Beer in Brussels - Sunday 3 July 2022

 

Simon and Tim travelled from Antwerp to Brussels Midi by train and then walked through a busy Sunday market and then along Avenue de Stalingrad to reach Cafe Bebo at its northern end, where it joins Place Rouppe.

While Tim checked into economical and nearby Hotel Barry, Simon enjoyed a glass of Duchesse De Bourgogne at a pavement table. (Simon's luggage had already been deposited at the station in readiness for his evening departure by Eurostar to London).

It is only a short walk from Place Rouppe to Place Fontainas.

Tim's first beer in Brussels would be served inside at Moeder Lambic (Fontainas) where it was not busy and the background music was mainly Europop.

While Simon (above) enjoyed a glass of Quetsche Tilquin, Tim enjoyed a glass of Troubadour Magma NEIPA. These were poured from two of the forty or so taps.

There are now two banks of taps at the back of the bar and two more banks on the bar itself. 

With so many taps for a wide choice there are few bottles listed on the daily beer menu.

It is now 'bar service' and it appears there are no longer any handpumps at Moeder Lambic for cask beer. Some seats near the entrance have been removed to make way for a raised and tiled space, perhaps intended as an open storage area? 

Moeder Lambic (Fontainas) must surely be an essential destination for any beer enthusiast's Brussels visit.

With an evening train to catch, Simon was keen to visit nearby Poechenellekelder and enjoy a lasagne meal in advance of our friends, who were catching a later train from Antwerp to meet up with us at Brasserie de la Mule.

Situated near the Mannekin Pis tourist hotspot, all the tables in the courtyard were taken so we sat inside, near the stairway leading up from the entrance, with music from a talented singer-guitarist just outside providing a good background.

From the extensive beer menu, Simon chose Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers Oerbier and Tim chose Orval (after finding that V Cense from Brasserie de Jandrain-Jandrenouille was not available).

Our drinks were professionally poured and served with a small bowl of complimentary snacks. Simon could not finish his lasagne, served with a generous basket of bread so Tim also had something to eat before his evening meal! As usual, Poechenellekelder did not disappoint and is another essential Beer in Brussels destination.

On the way to the tram stop to take us to Schaerbeek, we walked up Rue du Chene and passed Gist and the statue of Jacques Brel at Place de la Vieille Halle au Bles. Tim would revisit Poechenellekelder and Gist in the evening. 

Tram 92 runs from Palais to Pogge and we arrived at Brasserie de la Mule, 95 Rue Reubens, soon after 5pm.

The building was once a tram depot and stable for the horses that once pulled them. The courtyard furniture is made from wooden pallets and cable drums. Tim's first beer (above) was Straight Saison (6% ABV) served in a tall wheat beer style glass with good value at 5 euros for 50cl.

It was good to meet up again with the 'usual suspects' from Antwerp although Dave had travelled on to Amsterdam instead. Out of service trams are still stored behind the old tram depot - as visible in the photo.

Inside, the Bar de la Mule is a large space with a vaulted ceiling and seating areas at both ends. Table football can be played at the end which leads to the courtyard at the side.

Brewery vessels and the canning line can be seen before entering the bar area and when leaving. 

With a train to catch, Simon was the first to leave. Before the rest of us left at 7.30pm there was time for another tall beer (an amber coloured Hefe Weisse Naturtrüb for Tim).

There was also time to speak to Guillaume who had single-handedly managed the bar all day. Tim left a copy of West Berkshire CAMRA Ullage magazine with him for customers to read.

Note that live music and other events are often held at Brasserie de la Mule and event details are updated on Facebook.

A photo opportunity for Tim (Thomas) as the group of four reached Thomas tram stop, at the junction of Rue du Progres and Avenue Philippe Thomas.

Tram 3, south towards Churchill, would take us to Beurs. Esplanade is the northern terminus on this route. Presenting an enabled contactless bank card to the reader onboard charges 2.10 euros for an hour's travel on the STIB-MIVB network. 

We passed some Tintin street art in Rue de l'Etuve, just south of Rue du Lombard, as we approached Poechenellekelder.

Tim was happy to revisit Poechenellekelder and to sit outside this time.

He chose Moinette for his first evening beer. This time there was no complimentary bowl of snacks to nibble. This Brasserie Dupont 8.5% ABV flagship beer was created in 1955.

