- by Michael Sharp
Not long ago I stepped into the world of wedded bliss. In celebration of this, to where did my new bride and I travel? Some exotic island? Some well known resort Mecca? No, since we are both amateur brewers there was only one answer -- Belgium. Not only just Belgium, but Belgium with a purpose. [Editors Notes: Mike Sharp brought the gift of yeast to the Worts. He married Sheri Almeda, former Wort President on April 2]
When three lambic devotees find themselves in Brussels on a Saturday where else but Cantillon would they go? Rob Thomas, a Lambic Digest subscriber who I had just met the day before, Sheri Almeda and I found ourselves taking everything but a direct path from our hotel to Cantillon. Even with the "scenic" route we took we still managed to get to the brewery a mere five minutes late.
Upon arrival we where greeted by Jean Pierre Van Roy, the brewer of Cantillon products, as well as his wife Claude and his son Jean. After sampling one of the brewery's gueuze, it was Jean who took us on our tour.
We where lucky in that it was a quiet day at the brewery. This allowed for a much longer and more detail packed visit than I had expected.
The brewery itself dates back to 1900. It still contains the original equipment for the production of a 7.5HL batch size. As of my visit, the brewery had produced 13 batches of this size and the 13th batch was probably going to be the last of this year. This places the brewery's total production for the '94/'95 brewing season at just under 100HL.
The layout of the brewery itself, excluding the bottling line, and barrel storage, is as follows. The ground floor contains an industrial boiler for hot water & steam (the kettles are steam heated). This floor also contains a small room with the mash/lauter tun, a hop back, and the bottoms of the two kettles. One floor above this is the top of the two kettles as well as the grain mill. All of the equipment dates back to the construction of the brewery. Of particular note is the use of a belt and pulley system to provide power to the mash tun, pumps, and other brewery equipment.
The wort is produced by a turbid mash of roughly 34% unmalted wheat and 66% malt. This wort is then boiled with aged Kent hops until it has lost approximately 25% of its volume (from 10,000 liters initially to 7,500L after the boil).
On the Lambic Digest there has been much discussion of the exact schedule for turbid mashing. As a result of this I took the opportunity to obtain the full schedule.
Malt - 850Kg Wheat - 450Kg | ~8-900 liters | H2O @ 62C -->It takes 15 to 20 min. to mix all the grain and H2O. This results in mash temperature of 45C. | mash held at 45C for 10 min. | H2O @ 100C -->In ~6 min. enough H2O is added to bring the mash to 58C | In ~5 min. ~300L is transferred to kettle #2--------> | | ~300L in kettle #2 H2O @ 100C -->In ~10 min. enough H2O is heated. during is added to bring the the heating it never mash to 65C reaches 100C | | In ~35 min. ~1200L is | transferred to kettle #2 ----------------------------------------> | | an additional ~1200L H2O @ 100C -->In ~10 min. enough H2O is added to kettle #2 is added to bring the and the heating of this mash to 72C kettle continues. it | never reaches 100C mash held at 72C for | 20 min. | | | +----> first runnings (~1500L) | to kettle #1. begin | heating of this kettle | for the boil | | transfer the contents of kettle #2 back to | <----------------------------- the mash tun. At this | time the contents of the mash is now this kettle has reached at ~75C ~80C | mash held at 75C for 20 min. | recirculate the wort in the mash tun to clarify. | sparge with 85C H2O | split wort between the two kettles as it runs off. kettle #1 will contain ~6500L total (including the 1500L previously put there) kettle #2 will contain ~3250L total. | add 21KG aged hops to kettle #1 only. heat both kettles to boiling and allow the volume to be reduced by ~25% to yield a full batch size of 7500L total between the two kettles. The contents of the two kettles are blended together before cooling overnight.
This particular mash technique is unique to lambic breweries. No other style of beer involves this particular mashing process. Though it is not used by all of the lambic brewers, it is in use at the majority of the remaining lambic breweries. Among the brewers there are mixed feelings as to the need for this process. At Brasserie Cantillon, Brouwerij De Troch, and Brouwerij Boon it is used because that is the way it has always been done. At Brouwerij Belle-Vue they use a substantially different technique which I will cover in my article on that brewery. Much later in my trip, during a discussion with Professor Verachtert of the Katholieke Universiteit du Leuven, it was suggested that this particular process lends little to the brewing of lambic and the results of the Belle-Vue process would tend to support this.
