March 3 was the public brewing session at Cantillon Brewery. This “open brew day” is held twice a year (March and November). It’s an opportunity to experience the brewing process firsthand, with a guided tour.
Little known fact: you can take a self-guided tour of the brewery any day they are brewing—usually Tues and Thurs October to April (actual dates are published on their facebook page). Never really been an option for us with all kid wrangling involved. It seems too hazardous with everything operating (it’s not like they have OSHA in Belgium!).
It’s not that the kids are so terrible, more because they like Cantillon way too much. Ask the 3 year old what his favorite beer is and he will say, “Cantillon.” I remember he once begged me to fill a sippy cup from my bottle of Pinot D’Aunis; he was two. The other one will just ask for a sip, then drink the whole glass.
So we took the opportunity to leave the little ones with Grandma and got up crazy-early to drive to Brussels (to attempt) to make the first tour of the day. They’re given in English, French and Dutch; an English tour runs about every 45 minutes beginning at 7 a.m. We arrived a little bit after 7, but somehow got lost walking from the parking garage at Grand Place (even tho we’ve made that trek many times). We made it to Cantillon with time for free coffee and croissants before the tour. It was busy, but not so crowded that we didn’t get a seat at a table.
They called for the next English tour. We were two of six people in the group. I was shocked. And the other four were Italian.
Highlights: It’s fascinating to see all the old equipment in operation. We got to try the wort directly from the kettle. It was exactly as you expect wort to taste: warm and gross. I don’t know why I expected it to taste any different than what I can get at home; the magic happens in the fermentation, not the brewing.
By far the most interesting thing was watching the barrels being cleaned. Each one weighs 55kg (121 lbs) empty. One is hosed out, heavy chains are inserted thru the bung hole on the top and the barrel is partially filled with water. It’s then pushed up onto this machine. The whole thing rotates while the barrel spins inside. (If you think about that carnival ride—I don’t know what it’s called, the atom or something—where they strap you into a chair that spins around and upside down while the whole thing rotates. It’s like that.) After a while on the machine, the barrel is rolled off and held in place, while it drains and the chains are removed. All this is work is done by one guy. One young, strong guy.
After the tour, we had a bottle of Zwanze 2011. By this time it was very crowded; we passed what looked like British tour bus on the way out. If I were to go again, I’d go before 10. Can’t imagine how packed it would be in the afternoon.
Also: We purchased a museum membership (Cantillon Brewery is the Gueuze Museum). For 11€ we now get a free tour and drink whenever we go, plus a discount on bottles and merchandise—something we took advantage of on our layover at Midi on the way to London.
M O R E P H O T O S
From Cantillon Open Brew Day. Shot March 3, 2012. Brussels, Belgium
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