Our Belgium Private Canal Beercation starts in 70 Days!
As we explore Bruges, Gent, Antwerp, Mechelen and Brussels we will be visiting the following: In de Vrede (Westvletern); De Dolle Brouwers; Gruut; Bosteels; Malheur; Cafe Trappisten (Westmalle); Duvel and Cantillon Brewery as well as many other sites.
Below are excerpts from Bon Beer Voyage’s August Newsletter which features Cantillon Brewery. Enjoy and we hope to see you in the future on a Bon Beer Voyage.
Tours for Belgian and Craft Beer Enthusiasts
August 2010 Newsletter
www.BonBeer.com
888-U-Go-Beer (888-846-2337)
Greetings!
Things are really brewing here at BBV! We’ve set a date for our Tampa 2011 trip, done some fine tuning on the Belgium trip, set up a tentative itinerary for Italy and are soon heading out to preview our Ireland trip!
Can you believe the Belgian Barge Beercation is just over 2 months away? Can’t stand to be left out? Well good news is there are still a few cabins available for only $2239 per person (double occupancy)!
Are you getting the latest info on our trips and other great beer news? Become a fan on Facebook, and don’t forget to check out our this blog, our website and newsletters for up to date trip info and specials!
This month’s newsletter features another of the unique breweries that we will be visiting on our Belgium trip- Cantillon Brewery in Brussels, world famous for their Gueuze.
We hope you enjoy this months newsletter.
Cheers!
Ruth & Mike
Brewery Insider
Previews of Breweries We Visit on our Bon Beer Voyage Tours
Cantillon Brewery, Brussels, Belgium
This month we take a closer look at a very unique brewery that is sure to be one of the highlights of our Belgian Beercation, the Cantillon Brewery, located in Brussels, Belgium. Cantillon was founded in 1900 by the Van Roy-Cantillon family.
The building, which dates back to 1874 was previously a warehouse. In 1900 Paul Cantillon, the son of a brewer, opened the facility as a Gueuze blending facility. It did not begin brewing its own concoctions until the end of 1937. Master Brewer Jean-Pierre Van Roy took over the Cantillon family brewery when his father-in-law gave him an ultimatum. Cantillon told Van Roy that that if he didn’t take it over, he would close. Jean-Pierre obviously rose to the occasion. Today, with Jean Van Roy (son of Jean-Pierre) as the brewer,Cantillon is one of only two lambic breweries still in operation that produces nothing but authentic, unsweetened, ufiltered, unpasteurized lambic and is currently the only active brewery in Brussels which is open to the public.
The brewery produces Gueuze (now close your eyes real quick and tell me how to spell that again?), Lambic, Faro and Kriek in the same tradition that it has for over 100 years.
Lambic is a beer which is spontaneously fermented. This means that instead of having yeast added to it, it takes advantage of the wild yeast in the air. The particular area in Belgium in which Cantillon is located is very well known for its particular strains of wild yeast. The building has numerous small holes in it, allowing the yeast to enter.
When visiting, in my opinion the coolest part(no pun intended) is the cooling tun in the attic. This is a huge open topped copper pan where the wort is not only cooled, but gains all the natural yeasts that are floating around in the air; it’s kind of like when we used to do those experiments in science class with petri dishes!
The cooled wort is then put in old oak or chestnut barrels where it ferments for 1-3 years before it is blended, then rebottled immediately so the second fermentation can take place creating the gueuze. Alteratively, fruit is added to create Kriek(cherries) or Framboise(raspberries) as well as a unique grape lambic.
For the most part, Gueuze is made up of a blend of lambics of different ages. Cantillon mixes theirs fom their own lambics, while some other breweries wil mix lambics from varying breweries.
Kriek is made from the Schaarbeek variety of cherries steeped in lambic, pits and all. It dissoves and ferments for 4-5 months during which time the pits dissolve as well, imparting some nuttiness to the flavor along with the cherry. The Framboise is lambic steeped with raspberries (as well as a small amount of cherries). The Framboise only takes about 3 months to be ready to go.
