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Recommended Reviews - Brasserie Cantillon
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This is an at-first-unassuming, but ultimately very cool stop for one of the true beer Meccas of the world. The self-guided tour is cooler than you'd think, the bar will give you samples of their gueuze at two stages and fruit as part of the tour, and you can try a large number of interesting bottles as well as getting some to go. If you're not a fan of sour beer, you should probably skip this place. If you are a fan of sour beer, this is almost a required pilgrimage if you're in Brussels. You could easily miss it though as it seems like (and mostly is) a warehouse at the street level. I actually walked in knowing the address and was still half-convinced I had it wrong. Once inside I paid the cheap price for the self-guided tour. I brew my own beer and I've done a lot of brewer tours, but this was still more interesting than most and I both really enjoyed it and learned some things. Among other things, most lambic breweries don't let you tour the space--I think because they're worried about contamination, but this was a ton of fun. The tour comes with three tastes of beer, a fresh lambic, an aged lambic and a bit of one of their fruit sours. It's fun to try them even if you're a connoisseur and if you're not, it's a great intro. The bar has a large number of bottles you can try there, but they're almost all 750 ml bottles, so unless you're there with friends, you're not going to try very many. The best part is that they sell bottles to go, which are very hard-to-come-by outside of Brussels or even really in Brussels. They rotate what they sell, so you're likely to come home with something other people haven't had.
We visited Cantillon in April 2024, visiting from the US, and it was a great experience! We opted to do a tour of the brewery and learned a bunch of fun facts, including: A blend of multiple lambics is called a Gueuze When cherries are added, it's called kriek, the Dutch word for "cherry." When raspberries are added, it's called framboise, the French word for "raspberry." For the first four decades of its existence, Cantillon was a blendery instead of a brewery (created brews using a product not their own, but from other breweries). It has its own holiday - Zwanze Day started in 2008. It has since become a worldwide celebration. Each year, a select few bars around the world are granted kegs of the special Zwanze Day beer and serve it at the same time across the world - we happened to be there on Zwanze Day! After the tour, we got to taste 3 beers, a young lambic, a gueze and a fruited lambic. My favorite was definitely the fruited lambic. Unfortunately we didn't have time to go to the bar upstairs but would love to go back if we ever. find ourselves in Brussels again! They also had some fun merchandise - we ended up getting a tin tacker, sweatshirt and long-sleeved t-shirt.
To have finally gone on the holiest of all bier pilgrimages was a divine experience. You are at liberty to visit this esteemed institute of the much revered Brussels-born lambic for either a 1.5 hour guided tour (we paid €10) or a visit to their cozy tasting room with a surly, but hilariously honest and cultured beer tender. Keep in mind that the tours are offered in 3 languages (English, French, and Dutch) throughout the day and only on a Saturday. It is HIGHLY recommend to book a tour which offers a unique inside view to their daily brewing operations including a perusal of their koelship -- where the magically act of spontaneous fermentation occurs! The tour also includes 3 tasters -- one each of the base lambic, the illustrious gueuze, and a kriek. The tasting room is an obvious must! It is no secret when in Belgium, but do know that nothing is "on draft" therefore you will likely be purchasing bottles. The exception, of course, would be for the bottles they have "on deck" which they offer as small pours. On the other hand, the 750cc bottles are insanely affordable, especially when they are much, much cheaper than an imported bottle. Plus the lineup is often otherworldly, therefore you will feel hard pressed to indulge in as many bottles as possible for on-site consumption. Bring the antacid! It goes without saying, but as an American, I feel that we must conduct ourselves in a more conscientious manner. One often gets the sense that Americans are not well liked abroad and most pointedly due to their rowdiness, rough-housing, and whale-dick swinging tendency. Clean up after yourself and be aware of the rules -- no, food is not allowed (there are signs). Americans, the supposed "regulars" seemed to be the ones violating this rule constantly. Respect goes a long way and you'll definitely get treated better leading to more positive, meaningful interactions. A trip to Europe would not be complete without a stop through to Brussels bad the illustrious Cantillon.
