LAST OF THE BELGIAN BEERS?
How One Man Took on the Big Belgian Brewers – and won!
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It would be difficult to imagine a more unlikely spot. Tucked away in a narrow alleyway in the back streets of Brussels, from the outside it looks more like a ramshackle garage in a state of disrepair. And yet step through the dusty threshold of number 56 Rue Gheude Straat and you will find yourself taking a step back in time to the world of Belgian craft brewing at the time of the industrial revolution. For this address is home to a unique brewery which also bills itself as a working museum. For the best part of three decades, now, it has been run by Jean-Pierre Van Roy, a member of the Cantillon family who has become an intensely proud and assertive propagandist for his products. With its whitewashed brew house, its wood-clad, cast-iron mash tun and copper kettle, the brewery is the only one in Belgium still to rely upon the process of spontaneous fermentation. Just one of many facts with which the proud owner is likely to regale you within the first few minutes of your arrival – and delivered with just about as much evangelical zeal and fervour as you can imagine.
"After the second world war", he explains, "the large breweries began to impose their will upon hotels, restaurants and cafés – more or less telling them what beers they could sell. So the small man was squeezed out. Here at Cantillon we used to deliver to so some 200 cafes in 1970 – now the number is just 8. Our beer has a strong, bitter taste – whereas today most beers are sweet. We are doing our utmost to repopularise the acidic or bitter taste – and make people understand that this is what a real beer taste is - and that a sweet taste isn’t a natural taste. That’s the message which we are trying to get across."
Jean-Pierre Van Roy is in typically bright humour. "The fermentation has started. Come and have a look." Walking down the aisles of barrels, the strong smell of the tiny Cantillon brewery – a toasty whiff of burnt wood – has an extra tang. Although quiet, the big barrels are hard at work. Jean-Pierre stops beside one and lifts off a stopper made of wood and cloth. Through the small opening, the surface of the beer is covered in white scum, the first step in fermentation. There is a strong smell of carbonic gas. "This one has gone even further", he explains, moving to another barrel. Here the swab of cotton has been lifted right off by a wave of froth. Liquid oozes down the side. As yet, there is no smell of cherry. One week in the barrel is just enough to send the beer and cherry mixture into a frothy waltz. Another few days and the colour and aroma of the cherries will start coming through. Van Roy is thrilled.
All colours of beer are drunk in Belgium. Golden, red, brown, white or amber – and some discipline is called upon to remain indifferent to their charms. Belgian brewing offers a choice of almost 500 different beers, made by 115 breweries of all sizes. Belgians are the world’s fifth biggest beer drinkers. In 1900 there were 3,200 breweries in Belgium, but the figure has dropped to around 150 today – and with 7 major names accounting for no less than 75% of production. And despite this apparent decline brewing is the 13th ranked industrial sector, with an annual turnover of 45 billion BF. And if you ask someone what he or she (most probably he) remembers most about Belgium, the chances are that it won’t be too long before the word beer spills from his tongue. If you walk into a bar in Belgium and ask for just ‘a beer’, there is an equally strong chance that the men in white coats will be called for with a view to taking you away. Why? Because there are some 500 distinctive brands to choose from. But none of them as remarkable as the Cantillon brewery’s Gueze-Lambic.
The Cantillons were brewers in Lembeek from the 1700s. In 1900 Paul Cantillon established a brewery in Anderlecht, at that time one of hundreds of breweries in the capital. Then, after the destruction of the second world war, his sons Robert and Marcel took over production which, by 1958 (the year of the Brussels world fair) reached its maximum of 2,500 hectolitres. Ten years later, Jean-Pierre Van Roy, Marcel’s son in law, went into the brewing business and continued with family tradition. Today, the Cantillon brewery remains the last traditional brewery in the Belgian capital. There is just about time to sample some more brew before Jean-Pierre is off again. Ever the philosospher, there really is no stopping him, passion pouring from his heart and soul.
