A visit to Cantillon Brewery

 

A short walk northwards from the architectural monstrosity that is Brussels South/Midi/Zuid station, ignoring the pickpockets, beggars and other North African flotsam that infest the Anderlecht municipality of Brussels, one arrives at the historic Cantillon Brewery and museum which was undergoing an enlargement of the premise on my visit. Luckily it was open for self-guided tours for €8 per person with a booklet and tasting of 3 of their beers

Above and below: the mash tun

Up a floor to the grist mill

Below: the copper

Upstairs again to the coolship, wide flat-bottomed vessels to allow cooling of the wort

Barrels for primary fermentation

The bar at the end of the tour

Cantillon Iris, brewed entirely with Pale Malt (Lambics usually have a percentage of wheat malt, around 35%), aged for two years in barrels and dry-hopped with both fresh and aged Hallertau hops, then cold-hopped with Saaz

Lambics are not to everyone's taste but I enjoy them, far more sour than the kettle-sours of craft breweries. I could have stayed longer at Cantillon but my Deutsche-Bahn train was waiting to take me across the border into Germany