I came to Brussels to visit Cantillon and it didn't disappoint. My wife and I took the self guided tour (€7 each) this includes a guide booklet and 3 tastings at the end of tour. If you want to sample more, they have bottles for sale for in house consumption. It was awesome to see all of the inner workings of the brewery. Prices of the bottles to go were very reasonable as well. A must visit if you like beer.
The best brewery ever if you like sour beer, specifically lambic and gueuze. Several beers on tap. Tons more in bottles. Definitely make friends and share bottles with them. They have some bottles you can buy to go but most of their rare ones have to be consumed on sight. Great beer tour that is self-guided and includes a couple samples. No food so BYOF. Cannot recommend this place enough if you are into beer! Only downside: the bartender was not friendly and seemed frustrated every time I came up to order a beer like I was inconveniencing him.
So glad I finally got to go to cantillon!! I was really excited to try the different beers, however my husband does not enjoy sours and they didn't have a ton of single serve bottles, so I didn't get to try as many as I would have liked. With that said, it was still so fun to get to have a beer here. We didn't plan ahead so we failed to sign up for a tour, thinking we could just book one on the spot. You can't. You need to sign up a couple of weeks in advance to get the slot you want. Plenty of bottles of beer you can buy and take away, however you cannot buy a bottle at the bar - drink some, then cork it to take away and drink more later. That would have been nice, cuz then I could have tried more! I bought a shirt on the way out and the sizes run a little small. I sized up and wish I had gone two sizes up. Will definitely return when we're in the city again!
I've trekked to over 75 breweries across the world in the last two years. That could be considered a bunch or a little depending on your drinking habits. But out of all those breweries, Cantillon is my new number one favorite. This is no surprise if you know how much I adore sours. If you want a good kriek, gueze, lambic, or grand cru, look no further. Seriously. I don't think they have the capacity to produce a bad beer. But to actually see their brewery in real life?? Well, that was incredible. It's a working museum. And they give you pretty open access to explore via the self-guided tour. I love that it wasn't an audio guide. They just give you a pamphlet chock full of information and let you have it. I took many photos. Once I completed the tour (7€), I was given two samples -- their classic gueze and kriek. Somehow it was my first time trying the kriek. I know. Shameful. I was really itching to try the Zwanze Day 2016 (a blend of all things awesome in one beer, basically), but I found out it was only available in a bomber for drink-in only. My tolerance only goes so far. As luck would have it, I had this chat/dilemma while another person was at the bar deciding what to order...so we decided to split it and ended up hanging out for like 12 more hours in the city. I love that. The beer community is just so cool, and stuff like that happens so easily. I've met so many friends over beer. Even at Cantillon, I ended up splitting more bottles with other folks in the tasting area. Somehow I was the only girl there the whole time (sigh), so there's still work to be done bridging the gender divide in the beer industry. The five of us left when the brewery kicked us out at closing (5:00 pm), but I'm pretty sure we would've stayed indefinitely if they had let us! If you're looking for a sweet fruity or funky sour, this is your spot. I can't speak highly enough of this brewery. I wish them success for years to come. I could go on, but this review is already rather long. Basically, if you're in Brussels, just go.
That's how we roll in Brussels. Gueuze and Lambic as breakfast at Brasserie Cantillon. I did enjoy the Self Guided Tour (7 EUR) as I wander around in the dim and dark environment and inhaling the smell of sweetness/fruitness in the air. Just followed the number.... Though the brewing process is interesting, I am definitely more interested in the finished products. There is a tasting bar with samples starting from 2 EUR if I ever coming back to visit. Souvenirs and keepsakes on sale. Thanks for the Wine/Beer glass (4 EUR), Yelp Friend.
A unique and incredible brewery located within an easy 10 minute walk from the Eurostar terminal of Gare du Nord. If you've never been to a brewery perhaps don't start here as it's so different due to its wild fermentation methods, but if you know a bit about beer you'll love it. Self-guided tours are available most of the day and there's a bar as well as a take away service. Everything you need!
