So what is the magic of Cantillon and why is it so in demand? Mulling over some dark corners of the internet and actually taking the time to read comments from some hard-line Cantillon fans on indie beer forums it would seem there are a number of reasons.... Well i think for starters people like it keeps everything in house, traditional and family run. (Cantillon is still family owned. Jean-Pierre Van Roy – a fourth-generation brewer – currently runs Cantillon.) It is based in Anderlecht, Brussels, where it churns out some of the most sought after lambics around and does not sell to just anyone.
Since the 1900's nothing seems to have changed much, still doing what it has always done, and very well since the 1900s. They still brew just as they did then to now, the best lambic beers around and in their classic traditional style, which btw for anyone that enjoys delayed gratification can take up to 4 years!
However their duality of being so traditional and yet also within that being so very innovative is what sets them apart, they coin a number of new lambic styles which are hard to beat anywhere else and their classic brewing style is still preserved from the 20th century with their working “Gueuze Museum” which is intended to preserve the traditional process of making Lambic beers.
Gueuze is the most popular form of Iambics and also i might add half of Cantillon’s annual production! Gueuze can be traced back to the French monk Dom Perignon’s discovery of natural carbonation and the advent of glass bottles. Technically its a golden beer with a long dry finish. Gueuze is a blend of one, two and three-year-old Iambics. Since no two casks of Lambic are ever alike, the master blender’s role is critical here in order to produce a reasonably consistent product from batch to batch. ( Another note perhaps to the complexity and hype over Cantillon.) Its not just the standard lambics that set them apart, oh no, Cantillon’s fruit Lambics are made with a variety of fruits and typically are only made once a year. The Fruits are added right into the aging casks, where they give up their fruit flavors and aromas after two to three months’ maceration in the beer. Cantillon uses a range of fruits in their various products, including cherries (Kriek), raspberries (Framboise – Rosé de Gambrinus), muscat grapes (Vigneronne), apricots (Fou’ Foune), elderflowers (Mamouche), rhubarb (Nath). I think its what makes Cantillon so special, Cantillon’s traditions and processes go back 120 years, and like the saying goes if its not broke, why fix it? This and the fact they have a bloody ace logo to boot with some of the most collectible merchandise for the hardcore to everyday fan.
