Brewery and the Beers (Part 2 of 5)

The Belgian beer culture is arguably one of the most distinct and refined (beer) cultures in the world.  In this country, locals consider it criminal to pour a beer into a glass not labeled specifically for that beer, and some places actually take shoes hostage before serving thirsty patrons the local draught for fear that they may later take off with its glass as a souvenir.

A Trappist was drank here

 Shoe-less patrons enjoying the local brew

Shoe-filled baskets hang from the ceiling (back), only to be lowered after the glass is returned

One of the more famous Belgian beers is called a "Trappist."  These beers are brewed by monks, allowing any drinker to claim a religious drinking experience after downing a pint.  By all accounts, my time in Brussels and Gent could've qualified for papal recognition, as I enjoyed Trappists from the Westmalle, Grimbergen, Rushefort and Orval monasteries.  For you non-religious types, you'll be comforted to know that less-holy beers with names like Chimay, Duvel, Ramee and Leffe rounded out the experience.

 The Ramee Stout: A little Bitter but Satisfying

A Lachouffe Blonde at the Turkish Cultural Center in Gent

Given the importance of beer in Belgian culture, it was only natural to begin my trip at a brewery in Brussels.  The most famous locale is The Cantillon Brewery, and it's located in southwest Brussels.  Open for business since 1900, the brewery serves 11 types of beer and proclaims that it's the last traditional brewery in Brussels.  It's been a little while since I've been around this much beer, so I was a little excited after Gaelle cracked the brewery doors.

Brussels' only remaining all-natural brewery

...and someone excited to be there

After I was pried from my new good friend, we began a self-guided tour around the brewery that taught us how they make their beer through Lambic fermentation.  What follows is a description of that process lifted straight from the brewer's guidebook.  Though I've enjoyed beer products over the past couple decades, I never felt like I understood the process until I read through this guide.  Cheers, and I hope you enjoy learning it as much as we did!

Gaelle's excited to Begin the Tour

The Lambic process starts in a room called the Mashing House.  To make your beer, add wheat and barley into a crushing machine (picture 1) and crush them for a couple hours.  After they're crushed, your resulting flakes fall into a hopper above a mashing tub (2).  Next, mix these flakes with warm water (3) and after two hours a ferment-able mix of sugar and dextrin forms.  Add more hot water to the flakes to extract sugars (3).  You've just made a liquid called "wort;" now pour it into a collector and pump it into hop boilers (4).  The hop boilers are made of red copper and can hold up to 10,000 liters of "wort."

 1.  Add your junk in here...

 2.  Flakes fall here

3.  Mix with water here to create "wort"

4.  Your Hop boiler

Now, add 3-year old hops to the "wort" and then cook them.  After a few hours, about a quarter of the "wort" will evaporate, raising its sugar concentration.  The higher this concentration, the higher the resulting alcoholic content (beer from this brewery is 5%).  Pump the remaining "wort" into a cooling tun to filter the hops (5).  One of the most important places in the brewing process is the red copper, riveted cooling tun that accepts this remaining 7,500 liters of "wort."  Its flat, shallow form speeds up the cooling process, which takes the "wort" from 45 to about 20 degrees Celsius during a cool evening (due to cooler weather, the brewing season typically lasts between October and April).  

5.  The cooling tun

The "wort" in this tun is introduced to bacteria and ferments at 40 degrees, and these micro-organisms cause spontaneous fermentation in the oak or chestnut barrels in which the "wort" is later stored (according to legend, such fermentation is only possible in Brussels; therefore, the Cantillon cooling room is considered a beer sanctuary).  The morning after the evening cool, pour the "wort" into a stainless steel vessel to control its temperature and sugar content for the last time (6).

6.  Your stainless steel vessel, where you'll last control the "wort's" temperature and sugar content

From the stainless steel vessel, pour the "wort" into meticulously-clean oak or chestnut barrels measuring between 225 and 500 liters for fermentation (7).  After a few days, the reaction of wild yeasts and sugars in the "wort" causes spontaneous fermentation.  Initially, this is a violent and visible process, requiring the barrels to be left open on one end.  After three weeks, each barrel loses between 5 and 10 liters of "wort."  Now, seal the barrels to begin the "wort's" slow fermentation process, which you can continue for up to three years.  This is Lambic fermentation that your practicing.  During the summers of this long period, you can add fruits like cherries or grapes for flavor.

7.  Your barrels, already sealed

When you're ready (which may be anywhere from one to three years, pending your preference), crack the barrels open and bottle your beer, ensuring to add a cork to prevent your bottle caps from popping off on hot summer days (8).  Put your bottles on the conveyor belt and transport them to one of the cellars, where you'll want to horizontally store them for any period between several months and 25 years, pending again on your artistry (9).  A full cellar in Cantillon contains 11,000 bottles and with six continuously full cellars, the brewery's open for a party year-round!

 8.  Your bottling device

9.  Two of your cellars

You've just made a beer at the Cantillon Brewery.  We tasted three of your products for you: a Geuze (pronounced "gooze"), a Frambois beer (cherry-flavored), and a raspberry beer.  All were light, delicious and naturally carbonated, which gave them a taste like wine.  I preferred the Geuze over any other Belgian beer enough to make an additional purchase before leaving the brewery!

Note: I've never enjoyed recapping a blog experience so much.  Next, we get to Gent...