Cantillon Zwanze Day 2024 – April 20, 2024

If you are a beer lover visiting Brussels, the a visit to the Cantillon is likely at the top of your to-do list.  As the last operating lambic brewery in Brussels, this is not just a visit to a brewery, but a piece of history as well. If you can, time your Belgium trip with the biannual Zwanze Day event that takes place every other April, alternating with Quintessence every other year.

Brasserie Cantillon’s next Zwanze Day will take place this year on April 20, 2024. Once again, the event is planned for a full global scale.

What is Zwanze Day?

Zwanze day is a biannual event that Cantillon holds, in which they brew a small batch of an experimental beer and offer it for sale in a select group of pubs around the world.  This beer is usually a different style each time, and is something other than a traditional Cantillon lambic.  This allows the brewers to experiment and take part in the fun, semi-sarcastic humor of Brussels, the true meaning of the word zwanze.

Zwanze Day during the COVID-19 pandemic

In 2020, Zwanze Day did continue, but it was modified in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Zwanze was not a global event, but was held only at select locations in 15 countries around Europe. There were thoughts of cancelling the event entirely. Many importers and venues in locations still being heavily hit by the virus and related regulations did not feel equipped to be able to put together such an event. However, in Europe, there was a need for a helping hand, and these locations could still safely import the beer.

Zwanze Day returned to being a full global event in 2021.

Zwanze Day Change to Biannual

In 2023, Cantillon decided to change the timing of frequency and timing of Zwanze Day in order to focus on the increased requirements to manage the production of their lambics during the autumn harvest period. Instead of hosting Zwanze Day every year at the end of September, the event will now alternate with Quintessence in April, with either Quintessence or Zwanze Day occurring each year.

Zwanze Day Beers

The 2024 Zwanze will be a new type of flavor profile for Cantillon. The primary addition to the Zwanze blend will be a type of sea lettuce such as is used for abalone farming in Brittany in France. There is a special batch of a few dozen bottles of Cantillon Gueuze lying submerged, aging in the sea near Finistère. The beers are aging in harmony with the local mollusks, who feed on different sorts of algae. This sea lettuce is the best of these algae and seaweeds to bend well with a Lambic, resulting in a perfect reflection of the concept of Zwanze. The Cantillon Zwanze 2024 is a departure from normal lambics, offering more salinity and iodine reminiscent of oysters. This is one I am really looking forward to trying this year.

I visited the Cantillon brewery in Brussels a number of times throughout 2013, including a visit in September for their Zwanze Day event both at the brewery and at the Moeder Lambic pub in Brussels. One of the best benefits of visiting the brewery in person is that you can often sample beers that are not available for retail sale and take-home consumption, but only for sampling on site. You also have the opportunity to tour the working brewing facilities during your visit, which is quite a treat as this is a true visage of old-time brewing traditional methods.

Cantillon has seen a large amount of growth recently, including the use of Brussels’ old abandoned bomb shelter for cellaring their beers for up to thirty years and an expansion near their current brewing facility that doubled their brewing capacity.  They also recently purchased a large new addition of barrels in which to age their lambics.  This should lead to increased production of their current line of offerings, and hopefully new offerings in the future?

Cantillon Zwanze 2014 – Cuvee Florian

For 2014, the Zwanze beer was called “Cuvée Florian“, and is a blend of Cantillon Oude Kriek, with 40% less fruit, and Iris Grand Cru, aged for three years in a 400-liter cask, with no secondary fermentation.  This beer was initially made as a one-off for Jean van Roy’s son’s 18th birthday, and has now been elevated to Zwanze 2014.

Zwanze 2015 was a spontaneously fermented stout called Wild Brussels Stout.  The beer was initially brewed in March, 2013 and was a candidate for Zwanze 2014, but was held back in favor of the Cuvee Florian.

Zwanze 2016 was a fruity lambic blend of raspberry and blueberry, with the tartness offset by some natural vanilla. This beer seems to have been a predecessor of Magic Lambic.

Zwanze 2017 is going to be an Oolong Tea – Two-year-old Lambic blend, made in honor of the 18th birthday of Jean van Roy’s youngest son, Sylvain.

Zwanze 2018 – The 2018 Zwanze beer, Manneken Pise, is a blend of lambics aged for two years in Amarone, Chianti, and Sangiovese barrels. The barrels impart a woody, wine-like character, with flavors of mango and citrus. The beer is dedicated to the Italian friends of Cantillon who help them to protect the traditional Lambic heritage.

Zwanze 2019 – The 2019 Zwanze beer is a departure from prior years, and will be a unique new beer, a smoked lambic, made with a blend of classic pilsner malts and smoked malts. The beer was brewed in March, 2016 and kegged in January 2018.

Zwanze 2020 – The Zwanze 2020 beer is called Brettrave, which is a play on betterave, the French word for beet. This beetroot Lambic’s color is an intense, almost flourescent red, with a fruity yet quite earthy aroma. The palate is complex, balancing the acidity of the Lambic with the earthy roundness of the beetroot.

For 2021, the Zwanze beer was Parasol, a special blend of lambic and citrus, mostly oranges. This Zwanze is a throwback to a recipe attempted 70 years earlier by Paul Cantillon, the brewer of Cantillon in the 1950’s, and the great grandfather of the current brewing family. The beer will have a thirst-quenching mix of lambic acidity with fresh fruitiness from the citrus, contrasting with the bitterness of the citrus zest.

