Cantillon

Anderlecht, Region of Brussels - Belgium

Founded at the dawn of the twentieth century, when each district still had its own brewery, which is now distributed among the surrounding cafes and taverns, the Cantillon brewery is' the last representative of Brussels brewing craftsmanship.

When in the early 1970s, Jean-Pierre Van Roy, spouse of the founder's granddaughter, took over, business went badly. Small family breweries are closing one after the other for the benefit of industrial production companies. The real lambic (base of the gueuze) is in the process of disappearing, drafted by beers of less character, corresponding better to the evolution of consumer taste (more sugar and less bitterness) and easier and faster to produce in large quantities. After having succeeded in turning the business around, he made a bet to return to traditional production methods and recipes.