2">
* Fou Foune
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 and 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, and kriek, and framboise. After the First World War, Paul was ready to expand the business and bring his two sons into the fold. Finally, 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 />
To keep the brewery afloat, Van Roy sweetened his gueuze with artificial sweeteners to keep up with current tastes. Sadly, this did not help the brewery and it continued to operate at a loss. By 1975 Jean-Pierre began to abandon the artificial sweeteners and stopped the practice altogether by 1978. In 1978 he also decided to create a working exhibit dedicated to the art of lambic brewing. Opening Cantillon to the public allowed them to bring some extra revenue to help balance the books. It also helped to spread the word to both locals and to tourists. <ref name=GeuzeKriek></ref>
Sales began to increase. Jean-Pierre continued to take steps to increase quality control, including discontinuing sales to stores that stored the beer upright. Storing the bottles upright caused the cork to dry out and let all the carbonation out. Jean-Pierre eventually brought his son, Jean, into the business in 1989. Like his father, who had no formal brewing experience before working at the brewery, Jean Van Roy learned lambic on the job. With the lambic industry as a whole turning around, Van Roy began to pay off the past debts to the Cantillon family and by 1992 fully owned the brewery. [[File:BrasserieCantillon-9.jpg|thumb|right|Brewery signage]]
In the years since 1992 the brewery has continued to flourish as one of the most sought-after producers of traditional lambic in Belgium. Though still involved in the brewery, the elder Van Roy brewed his last official batch in 2009. Jean Van Roy, who spent a full twenty years working beside his father, now directs the brewery’s operations after having officially taken over in 2003. Unlike his father before him, who was rooted in the strictest tradition, Jean Van Roy has grown to experiment with a number of small batch lambics and fruits not native to Belgium like Finnish red currants and Danish blueberries. As of now, the future of the brewery seems to be quite stable with no less than seven grandsons of Jean-Pierre and Claude ready to carry on the Cantillon name. <ref name=“LambicLand”>Tim Webb, Chris Pollard, Siobhan McGinn, [[Books#LambicLand: A Journey Round the Most Unusual Beers in the World|LambicLand: A Journey Round the Most Unusual Beers in the World]], 2010</ref> <ref name=GeuzeKriek></ref>
File:BrasserieCantillon-7.jpg|Barrels
File:BrasserieCantillon-8.jpg|Barrels
File:BrasserieCantillon-10.jpg|Crates at the Brewery
File:BrasserieCantillon-11.jpg|Mash Tun
File:BrasserieCantillon-13.jpg|Around the Brewery
File:BrasserieCantillon-14.jpg|The Cellar
File:BrasserieCantillon-16.jpg|Zwanze 12 Bottles
File:BrasserieCantillon-17.jpg|Around the Brewery
</gallery>