Brussels Beer Project and Café Walvis

From the centre of Brussels or Place Saint-Géry, find Rue Antoine Dansaert and head north west to find Brussels Beer Project and Café Walvis just before reaching the canal and the Molenbeek neighbourhood beyond.

Place Saint-Géry

Although less than half a mile from Place Saint-Géry and Place de la Bourse, you will notice the change in style from smart bars and exclusive fashion shops towards unimpressive fast food outlets as you head towards Molenbeek.

Café Walvis

On Thursday 17 March 2016, we stopped for lunch and a beer at Café Walvis after noticing the colourful Brussels Beer Project posters in the windows. 

Inside the cafe / bar has an airy feel from windows on both sides. There are tables by the windows and bar stools provide seating at the angled central bar counter. Some good indie music was playing on the sound system including Herman Dune. This may reflect the fact that regular DJ and live music events are held here.

I chose Vedett Extra White, brewed by Duvel Moortgat, from a choice of six draught beers that also included La Chouffe and De Koninck.

A waitress took our lunch order for soup of the day and a portion of cheese which would be served wrapped in striped paper. The vegetable soup (of the day) was served in large bowls with bread and butter and was good value.
With the advantage of a situation near Porte de Flandre tram (#51) stop and opposite Brussels Beer Project, Café Walvis is well worth a visit.

Brussels Beer Project

 

It was now after 2pm and across the street at 188 Rue Antoine Dansaert, Brussels Beer Project had opened.

The limited opening hours are shown in the window.

A multi level stainless steel bar is the first thing you notice on entry. The beer fonts are located behind the bar counter. Further inside the building is the tasting room and brewery.

Between the bar and the tasting room a boldly decorated area states 'We are who we are' and provides background material on the Project.

 The list of draught and bottled beers is projected onto a wall at the end of the bar.

To start, I ordered two 12.5 cl glasses of Grosse Bertha and I like it Bitter costing 1.6 & 1.9 euros respectively and we found a table in the tasting room. Glasses on the table had malted barley grains and hop pellets.

Grosse Bertha, a 7% ABV Belgian Hefeweizen was my favourite beer here and I would later buy two bottles to take home (at a bargain price).

My slightly lower score on Untappd for I like it Bitter, a 8.1% ABV Double IPA probably reflects that I don't like it very bitter (70 IBU)!

It was great to be drinking good beers at the source and to have a chance to see the brewery itself. There was a lively atmosphere as we had turned up during a visit to the brewery by a group from Goose Island Beer Company of Chicago on a 'Migration Week' tour of Europe.
The founders of Brussels Beer Project, who raised finance by crowdfunding, Olivier de Brauwere and Sébastien Morvan as well as the head brewer, Yves Leboeuf, were all on hand to answer questions.

Simon and I kept out of everyone's way and enjoyed our beers from a table at the far end of the spacious and stylish tasting room which also has storage for crates of bottled beer and room for parking bikes!

For our next beers, Simon and I shared bottles of Smells like Hops Spirit, a hoppy session beer, and Princess Jasmine, and Oriental Witbier, but found these 'Limited Edition' beers less impressive than the draught beers we had enjoyed previously. The unusual styles and titles reflect one of the project's taglines 'Leave the Abbey, Join the Playground!'.

Head Brewer - Yves Leboeuf

Before leaving, I was able to have a quick chat with Yves and give him a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine which I edit.

Now it was time to leave and catch a tram to Brussels Midi station in time for our Eurostar train to London St Pancras International.

Brussels Beer Project - Brewery and Taproom
Rue Antoine Dansaert, 188
1000 Brussels
Website: www.beerproject.be

Taproom Open
Thursday, Friday and Saturday
from 14h to 22h / 2pm to 10pm
 
NB Check details above in case of changes after publication (April 2016).

Café Walvis
Rue Antoine Dansaert, 209
1000 Brussels
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cafewalvis 

Brussels Map

Brussels Beer Project is the orange marker in the top left of the map above. 
Map link for an interactive map with notes and photos that can be displayed by clicking on the markers:  www.google.com/maps

Bristol - Moor Beer Co brewery tap

On 5 March, a coach took Oxford CAMRA Beer Festival volunteers from Oxford to Bristol. The coach arrived in Colston Street at 11.30am before many pubs had opened.

Shot tower viewed from Castle Park

Steve and I walked to the Moor Beer Tap arriving soon after the noon opening time.