In 2022, Cantillon Zwanze was a blend of two-year-old lambic and Congolese black pepper. The pepper is called poivre de Gorilles and came from Misao: La Maison des Poivres in Brussels. The pepper is grown wild in the Likouala Forest in the northeastern region of the Republic of the Congo, The forest is home to a number of the endangered Lowland gorillas. As such, a portion of the profits from the year’s Zwanze event were donated to Gorilla, an organization dedicated to protecting the great apes. Poivre de Gorilles is aromatic, but not too spicy. The spice blends nicely with the acidity of the lambic. It will pair well with meat or fish dishes.

The 2022 Zwanze proved so popular that it has now become a regular release from Cantillon known as Ashanti Lambic, with a little more focus on the lambic than the 2022 Zwanze release.

Zwanze Day Locations

The list of bars participating in Zwanze Day, 2024 was released on February 16, 2024. You can find the complete list below. Typically, there is an obligatory 9PM Central European Time start – but be sure to check the release time at the venue you plan to participate at,!

Jean van Roy, Master Brewer at Cantillon, typically leads the ceremonies from the Moeder Lambic – Fontainas pub in Brussels at 9 PM CET.

Here is the video of Jean van Roy introducing Zwanze 2013:

In 2017, the Cantillon, Moeder Lambic, and Magic Land Theater crews put on a rather ornate event surrounding the beer’s release:

Most of these bars will be selling tickets for the event, which often sell out quickly. Contact the pub where you wish to attend to see when tickets will be available and book yours as soon as you can.

Australia
• Wildflower Brewing and Blending – Sydney
• Belgian Beer Café – Westende – Perth

Austria
• Tribaun – Innsbruck
• Ammutson – Vienna

Belgium
• Moeder Lambic Fontainas – Brussels
• Moeder Lambic Saint-Gilles – Brussels
• Le Comptoir Mi-Orge Mi-Houblon – Arlon
• De Gebrande Winning – Sint-Truiden
• Café Pardaf – Antwerpen
• ‘t Brugs Beertje – Brugge

Canada
• Dieu du Ciel – Montréal, QC
• Birreria Volo – Toronto, ON
• Île Sauvage Brewing Co. – Victoria, BC

China
• Beer&Barrel谷木 – Shanghai

South Korea
• Coolship Korea – Seoul

Denmark
• Himmeriget – Copenhagen

France
• La Fine Mousse – Paris
• La Capsule – Lille
• Malt’In Pot – Viry
• Le Bièrographe – Toulouse
• Le Sur Mesure – Nantes
• Orgao Beer House – Lyon

Germany
• Café Herman – Berlin
• Mon Petit Café – Stuttgart

Great Britain
• six°north, The Marine Hotel – Stonehaven
• Moor Beer – Bristol
• That Beer Place – Chester
• Belgium and Blues – Southampton
• Hanging Bat – Edinburgh
• Beermerchants Tap – London
• Parish – Huddersfield
• The Free Trade Inn – Newcastle

Greece
• The Hoppy Pub – Thessaloniki

Italy
• Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà – Roma
• Abbazia di Sherwood – Caprino Bergamasco
• LambicZoon – Milano
• The Drunken Duck – Quinto Vicentino
• Bluebeat – Lecce
• Birre & Mondo Crudele – Crema
• Storie di Pinte – San Lazzaro
• Mosaik Beer House – Catania
• Diorama – Firenze

Japan
• Cafe Lembeek – Nagoya
• Champ de Soleil – Tokyo
• Craft Beer Base Mother Tree – Osaka

New Zealand
• Garage Project – Wellington

Poland
• Biala Malpa – Katowice
• Szynkarnia – Wroclaw

Portugal
• Catraio – Porto

Spain
• Masia Agullons – Sant Joan de Mediona
• Chinaski Lavapiés – Madrid
• Homo Sibaris – Barcelona
• Cierzo – Zaragoza
• Desy, Donostia-San Sebastián

Sweden
• Zum Franziskaner – Stockholm

Switzerland
• Bière Café Au Trappiste – Bern

United States
• Armsby Abbey — Worcester, MA
• Beer Study — Durham, NC
• Beer Temple — Chicago, IL
• Bottlecraft Little Italy — San Diego, CA
• Brick Store — Atlanta, GA
• Craft Wine & Beer — Reno, NV
• Crooked Stave — Denver, CO
• De Garde Brewing — Tillamook, OR
• DeCiccio’s — Somers, NY
• Delaware Supply — Albany, NY
• Great Northern Bottle Shop — Bellingham, WA
• Holy Grale — Louisville, KY
• Lupulo — Santa Cruz, CA
• Monk’s Café — Philadelphia, PA
• Novare Res Bier Café — Portland, ME
• Pour Company — Moscow, ID
• Redlight — Orlando, FL
• Russian River Brewing — Santa Rosa, CA
• Sante Adairius Portal — Oakland, CA
• Schera’s — Elkader, IA
• Side Project Brewing Cellar — Maplewood, MO
• Silver Stamp — Las Vegas, NV
• Spuyten Duyvil — Brooklyn, NY
• The Sovereign — Washington D.C.
• The Veil Brewing Co. — Richmond, VA
• The Whale — Greenville, SC
• Village Beer — Honolulu, HI
• Yazoo — Madison, T