I was dragged along by a friend here, so I haven't read any of the other reviews and might just be preaching to the choir. However, I was pretty happy with this brewery. The entrance is very plain and initially we almost walked right by it. Upon entrance however, you find yourself within a fully functional brewery! We paid for our self-guided tour and were right on time for the next English speaking introduction. A worker gave us a brief overview of the brewery and then, guide in hand, we were let loose on the rest of the establishment. Having been on both brewery and winery tours before, I was pretty underwhelmed by the tour. I didn't really feel like I learned anything new about the brewing process. So for me, what I was really paying for was the tasting at the end (which at 6€ felt like a deal). I'd never had lambic beer before, so it was definitely a new experience. The first beer to try was the same for everyone and is the beer they use as the base for all the others. For the second beer, we had a choice of the Kriek, Gueuze, and Iris. Since there was three of us in my group, we each chose one and shared amongst each other. This beer is definitely the type you drink to taste, not to get drunk (in case there's any confusion haha) and is quite an interesting experience. The Iris (the one I grabbed for my group) reminds me a bit of huamei (Chinese dried plum), which I liked. My friend also ordered a bottle of Fou'foune to try, which I highly recommend! A couple of gentlemen came in later and tried to order a bottle, but alas, we had snatched the last one! Let that be a warning-- if you really want to try a beer, get here earlier since they do run out!
No trip to Brussels would be complete without visiting Brasserie Cantillon. I was a bit late and decided to skip the tour. Everyone I spoke to said it was super cool to see all the old implements though. And the sheer volume of bottling they do. At the end, you get an unfiltered beer, which I tried (wasn't great). Either way, you can order beers at the front by the entrance. They sell large format bottles, or glass pours. The 2016 Grand Cru was my favorite, though I tried just about everything they had available including the Gueze, Kriek and Lambic. Of course, also shared some Lou Pepe's with some newly made friends. They also sell a ton of merch, and you can buy one of those serving baskets.
7 days ago
Huge space for this brewery/taproom. My party skipped the brewery tour and went straight for drinking. I let my friend order the beers which were indeed good. They came in fancy baskets much to my amusement. Overall good visit but I was pretty salty they don't have public WiFi. I mean, it doesn't have to be PUBLIC per se, but make it available to patrons. read more
This is an at-first-unassuming, but ultimately very cool stop for one of the true beer Meccas of the world. The self-guided tour is cooler than you'd think, the bar will give you samples of their gueuze at two stages and fruit as part of the tour, and you can try a large number of interesting bottles as well as getting some to go. If you're not a fan of sour beer, you should probably skip this place. If you are a fan of sour beer, this is almost a required pilgrimage if you're in Brussels. You could easily miss it though as it seems like (and mostly is) a warehouse at the street level. I actually walked in knowing the address and was still half-convinced I had it wrong. Once inside I paid the cheap price for the self-guided tour. I brew my own beer and I've done a lot of brewer tours, but this was still more interesting than most and I both really enjoyed it and learned some things. Among other things, most lambic breweries don't let you tour the space--I think because they're worried about contamination, but this was a ton of fun. The tour comes with three tastes of beer, a fresh lambic, an aged lambic and a bit of one of their fruit sours. It's fun to try them even if you're a connoisseur and if you're not, it's a great intro. The bar has a large number of bottles you can try there, but they're almost all 750 ml bottles, so unless you're there with friends, you're not going to try very many. The best part is that they sell bottles to go, which are very hard-to-come-by outside of Brussels or even really in Brussels. They rotate what they sell, so you're likely to come home with something other people haven't had. read more
2 years ago
We visited Cantillon in April 2024, visiting from the US, and it was a great experience! We opted to do a tour of the brewery and learned a bunch of fun facts, including: A blend of multiple lambics is called a Gueuze When cherries are added, it's called kriek, the Dutch word for "cherry." When raspberries are added, it's called framboise, the French word for "raspberry." For the first four decades of its existence, Cantillon was a blendery instead of a brewery (created brews using a product not their own, but from other breweries). It has its own holiday - Zwanze Day started in 2008. It has since become a worldwide celebration. Each year, a select few bars around the world are granted kegs of the special Zwanze Day beer and serve it at the same time across the world - we happened to be there on Zwanze Day! After the tour, we got to taste 3 beers, a young lambic, a gueze and a fruited lambic. My favorite was definitely the fruited lambic. Unfortunately we didn't have time to go to the bar upstairs but would love to go back if we ever. find ourselves in Brussels again! They also had some fun merchandise - we ended up getting a tin tacker, sweatshirt and long-sleeved t-shirt. read more