Bicycle racks are provided outside the entrance to Moor Beer Tap in Days Road, not far from the end of the Bristol & Bath Railway Path.

To celebrate the launch of Union' Hop, a special offer on the day was a pint of the 4.1% ABV British hopped ultra pale ale and a Pieminister pie for £6.

While the pies were warming up we each chose three beers in third pint glases. I chose Union' Hop, So' Hop and Nor' Hop. These pale ales are all 4.1% ABV, unfined and naturally hazy, with hops from Britain, Southern and Northern hemispheres respectively.

Once the pies had warmed up it was time to take advantage of the pie offer including a pint of Union' Hop.

Before leaving Moor beer tap, a final third pint of a rare beer from the guest ale tap was irresistible. Take Five (7% ABV) is an Imperial Stout with vanilla and figs from Cerveza Domus (Toledo, Spain).

Moor Beer Company has won numerous awards for its beers and a visit to the brewery tap in Bristol is recommended (Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday).

The Barley Mow, Barton Road, Bristol

Sadly, there was not enough time for me to go inside the Barley Mow, the nearest pub to Moor Beer Company and also Bristol Beer Factory's flagship pub.

However, there was still time to visit other beer bars and pubs in Bristol before catching the coach back to Oxford at 6.30pm.

Google map showing Moor brewery tap (green tag) and other pubs visited.

Moor Beer Company, Days Road, Bristol. BS2 0QS
moorbeer.co.uk

Mondo Brewing Company - Battersea

Six West Berkshire based beer enthusiasts headed to South London on Saturday 16 January. Blog posts by London Beer Guide and Matthew Curtis Total Ales inspired us to visit Mondo Brewing Company in Battersea.

Having visited Brixton Brewery and Bullfinch Brewery at Herne Hill earlier in the day we arrived at Wandsworth Road station by Overground train in the late afternoon. Leaving the station we turned right and walked along Wandsworth Road past McDonald's.

Amesbury & Durrington - Westbury Estate

We turned left into Stewarts Road and walked 300 metres to reach Mondo Brewing Company at 86-92 Stewarts Road. There was a view of the sun setting behind two tower blocks on the Westbury Estate as we neared the brewery.

Unlike the two breweries, situtated underneath railway arches, which we had visited earlier, Mondo Brewing Company has an industrial building as its home. The taproom is situated on the ground floor with security windows made from glass blocks.

The leather seated bar stools are comfortable to sit on and the large tables are ideal for groups like ours.

The oak barrel tables near to the bar, the polished floor and industrial style metal lampshades are other noticeable design features in the taproom.

A wide choice of beer styles was clearly listed on the board near the bar. The columns list ABV and price in £s for 1/2 pint, 2/3 pint and 1 pint.

Our party chose half pint glasses in order to sample as many beers as possible. My first beer was Rider APA (4.6% ABV) served in a distinctively shaped branded glass. Mondo Brewing Company branded beer mats are also provided in the taproom.

From our table we could see through a full height window into the brewery itself. The glass block taproom windows are reflected in the window separating the taproom from the brewery. This was a Saturday so there was no visible activity in the brewery itself.

(Photo: Chris Reynolds)

The state of the art bottling machinery is also visible through the window from the taproom.

(Photo: Chris Reynolds)

My second beer at Mondo Brewing Co was Queenstown APA (5% ABV), another refreshing pale ale.

There wasn't time to taste all the beers so I bought 330 ml bottles of Kemosabe IPA (6.4% ABV)  and London Alt (4.8% ABV) from the tall fridge beside the bar to take home. Columbus, Cascade and Centennial hops are used for brewing Kemosabe. London Alt is a Dusseldorf style 'old' ale with a sweet malt character balanced with a floral aroma from the Spalt hops. The bottles have a distinctive smoothly curved shape which match the branded glasses.

Look out for framed original paintings in the taproom and on the staircase to the toilets on the first floor.

The spotlit artworks are another visible example of the care taken by Mondo Brewing Company over all aspects of the business.