Returning to the brewery tour, after the wort is boiled it is cooled overnight in a large coolship. This coolship is located in the eaves of the brewery in a room designed to allow the winds of the area to blow across the coolship. This is not only where the wort is cooled, but it is also where the wort is inoculated by the wild yeasts and bacteria carried by the winds. This is undoubtedly the most important step in the brewing of lambic. Without the inoculation of the wort by these wild organisms the lambic would not have its characteristic flavors and aromas.
After cooling, the freshly inoculated wort is pumped into oak barrels where it is allowed to ferment and develop for no less than a full year and sometimes significantly longer. The barrels themselves will also lend to the inoculation of the wort with microorganisms resident in the wood.
After lengthy fermentations comes the complex task of deciding what each barrel will be used for, as well as blending the contents of barrels into a consistent product. Fruits, particularly raspberry and cherry, may be added to the year old lambic and allowed to referment to produce the base for the two lambic based fruit beers. Other young barrels may be left untouched for years to provide a basis for the very complex gueuze.
When it comes time to blend the final product, regardless of it is to be a gueuze, framboise, or kriek, there are a number of difficulties. First, the contents of each barrel is unique. Some barrels may be very sour, some may have a strong aroma, and so on. All of these have to be blended together with an understanding of how the final product will change as it ages in the bottle. In addition to the goal of obtaining a consistent character, there is also the goal of needing enough residual sugar to allow the final product to bottle condition. This is not a skill which can be described. It can only be understood through years of experience.
After the tour of the brewery itself we where allowed to taste lambic of various ages directly from the barrels. It is at this point in the article that I really appreciate Rob Thomas' presence. While I have my own notes on the various beers we tasted, Rob's notes on the barrel tasting are much better than mine. I have taken the liberty of using Rob's notes as a reference in writing some of the tasting impressions.
The first barrel we tasted from was 3 weeks old. There was an evident, but low, hop bitterness without the accompanying hop aroma. This was a very yeasty tasting beer with a sweet flavor from the sugars still to be fermented. It was obvious that the beer was still fermenting strongly though the primary fermentation seemed to have subsided since the barrel was tightly bunged. This would seem to imply that either the primary organisms in this barrel where not very attenuative or that the turbid mash resulted in a very large amount of sugars which could not be assimilated by the primary fermenting organisms. This is, however, nothing but a supposition on my part.
The next two barrels we tasted from where rather similar. The first barrel was one year old and the second was two years old. Neither had the signature sourness of the final product. I would say that these where rather soft in character with the sweetness present in the 3 week old barrel significantly diminished in the one year old and further reduced in the two year old. Neither of these barrels alone could match the balance and complexity of the bottled product. Both where still lacking in some of the character that is the signature of Cantillon's products.
The fourth barrel we tasted from contained a one year old lambic. What was unique about this barrel was that this was the first batch in it since it was bought by the brewery. Previously this barrel had contained port. The lambic was, of what we tasted from the barrels, most identifiable as a Cantillon product. Its acidity was very much in evidence and it had a complexity that wasn't as obviously present in the other barrels. The taste also showed the presence of a grape tannin influence as well as a mild but evident port taste. The color was much darker than the very light straw colors of the other barrel samples.
With the barrel tasting concluded we where invited into the brewery's tasting area to try some of the bottled products. It was here that a rather long tasting was accompanied by the opportunity to have a detailed discussion with Jean Pierre Van Roy.
One of the first things I realized upon entering the tasting area was what was done with leaking barrels. Since Cantillon does not have access to a cooper, the leaking barrels are taken out of service and eventually cut up and used in the wood stoves that heat the tasting area. Had I been thinking I would have arranged to ship some old barrels to a cooper in Napa, California, not far from where I live, but this would probably have been less than ideal when I received the shipping and repair bills.
The Cantillon brewery regularly produces a gueuze, kriek, and a framboise called Rose de Gambrinus. In addition to this line of products there are also special beers which are produced from time to time. One of the specialty beers produce in the past include a gueuze with some very port-like character as a result of fermentation in barrels previously use for port. Another very rare specialty that you will not likely see outside of the brewery is a lambic which was fermented with St. Emillion grapes. Only two barrels of this was made.
