Leuven Jazz Festival - Sunday 24 March 2019

We had agreed in advance that a day out in Leuven would be a good idea based on our previous stay there in March 2018. Find links to five previous Leuven blog posts at the end of this post.

A sunny start to the day on Sunday 24 March 2019, the third day of our Brussels trip. A short walk to Brussels Midi station, weekend return tickets to Leuven for 6.60 euros each from the ticket machine, up the escalator to platform 12 and we found seats on the busy 10.56am train due to arrive at 11.24.

After a smooth ride mainly through flat countryside, you know you will soon be at Leuven station when the train passes the tall tanks of the Stella Artois brewery.
Leuven has several universities and as the student population declines at weekends some bars, that rely mainly on students as customers, are closed on Saturday &/or Sunday.

After our previous visit to Leuven in March 2018, West Berkshire CAMRA Ullage magazine (Summer 2018) published my feature on the visit including a photos of Koen and Steven at M-Cafe and Jef Janssens at Hof ten Dormaal Brewery. Unfortunately M-Cafe is closed on Sundays but I was able to leave printed copies of the back issue on the bar counter by entering via M-Museum.

This was also an opportunity to pick up a copy of the Leuven Jazz Festival brochure (7th edition, 14-24 March 2019).
There was a chance to glance at this with coffee in the sunshine at a table outside Picasso Cafe looking across the cobbled square of Monseignur Ladeuzeplein towards Jan Fabre's beetle 'Totem' and the historic Leuven university library and tower.

Although we had missed the 12.15 start time, we were able to enjoy free access to a dark gallery level of nearby 30CC/Schouwberg to watch the jazz / funk fusion band Electric Banana 2.0, with members of the band that won the first B-Jazz international contest 40 years previously.
Emerging into the sunlight we headed to Taverne Universum via Monseignur Ladeuzeplein. Sint-Donatus park.

Although Taverne Universum has a spacious interior and a reasonable beer menu, the irritating pop music resulted in us walking out and heading instead to STUK passing remains of the 12th century city walls in Sint Donatus park.

STUK cafe  (1/2)

We found the cafe at STUK: House for Dance, Image & Sound was open at 13:40.Several customers were busy with laptops.

For my first beer of the day, I enjoyed Trappist Orval (4.20 euros) although it was a slight disappointment that it was not served in the correct glass. With big windows facing Naamsestraat, this is a light and spacious 'Grand Cafe' space with a bar at one end and a stage near the entrance.

We reached the peaceful surroundings of the Groot Begijnhof / Great Beguinage from the Zwartzusterstraat pedestrian entrance. The only vehicles on the cobbled streets are bicycles.

Our visit coincided with the flowering of the magnolia tree on the river banks where a bridge crosses.

De Vetten Os

We left the Begijnhof and walked through residential streets to De Vetten Os, Simon's favourite locals bar in the city.

I was inspired by the sunshine to order Hoegaarden from the limited range of draught beers. We chose a sunny inside table although a few tables are also available outside, next to the road.
We had noticed there was not much traffic as through traffic uses the city's ring road.
Locals were chatting at the bar and a mature woman also arrived and ordered a glass of beer at another table. We were given a friendly farewell by all on our eventual departure at 4pm.

Cafe Belge

After recrossing the river Dijle by following Janseniusstraat we reached the open space of Pater Damiaanplein where foursomes were playing pickleball in marked court areas. From here we turned north towards Oude Markt where we found Cafe Belge, with the pulpit near the front for the DJ, had no other customers inside.

We checked the blackboard behind the ornate bar for the choice of draught and bottled beers and then also looked at the extensive illustrated beer menu.

Disappointingly, my choice of Brouwerij t'Verzet Space Cadet wheat beer (3.50 euro) was served in a generic glass and the taste was more bitter than expected.

Some good tunes were playing on the sound system including the Zombies - Time of the Season, Rodriguez - I Wonder and Creedence Clearwater Revival - Born on the Bayou. On leaving we noticed there were now several customers at the shady outside tables with views of Oude Markt.

De Fiere Margriet

We walked past St Peter's church with its incomplete bell tower to find that De Fiere Margriet was closed on Sunday.

De Blauwe Schuite

We continued on via Mechelsestraat pedestrian street and Vismarkt to De Blauwe Schuit.

We found a table by a tall window in the narrower front part of the large room. Further back the room widens with windows to the courtyard garden opposite the bar.

After looking through the beer menu we ordered Leuvense Tripel by Brouwerij van Steenberge (Tim 4.20 euro) and Trappist amber coloured La Trappe Quadrupel (Simon, 11% ABV). Thankfully both were served at our table in the correct glasses and met our expectations for beers to savour rather than quaff!

The beermats, with an illustration of a view of Monseignur Ladeuzeplein where we had earlier had coffee, bore the slogan which translates as 'Park your bike quickly and safely?'. The reverse has a link to Leuven's transport iniatives which make the city a pleasure to walk around in, without the fumes and dangers of car traffic.