3 years ago
To have finally gone on the holiest of all bier pilgrimages was a divine experience. You are at liberty to visit this esteemed institute of the much revered Brussels-born lambic for either a 1.5 hour guided tour (we paid €10) or a visit to their cozy tasting room with a surly, but hilariously honest and cultured beer tender. Keep in mind that the tours are offered in 3 languages (English, French, and Dutch) throughout the day and only on a Saturday. It is HIGHLY recommend to book a tour which offers a unique inside view to their daily brewing operations including a perusal of their koelship -- where the magically act of spontaneous fermentation occurs! The tour also includes 3 tasters -- one each of the base lambic, the illustrious gueuze, and a kriek. The tasting room is an obvious must! It is no secret when in Belgium, but do know that nothing is "on draft" therefore you will likely be purchasing bottles. The exception, of course, would be for the bottles they have "on deck" which they offer as small pours. On the other hand, the 750cc bottles are insanely affordable, especially when they are much, much cheaper than an imported bottle. Plus the lineup is often otherworldly, therefore you will feel hard pressed to indulge in as many bottles as possible for on-site consumption. Bring the antacid! It goes without saying, but as an American, I feel that we must conduct ourselves in a more conscientious manner. One often gets the sense that Americans are not well liked abroad and most pointedly due to their rowdiness, rough-housing, and whale-dick swinging tendency. Clean up after yourself and be aware of the rules -- no, food is not allowed (there are signs). Americans, the supposed "regulars" seemed to be the ones violating this rule constantly. Respect goes a long way and you'll definitely get treated better leading to more positive, meaningful interactions. A trip to Europe would not be complete without a stop through to Brussels bad the illustrious Cantillon. read more
8 months ago
Endroit unique, très sympa et surtout gueuze excellent... n'hésitez pas à réserver une visite guidée ... le guide FR est juste parfait, rigolo, compétent et agréable à écouter! read more
4 years ago
I came to Brussels to visit Cantillon and it didn't disappoint. My wife and I took the self guided tour (€7 each) this includes a guide booklet and 3 tastings at the end of tour. If you want to sample more, they have bottles for sale for in house consumption. It was awesome to see all of the inner workings of the brewery. Prices of the bottles to go were very reasonable as well. A must visit if you like beer. read more
7 years ago
The best brewery ever if you like sour beer, specifically lambic and gueuze. Several beers on tap. Tons more in bottles. Definitely make friends and share bottles with them. They have some bottles you can buy to go but most of their rare ones have to be consumed on sight. Great beer tour that is self-guided and includes a couple samples. No food so BYOF. Cannot recommend this place enough if you are into beer! Only downside: the bartender was not friendly and seemed frustrated every time I came up to order a beer like I was inconveniencing him. read more
So glad I finally got to go to cantillon!! I was really excited to try the different beers, however my husband does not enjoy sours and they didn't have a ton of single serve bottles, so I didn't get to try as many as I would have liked. With that said, it was still so fun to get to have a beer here. We didn't plan ahead so we failed to sign up for a tour, thinking we could just book one on the spot. You can't. You need to sign up a couple of weeks in advance to get the slot you want. Plenty of bottles of beer you can buy and take away, however you cannot buy a bottle at the bar - drink some, then cork it to take away and drink more later. That would have been nice, cuz then I could have tried more! I bought a shirt on the way out and the sizes run a little small. I sized up and wish I had gone two sizes up. Will definitely return when we're in the city again! read more
10 years ago
