Cantillon Brewery and Museum of Gueuze

Cantillon Brewery and Museum of Gueuze is at Rue Gheude 56 in Anderlecht, Brussels, close to the Gare du Midi area. Founded in 1900, it is a working family brewery that produces spontaneously fermented lambic, gueuze and kriek, in a traditional method that relies on wild yeasts and bacteria in the air of the Senne valley. The brewery doubles as a museum of gueuze, and visitors tour the building at their own pace, passing the mash tun, the copper kettle, the cooling tray under the roof, and rows of old oak barrels where the beer matures for months or years. Printed or audio information explains each stage, and the atmosphere is rustic and unpolished, with the smell of fermenting beer filling the rooms. The visit ends with a tasting in the bar, included in the admission of about €15. A typical visit lasts one to one and a half hours. Hours are generally Wednesday to Saturday in the daytime, and the brewery is closed from Sunday to Tuesday, though schedules vary and should be checked on the website. The brewing season runs roughly from October to April, since the cool months suit the spontaneous fermentation, so a visit during that period can show the brewing itself. Weekday afternoons are quieter than Saturdays. The brewery is a five-minute walk from Clemenceau on metro lines 2 and 6. Cantillon is small, so groups are limited, and visitors should arrive with time to spare. Bottles can be bought in the shop to take home.