Beer Europe: A la Mort Subite

Showing posts with label A la Mort Subite. Show all posts

22 March 2025

By Brussels Bourse

View of the Bourse from interior of Falstaff

The streets around Brussels neoclassical style Bourse are now pedestrianised. As well as Belle Epoque brasseries there are nearby alleyways leading to traditional bars. The Bourse itself is now the home of Belgian Beer World with a rooftop terrace and Beerlab bar which may require a ticket to access.

Brasseries

Falstaff

Dating from 1903, Le Falstaff is situated south-west of the Bourse at Rue Henri Maus 19. The interior is laid with matching tables and chairs.

There are many mirrors and art nouveau style features including the design of the front windows that overlook the Bourse.

At lunchtime on Monday 10 March, 2025, Falstaff was very quiet and a lone waiter eventually served a 33cl glass of Hoegaarden Blanche with an unrequested lemon slice together with a complimentary bowl of sweet popcorn (€5.50).

Luckily my reply had been 'small' to his earlier question of normal or small!

A full menu is served and the beer menu also includes draught Jupiler Pils, Leffe Blond & Brun and Belle-Vue Kriek Classique. All draught beers are available in 50cl and 1 litre measures as well as 'small'. Bottles of Trappist beer are competitively priced e.g Westmalle €4.50, Chimay Bleue €4.80 and Orval €4.80 (March 2025).

Natural light reaches the back of the large room through stained glass windows.

A visit to the toilets downstairs reveals three traditional full height white ceramic urinals and various posters for live music events.

Le Cirio

Founded in 1886, with redesigned decor from 1909, Le Cirio is situated north-east of the Bourse at Rue de la Bourse / Beursstraat 18.

Our group visited on a sunny Friday lunchtime - 7 March 2025. A reasonably priced full menu is available but as we were only visiting for a beer, our waiter directed us to a table in the back part of the large room. Curved mirrors line the walls above bench seating with high backed chairs to match the wooden tables.

Our beer order was mainly bottled Westmalle beers. Westmalle Dubbel, Tripel and Extra were all priced at €4.70 (March 2025). The draught beers include Maes Pils, Blanche du Bruges, Grimbergen Dubbel and Leffe Blonde.

A visit to the toilets will reveal a bank of three full height white ceramic urinals that have served male customers well over the years.

Although Le Falstaff and Le Cirio are very close, unless you are especially interested in comparing their styles immediately, there is an argument for visiting them on different days to gain a better overall experience as the beer range in both is rather limited.

A La Mort Subite

Galeries Royale Saint Hubert

Some distance from the Bourse and approachable via the pedestrianised Rue du Marche au Herbes and the covered arcades of Galeries Royale Saint Hubert, A La Mort Subite can be found at Rue Montagne aux Herbes Potageres 7. Theodore Vossen founded A La Mort Subite in 1928 and gave his brewery the same name.

With a more interesting beer range, a visit here combined well with our previous visit to Le Cirio that had been followed by an al fresco lunch of Belgian beer and frites from Friterie Patatak, Rue de la Bourse 34.

A narrower room than at Falstaff or Le Cirio, but just as deep and again featuring bench seating against the walls with mirrors above.

Memories of unsympathetic waiters were forgotten when our waiter approached in a friendly manner eager to advise us in our chosen language. The menu includes Gueuze sur Lie and Lambic Gueuze but my choice was draught Lambic Blanche (€6.30). Trappist bottles are expensive here e.g. Orval €7.50. As at other bars, the menu specifies that only a single bill will be issued for each table.

Alleyway bars

Sadly, two of the long established alleyway bars near the Bourse and just off Rue du Marche aux Herbes have closed. These traditional small bars: A l'Imaige Nostre-Dame and Au Bon Vieux Temps are found in Impasse des Cadeaux and Impasse Saint-Nicholas respectively. A 2024 blog post features Au Bon Vieux Temps.

A la Becasse

Near the Bourse and in an alley at Rue de Tabora 11, A la Becasse was visited by our group before Le Cirio. The date over the door is 1877. The bird with a long beak in the images is a woodcock.

We picked a table near the bar at the end of the room which has wood panelling on the walls, windows with stained glass, floor tiles, bench seating against walls, high backed chairs and attractive wooden tables with curved edges. The draught beers served in jugs are Timmermans Lambic Doux and Lambic Blanche. I enjoyed a bottle of Timmermans Kriek Lambicus.

Toone & Delirium Cafe etc

We passed (Theatre Royale de) Toone and Delirium Cafe while walking to / from the Bourse.

Toone, established 1830, has regular puppet theatre shows and also has a bar. It can be approached from an alleyway off Pt Rue des Bouchers at Impasse Schuddeveld 6.

Delirium Cafe and related bars are in Impasse de la Fidelite which is off Rue des Boucheurs, a pedestrian road with many restaurants that also crosses Galeries Royale Saint Hubert at its midpoint.

Impasse de la Fidelite is also the location for Jeanneke Pis, a female version of the more famous Mannekin Pis water feature.

14 July 2024

Brussels - revisits - June 2024

With two nights in Brussels, after three nights in Antwerp for Bierpassie Weekend (21-23 June), there was a chance to revisit some favourite beer bars with Simon, Richard and Andrew and solo on Monday evening after their return to London.

At the end of this post, the chart above showing posts about previous visits to Brussels bars, provides blog post weblinks for more photos and descriptions of all the bars revisited.

