Antwerp - Spring 2024

For a three night visit in March 2024, we stayed at the recently renovated Hotel National which is well located within easy walking distance of Groenplaats and its metro station, served by several tram routes from Antwerp Centraal station environs.

Many of the city's best beer cafe bars are within easy walking distance. Over this stay, Tim enjoyed showing Meg some of his favourites, previously featured in posts on this blog, including: 

De Ware Jacob (run by Guy Dockx with Brasserie Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux on draught and bottles / cans of beers from all the Antwerp area breweries); 

Het Souke (run by Jacob Gouka with well chosen music and beers); 

Kulminator (run by Dirk and Leen with classical music playing but a bit chilly inside on this occasion. NB Cash only, give purpose of visit as to taste beer and not just drink it!);

De Vagant  

De Vagant (run by Bart Daems with high ceiling, a good choice of beers and jenevers);

Pelikaan (on a Melkmarkt corner, decorated with enamel signs on the outside and neon signs inside).

De Muze

Opposite Pelikaan on Melkmarkt, it was a pleasant surprise to visit De Muze, for the first time, after spotting on the bar's Facebook page that it features live jazz music every night.

On our first visit we found a 'railway carriage style' private table with a view of the side of the stage. 

De Muze 5 featuring a pianist, double bass, drums, sax and trumpet sounded great. There's no admission charge but a 50 cent supplement per drink is applied when live music is on, usually after 9pm.

There's a good draught beer menu (photo above) and a further two dozen bottled beers to choose from.

With dim lighting, high ceilings and interesting decor, De Muze has a lot of character and we revisited the following night for more jazz and beer!

Cafe Scaldis

Tim has visited many of Antwerp's traditional beer cafes featured in Regula Ysewijn's book 'Belgian Cafe Culture'. On this stay his mission was to visit Cafe Scaldis, Cadixstraat1 in Eilandje neighbourhood, once the heart of docklands but now surrounded by new residential housing developments.

As Regula Ysewijn writes 'Cafe Scaldis was founded in 1946 by the parents of current landlady Jose. The wooden bar comes from a 1920s cafe which makes cafe Scaldis look a lot older than it is'. 

A visit needs to be planned carefully as it is only open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 12 noon until midnight. Note also that cash payment is expected.

After a visit to nearby Museum aan de Stroom (MAS), on a bright afternoon, with a cold east wind blowing, we opted to sit inside cafe Scaldis. As the only customers seated inside, for some of the time, it was a pleasure to chat with Jose and to be photographed with her before leaving.

Stella Artois is the only beer on tap but bottled beers are also available. When it's busier the barrel tables in front of the bar allow groups to sit together at the bar. Jose mentioned that her regular customers usually visit later in the day.

More revisits + Cafe Hopper + Chatleroi

With time to spare between leaving Cafe Scaldis and 4pm when the Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie taproom opens on a Thursday in March, we walked further north to view the architecturally impressive Antwerp Port House / Havenhuis. The old fire station is topped by the new Zaha Hadid Architects' structure. It is situated at the northern end of the 24 tram route. 

Also of architectural interest is the Straatsburgbrug (Strasbourg Bridge) 'traction station' brick building nearby which the tram circles before returning to the city. The oval-shaped building includes external steps to allow elevated viewpoints for the public and was designed by Van Belle & Medina as part of the Brabo 2 project. 

It's always a pleasure to visit the Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie taproom. The soundtrack was a mixed bag on this afternoon but it was nice to hear Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Tim left an Ullage magazine (Autumn 2023) which included a feature on the taproom for its founder, Johan Van Dyck, who had kindly provided our group with an impromptu brewery tour in June 2023.

Also visited in June 2023, Dr Beer was our next destination, also quite near to MAS. It was busy for a Thursday afternoon but we found a good table (near hanging cane chairs and an anatomical model!) in the cosy surroundings and were expertly assisted in choosing beers by Jeroen Peeters who was happy to provide Meg with a sample of De Mortselarij Miss-T to taste from a stemmed black glass.

Before leaving, Jeroen was pleased to be given a West Berkshire CAMRA Ullage magazine (Autumn 2023) with a mention of Dr Beer and he had soon featured a photo of us with it on the bar and shop's instagram account realdrbeer.

On our last morning in Antwerp we visited the renovated Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA) which is recommended for art and design lovers. There were special exhibits about James Ensor and Rik Wouters. Remember to allow enough time to get maximum value from the 20 euro admission charge.