Simon had been anxious that the bar's pet peacock might have disappeared so we were pleasantly surprised to spot him in the courtyard as we departed at 6pm.

There is plenty of space in the courtyard to spend time outside on a warm day.

De Blauwe Kater

Only two minutes walk from here back through Vismarkt to De Blauwe Kater at Mechelsestraat, 51.

There is a choice of 8 draught beers and a beer menu also lists a variety of bottled beers.

My choice was a bottle of Saison Dupont and Simon chose a bottle of La Guillotine after noticing the display on the left of the bar.

These were served to our ground floor table beside a window with a view towards Vismarkt which has provision for bicycle parking..
There was a live Blues Brothers album playing on the sound system which Simon recognised with pleasure. On this occasion we did not hear much else though!

Visit 'the Blue Cat' on a Monday evening if you want to enjoy live blues music from touring bands. Details of the next gig are shown on a blackboard.

The blues music theme extends to the photo signs clearly distinguishing the Ladies and Gents toilets.

We stayed for a second beer and this was a chance for me to try Brouwerij van Hoegaarden Julius (8.5% ABV, 4 euros), as advertised in the window.

Before she finished her shift, I persuaded Chantal Alvarez, who had served us, to pose with a current issue of the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine Ullage.

It was around 7.45pm when we left and retraced our steps towards St Peters Church and the illuminated historic town hall beyond to stop for a quick Greek style meal nearby.

De Metafoor

Around 8.15pm we arrived at De Metafoor at Parijsstraat 34, one street down from the Oude Markt.

Inside tables were occupied but there were seats at the bar. Simon wasn't impressed with his choice of Le Fort by Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste but my Hapkin by Brouwerij Alken-Maes (8.5% ABV, 4.60 euros), served in the correct glass, became a new favourite.

Views from the bar towards the street are of subtle trompe-l'oeil wall art (top) and the snake plants on the window ledges adjoining the central doorway.

STUK Cafe (2/2)

The final event in the Leuven Jazz Festival was a free gig by I H8 Camera 'Super 9' at STUK Cafe from 9pm. There was barely enough room for the 8 guitarists and drummer to fit on the stage!

We found a space to squeeze in two extra seats at the side and waited patiently for the music to start with glasses of De Koninck Triple D'Anvers to ease the frustration of the delay. It was necessary to leave before the end of the show to catch the 22.33 train to Brussels Central station.

Brussels - Brewdog & Le Roi des Belges

Arriving at Brewdog Brussels, opposite the station entrance after 11pm, there was plenty of seating space.

We ordered 25cl glasses and my choice of Small Batch Juicy IPA tasted good and was less hazy than expected.

When staff started tidying up empty glasses from the tables, it was a sign that we should soon leave but there was still time to get Dana from Brewdog to pose with the Summer 2018 issue of Ullage for an #UllageOnTour photo to include in the @UllageBeer twitter feed.

With our hotel a 25 minute walk away towards Lemonnier we also managed to stop off at Le Roi des Belges at Place Saint Gery for a nightcap after midnight. A check on Untappd confirms that Simon's choice was Gageleer by De Proefbrouwerij an organic beer with bog myrtle.
A magazine rack on the wall seemed an appropriate place to leave my spare copy of Ullage magazine before we finally called it a night.

Links to 2018 Leuven blog posts:

 

Thursday 22 March - includes De Fiere Margriet, The Capital  Leuven Thursday Night
Friday 23 March - includes STUK, De Spuye Leuven Friday
                            - includes M-Cafe, Cafe Belge  Leuven Friday Night
Saturday 24 March - includes De Blauwe Schuit, Hof ten Dormaal  Leuven Saturday
                                - iucludes De Blauwe Kater, De Metafoor  Leuven Saturday Night 

Simon & Tim - The Capital - Thursday 22 March 2018

Leuven - Saturday

After grey skies on Friday, it was nice to wake up on Saturday 24 March 2018 and see blue skies above Leuven railway and bus stations from my 6th floor room at the Ibis Budget hotel.
Our plan was to visit Hof ten Dormaal brewery in the afternoon, a bus ride away from Leuven.
Buses in Leuven, Mechelen and Antwerp are operated by De Lijn.

The first task for today was to buy a 10-ride Lijn Kaart (16 euro) from the ticket office at the bus station. After a walk into town, Simon and I enjoyed a bargain breakfast of coffee and croissant at EXKi, Rector De Somerplein 8, where the special offer is available until 11am.

We passed a market next to St Peter's church that included a stall with Belgian beer glasses for sale at reasonable prices.

With time to spare before the bus to the brewery we passed the Fishmarket square, which is now home to De Blauwe Kater, on the way to another bar with 'blue' in its name - De Blauwe Schuit.