Mondo Brewing Company, 86 Stewarts Road, Battersea, London SW8 4UG
Website: www.mondobrewingcompany.com 
Tel: 0207 720 0782
Twitter: @mondobrewing

The Tap House - Opening Hours (copied from website 24/1/2016. Phone to confirm current hours)

Monday & Tuesday     Closed

Wednesday - Friday    17:00 - 23:00

Saturday                      12:00 - 23:00 (NB: Winter opening at 14:00)

Sunday                        12:00 - 18:00 (NB: Winter closed on Sundays)

Blog posts which include more information about the founders, brewhouse, beers and taproom:

Leighton Smith blog post for London Beer Guide - The Mondo Tap House: one of London's best brewery taprooms www.londonbeerguide.co.uk/2016/01/the-mondo-tap-house-one-of-londons-best.html

Matthew Curtis blog post about Mondo Brewing Company, Battersea and UK Craft Beer's Second Wave www.totalales.co.uk/blog/2016/1/2/mondo-brewing-company-battersea-and-uk-craft-beers-second-wave 

Bullfinch Brewery taproom - Herne Hill

Six West Berkshire based beer enthusiasts headed to South London on Saturday 16 January.

Having seen A London Beer and Pub Guide tweet that listed Bullfinch Brewery as one of the top three new London taprooms in 2015, the Herne Hill based taproom was part of our itinerary.

After visiting Brixton Brewery shortly after opening time at noon, we headed to Bullfinch Brewery in Herne Hill by alternative routes. 

Brixton station

Tim used his travelcard to catch the Victoria to Sevenoaks train from Brixton station. Herne Hill was the first stop on this service which operates every 15 minutes on Saturdays. The others walked to Herne Hill.

From Herne Hill station it is a short walk down Norwood Road, beside Brockwell Park, until a left turn into Rosendale Road leads you to Bullfinch Brewery, located under railway arches. The taproom is in arch 887.

The unit may not look open from the road but if the gates are open and the blackboard is outside then the Bullfinch Brewery taproom is open with access through a door within the blue roller shutters.

A blackboard next to the arch shows the taproom opening hours (subject to change).
On a clear, cold day, we decided to sit inside the taproom and not on the benches outside.

Inside, it was not much warmer than outside yet so we kept our coats on and ordered from the range of beers which included keg and cask options.

Keg beers are competitively priced at £4.50 pint with cask beers at £4 pint. My first half was Luna (4% ABV), a light pale ale, served in a tulip shaped glass. After this refreshing beer it was time for a half of Milou (6% ABV) a zingy saison.

Milou - Saison

Apart from a busy photographer we were the first arrivals at the taproom and spread ourselves around the picnic tables set up inside.

The tables were laid with hessian cloths and the bench seats were covered by strips of blanket.

The taproom is lit by strings of bulbs suspended overhead. It was soon time to return to the bar which has an illuminated lettered sign and original artwork of the 'horned' bullfinch adjacent.

On the other side of the bar is a display of bottles and snacks. One or Two pint take away containers are available.

I took the opportunity to deliver some copies of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine. Rascal (4.8% ABV), a session APA, was my final beer at the Bullfinch Brewery taproom.

Rascal is currently hopped with Kazbek, Simcoe, Ahtanum and Columbus hops.

Rascal is one of the beers available in 330ml bottles along with Empire (7% ABV) a Transatlantic IPA hopped with English (Target) and American (Ahtanum) hops, Wolf (5.8% ABV) an American Pale Ale and RyPA (5.8% ABV) a full flavoured Rye IPA.

Ryan McLean with Ullage

Before leaving there was time to buy some bottles to take away and have a chat with Ryan. I was able to hand him a copy of Ullage and pass on greetings to him from Andy Parker (Elusive Brewing) who knew him from the days when Bullfinch Brewery used to operate from a railway arch on the Bermondsey 'beer mile'.

The next stop on our tour of South London taprooms would be Mondo Brewing Co in Battersea. We caught a 68 bus from Norwood Road to Denmark Hill and then an Overground train from Denmark Hill (photo) to Wandsworth Road station.

Bullfinch Brewery, Arch 886 / 887, Rosendale Rd, London SE24 9EH
Phone: 0789 9795823
Website: www.thebullfinchbrewery.co.uk 
Twitter: @Bullfinch_Ale

Taproom details from Bullfinch Brewery website (22/1/2016):

Our tap room is open every Friday, Saturday & Sunday and is in the adjacent arch to the brewery.

We have 12 taps featuring our core range of beers plus our experimental and exclusive editions, we also have guest beers from our favourite local breweries.

We are dog and kid friendly.

The tap room hours are:

Friday 16:00-22:00
Saturday 13:00-22:00
Sunday 13:00-22:00

Please note we are in a residential area and kindly ask our patrons to be respectful of our neighbours.