Ancient craft

Today we toured the Cantillon lambic brewery. This is the only lambic brewery still operating in brussels and one of five in Belgium. Lambic brewing uses the original 5,000 year old recipe and technique. 

 

Grains and dried hops (as preservative not flavour) are used to make the wort. But then the wort is left to cool in open air vats where wild yeast and lactobacteria infect it and begin the fermentation. 

 

The yeasts are "kept" in the wooden rafters of the brewery. That's the white you see. 

 

The beer is then fermented in wine barrels for a minimum of 14 months. Because dry hops and wild yeast are used the beer has a sour taste that takes some getting used to. But we have time for that.