It's situated in the Zuid neighbourhood, even further south from the cathedral than Dansing Chocola, where we dined on the night we arrived. 

Although impressed by the art and interiors, we decided against refreshments at the cafe at KMSKA and instead headed to the roundabout at the southern end of Leopold de Waelplaats, the space in front of the museum. There are several cafes in this vicinity including Chatleroi, Wijnbistro Patine and Cafe Hopper. A blackboard outside Chatleroi (closed until 4pm) lists dates when the cafe hosts concerts and DJs. 

We were happy with our eventual choice of Cafe Hopper where most tables were taken. Some customers were reading from a supply of newspapers on top of a grand piano and good music was playing. While Meg had a cappuccino, Tim finally ordered his first Bolleke De Koninck of the visit (normally the first beer ordered, when in the city where it's brewed, rather than the last!).

Liverpool 2024 - revisits

 

It was nice to meet up with friends in Liverpool in January 2024 and visit some of the best pubs in the city.

A separate post will cover a taproom and pubs visited for the first time while this post only includes revisits, in chronological order.

Peter Kavanagh's

Just off a main bus route along Catharine Street (75, 80, 86A etc) Peter Kavanagh's is situated at 2-6 Egerton Street.

The pub is listed in CAMRA's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors and start with the distinctive entrance. The oversized door bars marked 'Push' and 'Pull' are also a feature on internal doors.

A Monday lunchtime visit (22/1/2024) allowed our group to occupy a small room on the right of the entrance at the front. The original circular tables incorporate a central sunken ash tray section.

A similar sized room on the right, just beyond the bar, at the back, features several bulky old radios.

As well as old radios, a central area at the front of the pub also features two old bicycles.

Cask ales on the bar included Blueberry Hill (Porter - Big Bog Brewing Co, Speke, Liverpool) and White Rat (Ossett Brewery, West Yorkshire). The total charge for Tim's half pint of Blueberry porter and Meg's half pint of lime and soda was £2.85. 

N.B. Due to medication affecting Tim's taste on this trip there are no tasting notes in this post.

A separate post includes The Belvedere where our group stayed for a while on the way to the Roscoe Head.

The Roscoe Head

Having left the Belvedere before the main group, Jon and Dennis were settled in at The Roscoe Head, 24 Roscoe Street, when we arrived. The barman coped admirably with our influx and wishes to pay individually. With a £5 minimum card payment some cash payments were required. Tim chose Porteresque (Milkshake Porter, Hophurst Brewery, Wigan) from the six cask ales on the blackboard. The pumpclips on the bank of three handpumps on the adjacent bar were turned around so that they are also visible from the main bar.

Jon, Dennis, Mark and Les are visible in this photo (left to right). The fire in our room was not lit and there was a cold draught. 

Closing the window improved the ambience, especially for those under it like Bod and Steve! This is a classic pub with reliable beer and the only Northern pub to have been included in every edition of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. After some discussion it was decided to move on to the recently opened White Hart / Engineer with an entrance at 23 Hope Street. After a subsequent visit to Doctor Duncan's, facing St John's Gardens near Lime Street station, we walked down Dale Street for a visit to the Vernon Arms, previously visited on a January Sunday in 2019.

The Vernon Arms

Fondly remembered for its sloping floor it was a pleasure to revisit the Vernon Arms quite late on a Monday night and find a good space for our group at the foot of the slope!

Mark was on his phone again but so was I to take this photo of him and Les with a backdrop of the Manet painting - A bar at the Folies-Bergere - that includes bottles of Bass. My half pint here (centre of table) was Zenith - The IPA (Cross Bay Brewing, Morecambe). Despite the late hour, there was no hurry to close up and later an easy downhill walk from here back to our hotel.

The Lion Tavern

We approached the Lion Tavern indirectly via Eberle Street and stopped to get a photo of a mural there. It was raining and at this point a couple of young Liverpudlians offered us the gift of an umbrella but we politely declined. The most direct approach is via Moorfields with an entrance at Number 67.

This was the one pub that I was determined to revisit on this trip was the Lion Tavern, near Moorfields station. I had brought along a spare copy of Ullage magazine which included a photo of landlord Dave Hardman taken on my 2022 visit. The article also mentions the corresponding Beer Europe blog post. With the rest of the group having departed by Tuesday afternoon, this would be the last pub in Liverpool visited by Meg and I for a beer on this trip.

