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Final Visit to Cantillon as Shareholders

On 10th October, 21 CMIC members embarked on this final visit to Cantillon as shareholders – the Van Roy family is buying back all shares not held by family members. Yes, there will be a surplus on the deal!

However, on Sunday 9th October, in what has become a tradition on these trips, we caught the Ninove bus to Eizeringen. We overcame the obstacle of the 127 bus being diverted in the city centre for one day – the 9th October!

Our aim was to visit In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst, or ‘The Insurance against the big Thirst’. This is a delightful cafe which only opens on Sundays and stocks every Gueuze beer one can think of, plus many other speciality beers. Some of the local beers were brewed by the son of Kurt Paneel, who owns the cafe.


Some of the group at The Great Thirst pub. 2nd from the left is Iain Dobson, CMIC member number 1.

On our return to Brussels the beery delights of the city were sampled in such cafes as Le Cirio – a particular favourite of the writer.

On Monday 10th October, we duly presented ourselves at Cantillon. There we received a first-class tour, led by an English speaking guide, followed by a considerable amount of sampling. Unfortunately, for various reasons none of the Van Roy family was there to greet us.

I never cease to be amazed that the old fashioned way of brewing beer still continues in what has become a dry part of Brussels.


CMIC committee member and trip organiser, Neil Kellett.

Further post visit imbibing in Brussels took place before leaving for home on the Monday or Tuesday. Except for me – on the Tuesday I embarked on a 3-week Interrail tour through Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland ending up in Southern Sicily. This is another story…….!

Report by Neil Kellett – CMIC Committee Member