cantillon

ok, time to make another push to get this brussels blogging finished off! it's only been, what, a little over three weeks.... anyway, the highlight of our whole trip was quite possibly our visit to cantillon on the thursday we were there (our only full day in brussels).
apart from a couple recently opened brewpubs, cantillon is the only brewery remaining in the city. they brew lambic: spontaneously fermented, fantastically tart, moderately crazy, tastes-like-nothing-you've-had-before beer -- and they're possibly the best at it in the world. in principle, you can brew lambic anywhere, but there's something magic about the senne river valley (the river running through, or actually under, brussels) that seems to make it the only place on earth where things come out tasting good.
strictly speaking, the cantillon brewery is a "museum" -- probably for weird tax reasons, i'd guess -- but it's really just that they give you a booklet at the start and send you off poking around on a little self-guided tour. and i gotta say, it worked really well -- they did a great job with the booklet, and it was so nice to be able to putter along at our own pace and soak everything in.
the picture below is of a giant copper vat that plays a crucial role in the brewing process -- this is where the beer is inoculated with wild yeasts. check out the holes in the ceiling and the vents on the side to allow the air from outside to get in!
here's a picture of some barrels filled with lambic. the beer continues to ferment in the barrel, which causes a lot of foam to appear on the top where the barrel is plugged closed.
and finally, the bar at the end of the tour, where we got to sample some of their beers. so beautiful, and so delicious!