Although Dave was not at the pub on Tuesday evening Tim was able to give the Ullage magazine to Mark, behind the bar, for him to pass on. The regular and guest cask ales and cider are described on a board under the clock and behind the bar where a 'Total eclipse of the S*n' poster is also on display.

Tim's first half pint was the regular mild - Moorfields Mild (Liverpool Brewing Co). The pub has many interesting design features including wall tiles, mosaic floor and etched windows. The Lion Tavern is included in CAMRA's National Inventory of Historic Pubs.

Finding the conversation level in the main public bar on the loud side we later moved from our high table under the clock to a table in the back lounge which has a jukebox and a distinctive skylight.

The jukebox has several unique discs including 'Proper 70's' with Alison - Elvis Costello as track 1 and 'Liverpool Classics' with Dreaming of You -The Coral as track 1.

Other Classic Liverpool selections include Valerie - The Zutons and Ferry Cross the Mersey - Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Other revisited pubs

We had planned to find food from One Pan Band at the Ship & Mitre on Monday when Doctor Duncan's kitchen was closed but didn't even venture inside when we saw the blackboard in the entrance of the Ship & Mitre showing Monday - closed.

Instead we headed to the North Western (JDW), part of Lime Street station with a side entrance from Lord Nelson Street to a high-ceilinged room that includes some booth seating.

On a visit to the Gents, Tim appreciated the design of the inevitable stairs and stopped to look at some railway related graphic displays nearby.

On a wet Tuesday morning, tankard's choice of the Crown Hotel, at 43 Lime Street, on the south side of Lime Street station, for a breakfast rendezvous had to be changed as the pub no longer serves breakfast. 

However, there was a chance to briefly appreciate the interior decoration including a fireplace before moving across the road to The Richard John Blackler (JDW) on Great Charlotte Street for breakfast. 

The pub is on the ground floor of a building on the site of Blacklers department store. The store opened in 1908 and was rebuilt after World War II, reopening in 1955. 'The Slave Trade' and 'The abolition of the slave trade' are two of several framed displays inside the pub.

We only drank coffee here but noticed that local breweries were represented on the bar by Peerless Brewing Co of Birkenhead and Wily Fox Brewery of Wigan.

Beer Europe posts about previous visits to the above pubs can be found using the blog's search bar (web version) at the top left of the screen.

This post complements a Liverpool 2024 - first visits post mainly featuring Azvex Brewing Co Taproom, The Belvedere, The White Hart / The Engineer, Doctor Duncan's and Ma Egerton's Stage Door.

Liverpool 2024 - first visits

We arrived in Liverpool about 6pm on a Sunday evening and battled against strong winds for the short walk from James Street station to the nearby Travelodge on The Strand, situated between the iconic Liver Building and Liverpool One bus station.

Azvex Brewing Company Taproom

After hotel check in, the first priority was to visit Azvex taproom which closes at 8pm on Sundays until reopening on Thursday. It was a blustery walk of just over a half mile and the illuminated sign led us to the door at Unit 16, Gibraltar Row.

The taproom end of the high-ceilinged industrial unit has a contemporary look with yellow chairs for long tables and higher grey chairs ranged along the bar.

Twelve beers are listed on black slates showing the beer style and price per pint or 2/3 pint, depending on style and strength. The range included Dockers Umbrella Helles Lager, The Cake is a Lie 12.5% ABV Imperial Stout and Mana-Wild Berry Smoothie Sour.

Tasters were available and we ordered half pints of Electronic Butterfly and Magnificent Tree Frog. The cost for the two pale ales, served in branded tumbler glasses, was £5.40. 

N.B. Due to medication affecting Tim's taste on this trip, there are no tasting notes in this post.

The stainless steel conical fermenters line one wall and other brewing vessels are in a central area of the roped off brewery area of the unit.

There is a tall glass-fronted fridge near the beer taps end of the bar where customers can select canned beers to drink in or take away. We purchased two cans of Electronic Butterfly to take away.

On this occasion, there was no opportunity to visit the nearby tasting room of Carnival Brewing Co as Unit 3, Gibraltar Row, as it usually closes at 6pm on Sundays.

The Captain Alexander

First visited after a battle against strong winds on the walk back from Azvex Brewery taproom, The Captain Alexander, opposite James Street station, was the closest pub to our hotel and became a convenient place for evening meals and breakfasts. The pub is named after Captain Alexander Allan who founded the Allan shipping line in 1819.

The entrance lobby and open plan interior featured original artwork by Martin Kavanagh and a number of interesting displays in line with the J D Wetherspoon practice. One display mentions that the unique carpet pattern was inspired by a photo of the interior of an Allan Line ship - S.S. Scandinavian.