Only a few steps from the iconic Mannekin Pis water feature lies the pub we inevitably visit on the Sunday as it is closed on Mondays.

Poechenellekelder

The tables in the courtyard of Poechenellekelder were all occupied on a warm Sunday afternoon but we secured a table immediately inside, near windows which overloooked it.

Our table was also near two other windows, one open, facing buildings in Rue du Chene.

The ceiling above had the familiar combination of puppets and suspended bric-a-brac.

The beers Tim enjoyed here for the first time were draught Blanche Framboise by Brasserie de Bertinchamps (fruity but not sweet) and Pater Lieven Triple by Brouwerij Van Den Bossche from the bottle 'spicy-bitter with fruity character'. There were complimentary salty nibbles that were welcome as Tim wasn't ready for a meal yet, unlike Simon who had his customary lasagne dish before getting the Eurostar train back to London.

There's some street art on the Rue du Chene on the route for our group of three to the next destination.

GIST

We arrived at GIST soon after 7pm, just too late for 'Happy Hour' offers which start at 5pm.

Beers are priced for 25cl and 50cl measures and there's always an interesting selection chalked up above the bar.

The 25cl glasses of draught beer that Tim enjoyed here for the first time (photographed with the handpumps in the background) were Fee Steve (Blonde) by Brasserie Valduc-Thor (4 euros) and La Super Sanglier (Blonde) by Brasserie Minne (4.50 euros). These small breweries are both based between Brussels and Namur to the south and their beers are unlikely to be seen at Antwerp bars in Flanders, north of Brussels.

Apart from the handpumps, interesting features in GIST include lamp shades made from a variety of percussion cymbals and the ceiling mouldings.

An interesting selection of music was played on the sound system during our visit. The SoundHound music App came in useful for identifying some of the music.

Simplenote stored the results for use in future blog posts etc!

Place Dinant

Just as GIST is a short distance from Poechenellekelder so also our next destination is a short distance from GIST and just around the corner from Place Dinant.

La Fleur en Papier Doree / Het Goudblommeke in Papier

After visiting on two consecutive days in 2023, Tim was determined to revisit La Fleur en Papier Doree also known by its Dutch name Het Goudblommeke in Papier.

Andrew and Richard were easily convinced to head there and immediately impressed by its charm on entering.

The small bar is decorated with items that have hung there since 1944 by Geert (Gerard) van Bruaene who knew all the artists of the day. A small blackboard on the counter reveals that the beer of the month is Taras Boulba from Brasserie de la Senne (4.20 euros).

A laminated menu card on the bar lists the regular beers available. Beers can be served with ginger extract for a 40 cents supplement. Draught beers are priced for 25cl or 40cl servings.

Tim chose his favourite here - a large glass of draught Saison Verschueren (5 euros).

Our table was in the front room with an unusual 'stove', sprouting brass knobs, between us and the windows with stained glass sections.

In keeping with the cafe bar's floral name there was a charming painting of flowers on a wall.

Before leaving, Tim promised to return on Monday but would instead visited the sister establishment - Brasserie Verschueren. His promise will surely be kept eventually as La Fleur has become a firm favourite in Brussels.

A la Mort Subite

On a warm Monday afternoon, after visiting Woodpecker kiosk, Au Bon Vieux Temps and Le Corbeau with Andrew and Richard, our last beer together would be at the renowned A la Mort Subite, Rue Montagne aux Herbes Potageres 7.

The brasserie has high ceilings, rows of identical tables, bench seating against the long wall and ornate walls with many mirrors to make the space look even bigger. It was very quiet and so there was no chance to observe the practised technique of the waiters which usually provides some additional interest.

Draught Mort Subite Peche (6.50 euros) was Tim's refreshing beer of choice.

Tim, Richard and Andrew

All good things must come to an end but there was still time for a photo outside A la Mort Subite before Andrew and Richard headed for their Eurostar train back to London.

Brasserie Verschueren

A few hours later, in the evening of that warm Monday, the cafe tables outside Brasserie Verschueren, Saint Gilles, were busy while nearly all the tables inside were free.

It was a pleasure to return here, join the short queue at the bar, order a large Saison Verschueren / Verschu and drink it at a table surrounded by the minimalist art deco style surroundings of the cafe bar with all the windows open.

A 33cl bottle of Verschueren Tripel was the second beer Tim obtained from the bar.

With Twitter / X on his phone for company and some tunes playing on the sound system that suited his taste, the SoundHound music App and Simplenote again came in useful.

An obligatory photo of the historic football leagues indicator at the far end of the cafe bar was another memento of this relaxing evening.

Brasserie de l'Union

At the opposite end of Parvis de Saint-Gilles from the church, Brasserie de l'Union enjoys a prominent corner site with windows on two sides.

After a first visit to L'Ermitage Sant-Gilles, Tim sat inside Brasserie de l'Union for a beer and a meal before continuing to Brasserie Verschueren. The Plats du Jour listed on a blackboard were tempting and keenly priced but an order of a small spaghetti bolognese from the standard menu was delivered as a small vegetable lasagne. Perhaps an attempt to order in French would have achieved the intended result? However, this substitution was accepted without question and enjoyed.

Most beers are keenly priced at 4 euros (cash, no bank cards) and Brasserie Lupulus Organicus triple, brewed near the Luxembourg border, was refreshing. Music played here included Police & Thieves - Junior Murvin.