Here's a photo of Tim's lasagne at Poechenellekelder from a 2019 visit. Once again it was a popular meal choice. Unlike the afternoon visit, there was no basket of bread accompaniment on this occasion. It was generous of Richard to pay for all our meals. He was feeling rich after patting a different pocket while at Brasserie de la Mule and discovering that the wallet which he had thought had been pickpocketed, while on the tram to Schaerbeek earlier, had not been stolen after all!

With its collection of wooden puppets, there is always something unusual to photograph on the route to the toilets at Poechenellekelder. These are reached after negotiating stairs up from the entrance and then down to the basement from bar level. 

It was deja vu again for Tim as the group walked up Rue du Chene but this time we would find a table inside Gist which was dimly lit. It was good to see a handpump in action here even though not placed in the most ergonomic position on the bar!

There have been several changes since a previous visit to Gist in 2019 when it was run by Jenlain and Jody - see previous post. The loud music from vinyl records has been toned down and the decor has changed.

The new decor includes cymbals as shades for lighting fixtures.

Gist is now an Untappd verified venue and details of available beers can be checked online. 

Tim received a 'Gist Brussels Family' badge after checking in his first beer (Blanche Cassis by Drogenbos) on the Untappd app (as timofnewbury).

Despite its name, Urine a 7% ABV DIPA collaboration between Brasserie du Borinage and Bastard Brewers tasted good and was served in a can shaped branded glass.

Although Gist was not busy later on, the helpful staff kept the bar open until the advertised closing time of midnight on Sunday.

Note that a range of Brasserie de la Mule canned beers, with colourful labels by AMMO illustration, are available at Gist.

Gist has become another essential Beer in Brussels bar to visit, especially for craft beer enthusiasts!

The regularly updated Brussels Beer City blog by Eoghan Walsh has more news about beer in Brussels and is highly recommended.

Eoghan's latest book 'A History of Brussels Beer in 50 Objects' includes #49 Brasserie de la Mule Hefe Weisse.

A review of Brussels Beer City

Originally from Ireland, Eoghan Walsh has lived in Brussels for around ten years. Eoghan founded the Brussels Beer City blog in 2017. He was awarded Best Young Beer Writer of 2018 by the British Guild of Beer Writers. Eoghan contributes articles to Ferment, Pellicle and other publications.

Based on his articles featured in the now-defunct Belgian Beer & Food magazine, Eoghan published Brussels Beer City: Stories from Brussels’ Brewing Past as a printed book and e-book with a launch event at Brussels Beer Project on 7 October 2020.

On 22 October, an online book launch event and drink-a-long with Eoghan Walsh was hosted by Breandán Kearney, Belgian Smaak on Zoom. The beers suggested to complement the Q&A session were: Zinnebir, Zenne Pils (both Brasserie de la Senne) and Cantillon Gueuze, all brewed in Brussels.

An introductory chapter ‘A Tumultuous Past’ charts the history of brewing in Brussels through its vanished breweries leaving Cantillon as Brussels’ sole commercial brewery for nearly two decades until Brasserie de la Senne opened their brewery in Molenbeek in 2010.

Subsequent chapters cover vanished breweries: De Boeck; Atlas; Vandenheuvel; Wielemans-Ceuppens; Leopold; Belle-Vue and Caulier.

Boulevard Maurice Lemonnier - near Brussels Midi station

An Epilogue ‘In search of lost beers’ describes a Sunday spent with Joe Stange on a mission to drink a beer from each of the last four centuries of Brussels brewing history – Boon Lambic, Cantillon Geueze, CTS Scotch and Zinnebir ‘a Brussels pale ale’.

‘Catch a Falling Star’, the Vandenheuvel chapter looks at 1958, when the Atomium was the centrepiece of Expo 58 in Heizel and the brewery’s Ekla Pils was the ‘star of the Expo’. Within a decade many of the 32 breweries supplying Expo 58 had been merged or closed. Vandenheuvel was shut down, by its new owner Watneys, in 1974.

‘Monsieur Constant’, the Belle-Vue chapter describes the career of Constant Vanden Stock as patriarch of the Belle-Vue brewery which transformed the Lambic industry and president of Anderlecht football club. Eoghan’s interest in the football aspect reveals that he ‘always wanted to be a sports writer’.

The slim book, illustrated with a photograph for each chapter, lacks a map. After tracing online the brewery locations mentioned, my interest in visiting the remaining brewery buildings or traces, resulted in the production of a rough map (below) to illustrate this article and to complement the book. The map’s key identifies the icons which indicate whether any traces or buildings of the historic breweries remain.

The paperback book and Kindle edition can be purchased at: Amazon