I've trekked to over 75 breweries across the world in the last two years. That could be considered a bunch or a little depending on your drinking habits. But out of all those breweries, Cantillon is my new number one favorite. This is no surprise if you know how much I adore sours. If you want a good kriek, gueze, lambic, or grand cru, look no further. Seriously. I don't think they have the capacity to produce a bad beer. But to actually see their brewery in real life?? Well, that was incredible. It's a working museum. And they give you pretty open access to explore via the self-guided tour. I love that it wasn't an audio guide. They just give you a pamphlet chock full of information and let you have it. I took many photos. Once I completed the tour (7€), I was given two samples -- their classic gueze and kriek. Somehow it was my first time trying the kriek. I know. Shameful. I was really itching to try the Zwanze Day 2016 (a blend of all things awesome in one beer, basically), but I found out it was only available in a bomber for drink-in only. My tolerance only goes so far. As luck would have it, I had this chat/dilemma while another person was at the bar deciding what to order...so we decided to split it and ended up hanging out for like 12 more hours in the city. I love that. The beer community is just so cool, and stuff like that happens so easily. I've met so many friends over beer. Even at Cantillon, I ended up splitting more bottles with other folks in the tasting area. Somehow I was the only girl there the whole time (sigh), so there's still work to be done bridging the gender divide in the beer industry. The five of us left when the brewery kicked us out at closing (5:00 pm), but I'm pretty sure we would've stayed indefinitely if they had let us! If you're looking for a sweet fruity or funky sour, this is your spot. I can't speak highly enough of this brewery. I wish them success for years to come. I could go on, but this review is already rather long. Basically, if you're in Brussels, just go. read more
12 years ago
That's how we roll in Brussels. Gueuze and Lambic as breakfast at Brasserie Cantillon. I did enjoy the Self Guided Tour (7 EUR) as I wander around in the dim and dark environment and inhaling the smell of sweetness/fruitness in the air. Just followed the number.... Though the brewing process is interesting, I am definitely more interested in the finished products. There is a tasting bar with samples starting from 2 EUR if I ever coming back to visit. Souvenirs and keepsakes on sale. Thanks for the Wine/Beer glass (4 EUR), Yelp Friend. read more
A unique and incredible brewery located within an easy 10 minute walk from the Eurostar terminal of Gare du Nord. If you've never been to a brewery perhaps don't start here as it's so different due to its wild fermentation methods, but if you know a bit about beer you'll love it. Self-guided tours are available most of the day and there's a bar as well as a take away service. Everything you need! read more
I was dragged along by a friend here, so I haven't read any of the other reviews and might just be preaching to the choir. However, I was pretty happy with this brewery. The entrance is very plain and initially we almost walked right by it. Upon entrance however, you find yourself within a fully functional brewery! We paid for our self-guided tour and were right on time for the next English speaking introduction. A worker gave us a brief overview of the brewery and then, guide in hand, we were let loose on the rest of the establishment. Having been on both brewery and winery tours before, I was pretty underwhelmed by the tour. I didn't really feel like I learned anything new about the brewing process. So for me, what I was really paying for was the tasting at the end (which at 6€ felt like a deal). I'd never had lambic beer before, so it was definitely a new experience. The first beer to try was the same for everyone and is the beer they use as the base for all the others. For the second beer, we had a choice of the Kriek, Gueuze, and Iris. Since there was three of us in my group, we each chose one and shared amongst each other. This beer is definitely the type you drink to taste, not to get drunk (in case there's any confusion haha) and is quite an interesting experience. The Iris (the one I grabbed for my group) reminds me a bit of huamei (Chinese dried plum), which I liked. My friend also ordered a bottle of Fou'foune to try, which I highly recommend! A couple of gentlemen came in later and tried to order a bottle, but alas, we had snatched the last one! Let that be a warning-- if you really want to try a beer, get here earlier since they do run out! read more
No trip to Brussels would be complete without visiting Brasserie Cantillon. I was a bit late and decided to skip the tour. Everyone I spoke to said it was super cool to see all the old implements though. And the sheer volume of bottling they do. At the end, you get an unfiltered beer, which I tried (wasn't great). Either way, you can order beers at the front by the entrance. They sell large format bottles, or glass pours. The 2016 Grand Cru was my favorite, though I tried just about everything they had available including the Gueze, Kriek and Lambic. Of course, also shared some Lou Pepe's with some newly made friends. They also sell a ton of merch, and you can buy one of those serving baskets. read more