The brewery appears as old as it really is! There are, of course, dust and cobwebs; this is because the building purposely has the holes in it to welcome the wild yeast that makes their mouth watering products possible. They have not changed much over the years, since they feel that this helps to ensure the authenticity and quality of their beer.
Interestingly enough, 68% of Cantillon’s beer is currently exported. It seems America and Japan are keeping them in business! Apparantly the trend toward a taste for sweeter beverages, such as Coca Cola, has left the sour gueuze unpopular locally. Fortunately for us, there remains and continues to grow a sour loving, specialty seeking, beer enthusiast contingent who for now, help Cantillon remain viable and a must see mecca for people like us!
As one web reviewer so eloquently commented: “It is the center of the gueuze universe”! We agree- and are looking forward to sharing this historic brewery with all of you that are joining us in October!
If you would like to join us when we visit Canillon in October
Belgian Canal Cruise Beercation
October 23-30, 2010
Less than 71 Days Left
Until the Belgian Barge Beercation!
Have you reserved your space yet?
DON’T MISS THE BOAT
Limited Space Still Available!
REGISTER TODAY!
Don’t Miss The Opportunity to…
Try These and Endless Other Great Beers!
See These Awesome Sights!
Experience These Unique Bathrooms 🙂
Enjoy…Unique regional brews in some of the most historic and best beer-stocked pubs. 
Experience…the historical and fascinating cities, including Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent & Brussels with guided tours as well as free time to explore on your own. 
Visit…Beer Lovers Meccas, such as Westvleteren, Westmalle and Cantillon!
Savor…Cuisine a la biere! (That’s the fancy french term for food cooked in beer!)
Relax…it’s your vacation! No driving! No figuring out where to eat or how to get from one place to the next! Unpack only once on our incredibly comfortable private passenger barge and get ready for the beercation of a lifetime!
Only $2239 per person, double occupancy
Reserve Your Space Today While there is still Availability!
Don’t Miss the Boat!
- Quality accommodations on our own exclusive passenger barge
- Experienced, English speaking tour leaders and guides
- Ground transportation throughout the tour
- Sightseeing, private guided tours, special activities and events
- All taxes on included hotels, meals and transportation
Exclusive Bon Beer Voyage Benefits…
- Tour insurance coverage to cover tour cancellation or interruption (for medical reasons), lost luggage, accidental death, medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation, or unavoidable flight delays. Please note: many personal health insurance plans don’t cover their participants while they are traveling out of the country.
- Our Barge Trips are limited to a maximum of 22 guests, making it feel more like traveling with a group of friends and allowing us a more comfortable, personalized tour experience.
Call Today!
1-888-U-Go-Beer (888-846-2337)
Or go to our website: www.BonBeer.com to reserve now.
Space is Limited!
Beer Safari News
Great News! We’re heading back to Tampa for More Tours, Tastings and Fun!
More Great News – We’ve scheduled this year’s
Tampa Beer Safari Weekend over
President’s Day Weekend!
February 18-20, 2011,
This could be a really nice Valentine’s gift to give the beer lover in your life! ! And if you have the time to make it a real holiday weekend, we can even help you arrange for additional nights before or after the beer tour at the hotel at special BBV rates. Details coming soon…watch your emails and our Facebook page for up to the date info and be the first to register – space will be limited!
See pics from 2010 Tampa Beer Safari on Mike’s blog, The Beer Stocked Refrigerator
You can email us if you would like to pre-register for any of our trips.
We hope you enjoyed this month’s newsletter. As always, feel free to contact us with any questions regarding any of our beer trips or for custom tour information.
We can be reached at 1-888-U-Go-Beer or at info@bonbeer.com
Cheers!
Ruth & Mike
Bon Beer Voyage
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