The Blue Barge entrance passage houses part of a (red and white) barge and gives views to an inner courtyard which is home to a splendid peacock.

We entered the main bar, above street level, and found a table in the sunshine. Simon ordered a Hopus and I chose a Poperings Hommelbier which is brewed with hops from Poperinge.

The high-ceilinged bar is decorated with nautical and travel related items including an old map of the Belgian Congo. An unusual mixture of music (Ghostbusters, Don't lose my number (Phil Collins)) was playing a bit too loudly for a lunchtime.
We caught the delayed 284 bus (towards Mechelen) from the stop at nearby Dirk Boutslaan to Tildonk Brug, a journey of 25 minutes via Herent. We were able to validate the Lijn Kaart twice to cater for two passengers.

Google maps estimated the 1.8km level walk to Hof ten Dormaal brewery would take 23 minutes. We passed Kasteeltje van Tildonk dating from 1642. Only a few cars and cyclists would pass us on the narrow Kasteeldreef road.

Some barking and shouting preceded our arrival at Brouwerij Hof ten Dormaal when the farm's dog took an interest in a dog being exercised by passing cyclists. We were admitted to the farm at Caubergstraat 2 and then into the tasting room on the left of the gates.

It was just after the 2pm opening time and we were the first customers to arrive. The wood-buring stove was warming the large room with traditional furniture.

Having established that we were planning to sample several beers it was agreed that we would each use tasting glasses (for the forthcoming Leuven Innovation Beer Festival) and share bottles.

We started with the 7.5% ABV Saison. It has low bitterness (20 IBU) 'lightly sour, brewed only with grain and hops, made right here'.

Witgoud, an 8% ABV beer (25 IBU) is brewed with chicory 'Belgian Endive, and dates back generations to a time when the Flemish region of Belgium prospered from its growth'. We were told that after some time in the oven, slices of chicory are added to the brew. Witgoud is the brewery's best selling beer in Belgium.  

André Janssens sat with us for a while to talk about the brewery and the Leuven Innovation Beer Festival. I gave André a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine to read. The spring issue had a front page story about Tutts Clump Cider.

From the 'Zure van Tildonk' (Sour from Tildonk) range we tried Stekelbees (6% ABV), made with locally picked gooseberries.

André kindly suggested a tour of the farm and brewery given by himself and Jef, his son and brewer. 

A hop garden is part of the farm and an old chain-driven machine is used to separate the hops from the bines. André mentioned an innovation they are looking into is to grow hops with artifical lighting to provide green hops outside the traditional season.

Spent grain from the brewing process is used as feed for the cows on the farm. Swiss cows were chosen as less time and effort is needed at calving time.

Viewed from an elevated platform, the main brewing vessels include a Mash Tun, Lauter Tun, Kettle and Whirlpool (on the right). Although having copper exteriors, the Mash Tun (left) and Kettle both have stainless steel interiors for ease of cleaning.

So far, so relatively familiar, but then Jef showed us an oak Foeder that would usually be filled.

Jef opened it up so that the heating element could be seen inside. A variety of wooden barrels for ageing beer were stored in the open floor above the Foeders.

We chatted with Jef after the tour on the walk back to the Tasting Room and Simon discovered that English football is one of his interests. Jef later revealed that he is interested in tanks and ships and has enjoyed a visit to Bovington Tank Museum.

Jef sat with us and kindly offered to share his bottle of Dad's Tea with me. This new beer in the range is a 6.5% ABV Saison brewed with Jasmine Tea in a bag introduced to the wort at the end of the boil. This was my favourite beer of the visit and before leaving I would buy two bottles to take home.
When asked about the relative merits of Mechelen and Leuven, Jef replied that he only has time for Leuven. He is fond of the city and recommended De Fiere Margriet in Leuven as the best bar.

The beer that Simon was keen to try was Frambuesa y Chocolate, a 7% ABV beer made with raspberries that was quite sour and fruity.

By now it was 5.30pm and this would be our last beer although there were still plenty more from the brewery that we did not have time to taste! There had been a steady turnover of customers during the afternoon including cyclists enjoying the better weather but Simon and I may be among the few beer enthusiasts able to claim they spent the whole afternoon in the Hof ten Dormaal Tasting Room and Brewery!

By the time we left at 6pm the low sun provided a nice light on the pond across the road from the farm. We set off to retrace our steps to Tildonk Bridge. The Janssens family had really looked us after on this visit but the icing on the cake was when a car stopped in front of us and driver André indicated for us to get inside. 

André handed me a bottle of Hof ten Dormaal cider he had mentioned earlier as originally aimed at the USA market. Once on our way Andre spotted the Leuven bus approaching at a junction. He drove us just past the bus stop, trapping the bus so that we could board immediately! The bus took us to Leuven station, giving us a chance for a break, at our nearby hotel, before setting out again for our last evening in Leuven.