Dragged myself out of bed while sick just to visit. A must for any beer lovers as the brewery and process are a literal history of beer making. Not your average IPAs or Lagers though, so to appreciate their product fully you should have some familiarity with Iambics or other sour beers. For a few pounds you can take a self-guided tour which lets you wander through most of the brewery. You'll be able to see every process of the beer making (only active from late Fall through Spring) up close, or at least the equipment. Tour ends with two free tastings: the un-aged base Lambic and then your choice from a few of their most famous beers. read more
11 years ago
Awesome brewery. It's the last brewery in Brussels. It's definitely out of the way if the main city but worth a stop. We did the tour and it costs €7 per person. You even get two samples at the end. The brewery tour is self guided with a pamphlet. The samples included the gueze which all their beers are based on and one of their lambics. After the tasting you can get a bottle. The prices here are around €14 which is a deal considering I saw some Cantillon bottles going for €20 out at a bar. Overall, it was an excellent brewery and I would definitely recommend a stop by here! read more
4 years ago
10 years ago
I finally made it here. Cantillon is one of my favourite breweries, and I've been wanting to visit for quite some time now. So when I planned a roadtrip from Denmark to France with a friend, I insisted we stop by here. We arrived the day after Zwanze day, but unfortunately I was driving, which put a limit to how much/many beers I could try. As the Zwanze beer had to be opened (and drank) at the brewery, and it's 75 cl, I almost gave up on the idear of trying it out. Fortunately, and American guy was kind enough to help me out, and let me try a bit of his. That's why I love the beer community so much, people actually want's to share and talk about their beer experiences. Ended up only buying one case each, but I'll be back. You beer rocks! read more
7 years ago
10 years ago
My husband and I wanted to heck out a local brewery while we were here and found this on Yelp. I loved the self guided tour, which allowed us to move at our own (rather quick) pace. Great way to learn a bit about the lambic beer and try a few, too. read more
This is a really special experience. It is definitely a one of a kind sort of place. The smell in it is really unique and indescribable. I am not a huge beer nerd but I love sour beers and it was so cool to see how they are made here. The tour is self directed so you can show yourself around. After the tour you get two free samples and can buy others at the bar there. The prices are incredible, so much cheaper than you can get elsewhere in Belgium. Some of their beers I don't think come to America frequently so I was really excited to try them. A lot of the employees were walking around talking to all the visitors which was cool. I would highly recommend a trip here if you are in Brussels! read more
All of the reviews before mine have probably enumerated everything and anything you need to know about Cantillon in florid detail, so here's a short list of DOs and DON'Ts while at Brasserie Cantillon. DO 1. Take the tour. The unique beers at Brasserie Cantillon can only be replicated in the unique terroir/environment within the confines of the brewery. The tour itself will reveal all the magic behind spontaneous fermentation and you will leave the place feeling like a beer scientist if you paid attention during the "introduction" given at the brewery shop by the door, and if you actually took the time to read through the booklet that they provide you as part of the tour. 2. Try as much beers in-house as possible. People from certain online communities have the tendency to just drop into the brewery shop, buy the bottles, and pop smoke. All the beers served at Cantillon are served at the perfect cellar temperature in the manner it's meant to be enjoyed. I'm sure you're excited about the prospect of trading for rare beers, but don't miss out on the opportunity to try some beers you won't find anywhere else on the planet. 3. Say hello to Jean when you see him. Jean's always busy keeping the family tradition afloat, but he's one of the most approachable brewers I've ever met who loves to talk about beer and appreciates any feedback people are willing to offer him about his family tradition. I'm not saying you should walk over while he's busy bottling or brewing during the public brewing sessions, but if you see him walking about the brewery, do take the time to say hello, introduce yourself and give him some of your thoughts about the brewery and his beers. Trust me, you won't regret it. DON'T 1. Be one of those asshats that do beer trades while at the Brewery. Seriously, this might be "okay" back in the States, but this is considered quite disrespectful, and almost borderline offensive in Belgium. God save your soul if you lack so much common sense that you actually open some other brewery's beer while at Cantillon. You're a big part of the reason why beer geeks get a bad rep. 2. Go nuts and order three-four bottles by yourself when it's obvious that you can't finish them. Pretty self-explanatory both for financial and utilitarian reasons (think of the poor beer geeks that would give you their left nut to drink the beer you just wasted!) There also seems to be this odd notion going around that you'll always be able to find someone to share your beer with while at Cantillon -- this does not quite apply if you go in the morning around when the brewery opens up; I went to Cantillon five times during the seven days I've been in Belgium and I only did a "beer share" with a fellow enthusiast on the last day I was there. 