The first two bottled beers we tasted where krieks. One was made exclusively with Shaarbeek cherries while the other was a blend of different cherries. Both where excellent in their own right, but tasting these side by side really helped identify the characteristic flavor of the Shaarbeek cherry. The flavor was very strong and I found it to be quite tart and astringent. It was unlike any other cherry I have tasted. With any other cherry I don't believe the intensity of the flavor could be duplicated, even with a much larger quantity of fruit.
In making these krieks, 150kg of cherries are used per pipe. The cherries arrive fresh from the orchard and are held at 2-3C until they have enough for a pipe. The cherries need to be added quickly since they will begin to rot otherwise.
The next two beers we tasted where of great interest to everyone. We sampled a bottle of Cantillon framboise side by side with a framboise I had bottled in 1994. My framboise was made using as close to traditional techniques as possible, with the only major change being the use of pure cultures. While there was certainly no doubt as to which was superior, the reaction to my pure culture framboise was very positive. It was obviously within the realm of the style even with the flaws it showed. Rob did a very good job summarizing this part of the tasting and I have taken the liberty of including that summary here.
I have a preference here, that is neither instructive or in obvious. Firstly, J-P liked it. There is a political reason why he should even give a beer from so far from Payottenland a chance, but he also had comments and questions. His first and continual question was "is it spontaneously fermented?". We covered the logistical difficulties, as well as the natural advantages he has. His comments on our attempts (and Mike's framboise) were very positive. His major negative comment was the tannin. This he attributed to too much fruit. The rational being that the pips would add the tannin. In retrospect it is most likely the barrel Mike was using. I personally felt there was a presence in the nose and mouth of what I can only describe as "Strawberry pit". This had the effect of cutting the flavour development short. Just as the flavour was beginning to develop in the mouth, it stopped.
The next beer we tasted was a very unique experiment with St. Emillion grapes. 50Kg of these grapes where added to 175 liters of lambic in two barrels. The result of this unique combination when cold, was very much like the standard Cantillon. As it warmed slowly it became more and more wine like with the flavor and aroma from the grapes slowly increasing until it balanced and eventually slightly dominated. Only two barrels of this where made as a joint experiment between Cantillon and a winery in France. After this was bottled the barrels where burned to avoid the possibility of contaminating the winery.
The final beer was even more of a surprise. We where asked what the oldest lambic was that we had tasted. At the time the oldest we had tasted was a bottle of 1983 Boon Mariage Parfait kriek. After that one question Jean Pierre disappeared. While Sheri, Rob and I wondered what was to happen next, Jean Pierre was apparently in the cellar looking for something special. He returned with a bottle of seventeen year old gueuze -- a 1977 bottling. This was a surprisingly well carbonated beer for its age. Upon pouring it had a very dense, almost creamy, white head which did not dissipate as quickly as many other younger gueuze I've had. The palate was definitely of Cantillon origin, but the acidity had softened and the flavors blended together even more. This was certainly a superior product. Unfortunately I find it difficult to capture the essence of its differences between this and its younger relatives.
During this tasting there was a continual conversion, as well as reference to a French/English dictionary. It was then that I obtained the mash schedule presented earlier. There was also a discussion of how to ensure good bottle carbonation. We where told that for a gueuze they use a mix of 70% old lambic with 30% young lambic and that they have 90% attenuation in order to properly condition and carbonate the finished gueuze.
Our conversion also drifted to many unexpected topics. In discussing 't Spinnekopke, a very popular restaurant which Cantillon supplies, we soon found ourselves with a reservation for that evening booked in the name of brewery by Jean Pierre's wife Claude. I have little doubt that we would not have been able to get in had Claude not made the reservation for us. Dinner at 't Spinnekopke was an event suitable for a short article of its own.
This was an extremely enjoyable and informative afternoon. I feel honored to have been able to spend so much time talking with Jean Pierre, Claude, Jean and the rest of the Van Roy family. Also, I would like to thank Yvan de Baets, a student of Louvain-la-neuve and a friend of the Van Roy's, for acting as interpreter when necessary. Through his efforts the discussion was a lot more productive than it would have been otherwise.
Last Updated: 16 August, 1995
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