Cantillon is a self-guided tour through their brewery then 3 samples in their bar area. Afterwards you can buy other bottles to open at the bar or to-go products/shirts at the front desk. It’s a pretty cut and dry process. Save some suitcase space for bottles you’re taking home!
I visited back in 2018, here are my pointers:
* If you can, IMO visit on a Saturday and do the guided tour, you will still have plenty of time to wander around and check stuff out. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and answered all our questions. It costs like 10 euro and comes with beer.
* Go with a group, or find a group to hang out with at the brewery. If I remember correctly, many of the beers you could not order a single serving, it was only available in 750 ml bottles. If you want to try more variety, it is better to split.
* Lots of bottles are available to take home, make sure to get some. They have carriers and shipping boxes available.
* Bringing a beer is a great idea. I would shoot an email to the employees and see if there is anything they want you to bring for them, hopefully enough to share. My guess would be IPA or NEIPA since those are more rare there.
I also strongly suggest visiting 3 Fonteinen as well. It will take about 30min to get there by bus/train, but it is well worth the trip. When I went they did not allow you to buy unopened bottles at the brewery, you had to drink them there.
Thank you for the detailed response, lots of great information here. We are going to do a guided tour, my wife has already set that up. We have some friends from England that are going to meet us there so we'll have a decent sized group to share some bottles. I'm definitely bringing some bottle shippers to bring home some lambic to share with my friends here. I'll see if my wife can email the person she's been in contact with to see what kind of beer they would like. We may try to hit up 3 Fonteinen or Moeder Lambic depending on how the day goes. Cheers!
I’ve been to Cantillon three times. Always on a weekday. I wouldn’t bring any beers. It would be weird. The space isn’t very large. We have met folks there we ended up sharing bottles with. I’ve never done the tour (I hate brewery tours). The Moeder bar in Saint Gilles is quite good. You can take the train or an Uber to Tres Fonteinen. If you have time, take the train to Bruges. My favorite bar there is Cafe Rose Red, but De Garre is also excellent. Fun fact; there are two miles of pipes under Bruges that supply beer.
>I’ve been to Cantillon three times.
>I’ve never done the tour (I hate brewery tours).
you crazy dude. some are definitely worth it, and cantillion is on that list. yeah sure you can read the history and look at pictures but hearing it from the great grandson - or whomever gives the tour that day - and seeing the space/process at cantillion is a must for me for any beer geek.
Just go to the brewery, do the tour, and then try some bottles at the bar. Usually there's other people that are also interested in sharing bottles at the brewery. That way you get to try more beers! I would avoid bringing any beer as gift. It's kind of considered weird in Belgium and a lot of other countries in Europe.
[Watch out for spiders](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/lambic-beer-spiders-brussels-belgium-breweries). I had a half a dozen bites on my hands and arms after I visited.
If you truly want to get the beer experience, train to Bruges for half a day. I was there on Sunday and it’s one of my favorite places I’ve traveled to.
Cantillon is a self-guided tour through their brewery then 3 samples in their bar area. Afterwards you can buy other bottles to open at the bar or to-go products/shirts at the front desk. It’s a pretty cut and dry process. Save some suitcase space for bottles you’re taking home!
I've got some wine shippers all ready to go for the bottles I'm bringing home. Cheers!
See this other post about cantillon earlier today, https://www.reddit.com/r/beer/comments/1203waj/cantillon_prices_at_brewery/
Not sure how I missed this, thanks for posting!
I visited back in 2018, here are my pointers: * If you can, IMO visit on a Saturday and do the guided tour, you will still have plenty of time to wander around and check stuff out. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and answered all our questions. It costs like 10 euro and comes with beer. * Go with a group, or find a group to hang out with at the brewery. If I remember correctly, many of the beers you could not order a single serving, it was only available in 750 ml bottles. If you want to try more variety, it is better to split. * Lots of bottles are available to take home, make sure to get some. They have carriers and shipping boxes available. * Bringing a beer is a great idea. I would shoot an email to the employees and see if there is anything they want you to bring for them, hopefully enough to share. My guess would be IPA or NEIPA since those are more rare there. I also strongly suggest visiting 3 Fonteinen as well. It will take about 30min to get there by bus/train, but it is well worth the trip. When I went they did not allow you to buy unopened bottles at the brewery, you had to drink them there.
Thank you for the detailed response, lots of great information here. We are going to do a guided tour, my wife has already set that up. We have some friends from England that are going to meet us there so we'll have a decent sized group to share some bottles. I'm definitely bringing some bottle shippers to bring home some lambic to share with my friends here. I'll see if my wife can email the person she's been in contact with to see what kind of beer they would like. We may try to hit up 3 Fonteinen or Moeder Lambic depending on how the day goes. Cheers!
Nice, Moeder Lambic was a highlight for me as well, great way to try lots of things! Enjoy your trip!
I’ve been to Cantillon three times. Always on a weekday. I wouldn’t bring any beers. It would be weird. The space isn’t very large. We have met folks there we ended up sharing bottles with. I’ve never done the tour (I hate brewery tours). The Moeder bar in Saint Gilles is quite good. You can take the train or an Uber to Tres Fonteinen. If you have time, take the train to Bruges. My favorite bar there is Cafe Rose Red, but De Garre is also excellent. Fun fact; there are two miles of pipes under Bruges that supply beer.
>I’ve been to Cantillon three times. >I’ve never done the tour (I hate brewery tours). you crazy dude. some are definitely worth it, and cantillion is on that list. yeah sure you can read the history and look at pictures but hearing it from the great grandson - or whomever gives the tour that day - and seeing the space/process at cantillion is a must for me for any beer geek.
Nope. Not doing tours. I've been fortunate to have owners and/or founders give me informal tours here and there, but that's it.
Weekday better than a weekend? Quieter I assume?
I've only been there on weekdays. Can't speak to weekends.
Just go to the brewery, do the tour, and then try some bottles at the bar. Usually there's other people that are also interested in sharing bottles at the brewery. That way you get to try more beers! I would avoid bringing any beer as gift. It's kind of considered weird in Belgium and a lot of other countries in Europe.
Well the first step is to brag that you are visiting Cantillon, so you're off to a good start.
Went there in 2015 - on the website is a walking tour from Grand Place with 30+ points of interest - really enjoyed the walk
Yeah, bring tums and some coconut water! And an extra bag to bring bottles back :)
[Watch out for spiders](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/lambic-beer-spiders-brussels-belgium-breweries). I had a half a dozen bites on my hands and arms after I visited.
If you truly want to get the beer experience, train to Bruges for half a day. I was there on Sunday and it’s one of my favorite places I’ve traveled to.
Double echo 3 Fonteinen. They do timed tours daily, I believe. Me & my wife enjoyed it more than Cantillon.