3. Neglect some of the tried and true offerings in lieu of tasting whales. Yeah Fou'Foune is pretty amazing and most people would give their first born for some LPG/LPF/LPK, but some of Cantillon's more standard offerings taste amazingly different fresh out of the brewery. The most surprising instance of this was Rose de Gambrinus which was so much more tart and fruitier than I remembered out of the bottle -- for some odd reason the regular Geuze also made my mouth pucker a lot more than I remembered with past instances. For those of you on the fence about visiting Cantillon -- it's a trip you probably won't forget, and the brewery is literally a 12 minute walk from Gare du Midi. If you're not in the Grand Place area it probably means you probably don't have anything else better to do, so why not pop in for a quick look at what 100+ years of brewing tradition looks like? read more
8 years ago
11 years ago
Going on the self-guided tours at this brewery was one of the main highlights of my trip to Brussels. I had been anticipating it, but to actually go completely beat my expectations. To start off, the tour is 7€, which gets you a very informative pamphlet and beer samples when you get to the end (which I'll describe later). You're given a general talk on beer and basically let to walk around their working brewery with nothing more than advice to not touch anything. Sounds good to me. Each part of the tour is explained in the booklet. You do have to watch out for people actually getting work done, but that's a bonus to me. Nothing makes a brewery tour feel less sad than seeing empty equipment or realising the tour is mostly merchandise Each room is just packed with bottles, wood casks and all of the ingredients. In all, it made me feel overwhelmed by the history and quality of it all. And now for the samples. The first sample is a fresh lambic out of the cask after one year. It's basically flat and they refer to it more as a grain wine. After that you get a chance to try one of their other beers further along in the process. This is where I'm going to agree with other reviewers: you need to already like Belgian sour beers to really like the beer. The first time I had it, I wasn't very pleased but it's something I started to crave (which is why I went on this tour). I ended up with 4 75cl bottles before I left (at reasonable prices). Everyone working there was extremely nice and now I want to go back to Brussels just to take some friends on this tour. read more
This was a disappointment. It´s a bit strange to have a brewery tour without a guide. You just walk along a preset walk and look at things. As a beer buff I know what I´m looking at at, its purpose and how it works. But that is not why you go to a place like Cantillon, to just look at things. You want to hear the stories and the history. The machinery and premises are just a backdrop to make it more interesting. So at the end you get some beer and can buy some stuff. We did that and I had a great time, more due to the beer and my company than Cantillon brewery itself. It´s a shame that one of the best breweries in the world don´t take this seriously. read more
9 years ago
I'm really glad we went here, what a unique place! We arrived just before 12 on a Saturday, just in time for the English language intro to the tour. You pay 7 euros, and get a booklet and two vouchers for samples. They provide some helpful context at the beginning of the tour, and then allow you to explore at your own pace, reading information about each step as you go. This really suited us, because most guided tours are way too slow, and so we enjoyed moving through the whole thing in probably 20 minutes. Then you end up at the tasting room back at the start. The first drink is a pure lambic, so not fizzy at all, and very tart, with a bit of bitter. I'd only had commercial lambics before, so this was really interesting to try! It wasn't my cup of tea, but my guy really enjoyed it, and I liked having a chance to taste this before the next steps. Then you can choose one of the beers on tap. I'm amused from some negative reviews-- this is a place that is known for producing lambics and gueze beers, and they have a very specific flavour profile. If you don't know what that is, you should do some research before coming to a spot that specialises in something and then saying it's disgusting. I'm actually a bit odd in that I don't like "normal" beer at all, but really like sours and lambics, so this was an ideal stop for me. We tried the raspberry and cherry flavoured beers, which were so far from any kriek or frambroise I'd ever had, it was crazy. Most commercial fruit beers are too sweet to drink for long, and taste artificial to me. These were subtle, not too sweet, and just the right amount of dry with a touch of sour. Really excellent. We then got glasses