"Science is evolving", he affirms, "and everything is being made faster. Some firms are producing beers in a matter of days now – whereas ours take over 3 years – more than most wines. Nowadays economics dominates everything – but to make a good beer you need time. We do our best to make a wholesome beer, a natural beer, an honest beer, a beer that is from yesteryear – yes – but one which is fun too. Because we mustn’t forget that it was around a pint or two of beer that our great friendly societies and trade unions were born. Now brewing is all about making a fast buck – and I am against that. Sure, we have to make money to survive – but its really no good to rush to produce your beer. We are swimming against the tide, I know, but I feel I owe it both to previous generations and the next to respect the best of what the past had to offer."
Nor can you accuse Jean-Pierre and his team of not remaining close to nature. A little too close, some might even say. For within the walls of Van Roy’s Brussel’s brewery, the cold season advances inoculation with a variety of airborne wild yeasts that are specific to the room where this phenomenon takes place. Considered a veritable sanctuary by the Van Roy, it houses a unique micro-organic fauna. The wort sterilised in the hop boilers is inoculated with natural yeasts (bacteria, ferments) when its temperature has reached 40 c. These microorganisms cause spontaneous fermentation in the oak or chestnut barrels. In 1985, when the original roof was replaced, the original tiles were put under the new ones so as not to disturb the micro-organic equilibrium that is typical of this room.
Until 1860, when Pasteur made important discoveries with regard to yeasts, all beer was produced by spontaneous fermentation. Nowadays, only Jean-Pierre’s beer is still produced in this way. During the summer, the last fermentation and the fruit attract a wide variety of insects. As insecticides are harmful to beer maturing in barrels, Mother Nature takes care of the task, spiders maintaining a biological equilibrium by eliminating all harmful insects. Jean-Pierre would thus never dream of destroying a cobweb - and as to the prospect that he should kill a spider – well, if you know what’s good for you - perish the thought.
Hardly surprising, some might say, that Van Roy should have a battle on his hands to make ends meet. Determined to go down fighting though, the Belgian brewer had the innovative idea in 1978 of turning his brewery into a museum, a kind of homage to the old-fashioned world of brewing. It was this canny addition of a cultural element – the Brussels Gueuze Museum, now attracting over 30,000 visitors a year – which has been responsible for Castillon’s survival and enable him to continue swimming against the apparently unstoppable tide of modern brewing. After a tour around the copper tuns, the century old wooden casks and the bottle lined walls, you can, of course, taste the beer yourself. There is a constant round of exhibitions, tours, conferences and so on. And Belgium being the linguistic centre of Europe there are guided tours in English, French, Dutch and German to boot.
"Without this interplay between culture and commerce", Van Roy admits, "we would have been kaput! Kaput like the rest of them."
The general verdict is that the brewery’s Gueuze, although an acquired taste, is a very tart and refreshing beer. It will also keep for the best part of a quarter of a century, its taste developing as the years slip by – and yet it contains no preservatives or colouring whatsoever. All of which means that the livelihoods of the next generation of traditional beer-makers is likely to be assured – precisely what Van Roy had in mind.
"Here at Cantillon we celebrate the powerful thrust of the lambic rather than disguising it. My goal in life is not to make money. It is to continue to make decent beer according to traditional methods. It is my most earnest wish that no big bosses or financiers ever come here and stick their noses into our business and try to buy us up. Or partnerships or anything like that. I have a son and he is already working in the business. He shares my passion for decent beer. He also has a son. This year we are celebrating the centenary of the founding of this firm. All I hope for is that another hundred years down the line – there will be other descendants of the Cantillon family around to celebrate our bicentennial too."
For further information concerning tours and visits contact:
Jean-Pierre Van Roy
Cantillon Brasserie
Rue Gheude Straat 56
Brussels 1070, Belgium
Tel: + 32 (0)2 521 4929
Fax: + 32 (0)2 520 2891
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