of the plain gueze, which was also fantastic. Prices per glass were very reasonable. We then decided to get a bottle of the apricot beer, which sounds vile but was extraordinary. It was 15 euro for a 750ml bottle, so the size of a bottle of wine. They have a number of hard-to-get beers which you can drink there, but don't sell them for taking away. I'd recommend trying one if you have the time! We ended up buying a big bottle of gueze to take home with us, which was 1/3 of the price as in a bottle shop a mile away, and way less than that compared to what it sells for in London (if you can find it). I've heard stories about Americans funding their annual trips to Brussels through buying Cantillon bottles and reselling them for a serious profit, which seems hilarious when you're in such humble environments. We'll definitely come back, and plan on buying a few more bottles to enjoy once we're back home. read more
Well, when you base a whole trip around a singular place, that place deserves 5 stars, right? Cantillon brewery did not disappoint for a self actualizing experience. Jet lagged, the wife and I braved the uncertain streets of central Brussels to the periphery of a questionable neighborhood with even more uncertain streets to find an unassuming building that houses beer heaven. We rang the doorbell and were let in by a friendly older man who didn't mock our French Canadian accents and informed us of all they has to offer. We paid for our self guided tour which included 2 samples of lambic after the tour. The building itself is amazing and fittingly called the "musée de la gueuze". Every piece of machinery looks like it's 100 years old, which I guess makes it even more amazing that the beer is so consistently awesome. This further proves that a fine craftsmen doesn't need any fancy tools or machinery, it's the knowledge and experience that matters. It was a cold day in Brussels, but the bar area was nice and warm due to an old wood burning stove, as we drank our samples and added a few Zwanze bottles to top off our afternoon of drinking. We talked beer with our neighbors at other tables and all around enjoyed a great afternoon. I, of course bought a twelve pack of beers to go and a couple of shirts. The service was good and very friendly for the most part. It really felt like a mom and pop operation. The guy at the bar was a little gruff but that was mostly noticeable because everyone else was so friendly. read more
8 years ago
One of our favorite breweries and part of the reason why we came to Brussels. Lambic beers here are pretty amazing. The self guided tour is simple but great to see where they still brew. Seeing the place where they do spontaneous fermentation is awesome. Highly recommend and super easy to get to! read more
13 years ago
A must see for a beer lover visiting Brussels. Cantillon (pronounced can-tee-yohn for you literals out there) is ancient, tiny, and unique. A self guided tour through the brewery costs you 6 Euros and includes two tastings of their lambic style beer at the end. The tours are multi-lingual and you can go at your own pace...and go back through if you think you missed something. It was awesome to see the open air fermentation tanks, and must be even cooler to see during brewing season (if they let you up there). The tank is long and wide and sits in the top of the brewery with the windows open or closed depending on the wind...and that's it! That's how the sugars are eaten and turned into alcohol! I love that they keep with this ancient style of brewing and still come out with an awesome product. More interesting (to me at least) is that the beer has to be aged for 1-3 years before it's ready. Such a time devout process is the lambic style. And as for taste? Embrace the sour almost wine like (think barleywine) style and you'll love it. For a smoother experience, get the Geuze....and for something more on the edge, get the Kriek or the raspberry version of the Kriek. I was really excited to come here and I'm so glad I did! read more
8 years ago
Belgian beer is my favorite beer..and this is some of the best of its kind! I came here just after opening in the morning to have a beer while on a 7hr layover. I didn't have enough time for the self guided tour but I hung out in the main area and chatted with some of the employees while enjoying my beer. Really nice folks here! There is a small seating area to enjoy your beer and check out some of the brewing equipment and stare wistfully at the barrels and bottles of deliciousness. read more
8 years ago
Love this place, how old this place and their traditions is a must see! They brew beer only during their hop season. Brewery tour is worth it. Definitely a must see. read more
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More info about Brasserie Cantillon
Rue Gheude 56
Gheudestraat 56
1070 Anderlecht
Belgium
Cureghem, Anderlecht
Directions
02 521 49 28
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http://www.cantillon.be/
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Brasserie Cantillon - breweries - Updated May 2026
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