Service was good and several guest ales, including Titanic Plum Porter, were available at the bar (£2.72 pint).

The next morning there were blue skies and we met up for breakfast with several others from our group staying at the same hotel. After another windy walk to visit RIBA North to see a film as part of the temporary Tate Liverpool relocation, we would rejoin the group at Peter Kavanagh's after a bus journey starting from Liverpoool One bus station. Alighting at the eastern end of Myrtle Street, we stopped to look in The Caledonia before walking south down Catharine Street as far as Egerton Street. 

We passed Canning Street, a principal thoroughfare in the Georgian quarter and would later return this way en route to The Belvedere.

The Belvedere

100 metres further along Catharine Street is the junction for Falkner Street. Head west here and turning north after 50 metres you will find the entrance to The Belvedere at 8 Sugnall Street. 

Tim chose Release the Pressure (Nightjar Brew Co, Mytholmroyd) from the four cask ales on the bar. Four years previously, Tom Anderson was serving at Liverpool's Ship and Mitre when our group visited. It was a nice surprise when tankard recognised Tom behind the bar at the Belvedere and reminded him of our previous meeting, mentioned in a Liverpool 2019 post which features the photo that Tim took of Tom with a copy of Ullage magazine. Tom is a brewer and manager of the Belvedere so it is not surprising to find that our group was happy with the beers served.

A blackboard on the opposite wall to the bar lists a range of craft beers and lagers. There wasn't any comfortable seating in this room so our group took our beers (and Tim's pork pie @ £3.50) to the larger room at the other end of the pub. Soon afterwards Tom carried in a bag of logs and lit a fire to warm the room for us.

Here's a photo of our group in the 'Smoke Room'. Dennis (right insert) had just departed when the main photo was taken with Les taking his former place between tankard and Bod on the left and Mark on the right. Although the plants on the window sill looked real they proved to be rather good plastic versions.

The classic interior of this listed pub, featured in the CAMRA National Inventory of historic pub interiors, is complemented with other tasteful additions like framed black and white photos of Liverpool life from recent decades. There is much evidence of etched glass both for the main windows and internally.

We also had the benefit of overhearing the conversation Les had with a local customer who coincidentally was also familiar with Reading, a town that most of our group are more familiar with than Liverpool. We were treated to an explanation of how politics has evolved in Liverpool including its Irish links, a black community established long before the 'Windrush generation', antipathy towards the police ('Bizzies') and until the mid 1970s and a more conservative outlook than other Northern cities.

Those of our group who departed after only one beer also missed out on some live music after several musicians cleared a space for themselves on the other side of the room for a practice session. Using bound folders of music and lyrics their repertoire included: The Night Before (Beatles) Just Dropped In (Kenny Rogers et al) and Make Me Smile (Steve Harley / Cockney Rebel). 

The Belvedere hosts an Unplugged Open Mic night on Thursdays and a blackboard lists regular events on for other nights of the week.

Daylight was fading by the time the rest of us departed The Belvedere (photo above) and set off to meet up with Dennis and Jon at the Roscoe Head (previously visited by Tim in 2019). The fire had not been lit and after a beer there and some discussion about where to go next we settled on The Engineer / The White Hart as our next destination although this would involve retracing our steps to some extent.

The Engineer / The White Hart

The two pubs linked by a shared central conservatory area opened on 16 January 2024. They were not marked on Google maps yet but thanks to intelligence received by Dennis and Jon about the expanding 1936 Pub Company in Liverpool we knew to head for 23 Hope Street.

The Guide, Liverpool link has a report about the opening by the 1936 Pub Company which also operates The Vines and the Queen of Hope Street.

It is also possible to access both pubs from the entrance to The Engineer on Arrad Street which runs parallel.

Our group walked through the White Hart and the conservatory and found a ground floor table in the Engineer. There is a mish mash of furnishings and decorations (with twin themes of hand tools and alpine skiing) and a separate bar, with four cask ales, in this space.

If the beer range at The Engineer is not to your taste it is also possible to choose from a wider range of cask ales in the White Hart and take one back to your seat.

Tim was happy to see a framed Babar print at balcony level where there are several 'snug' rooms.

Beers may be served in dimple glasses at The Engineer which has branded beer mats to remind you which part of the pub you are in!

It was surprisingly busy on a Monday night for a pub which had only just opened although it had recently been featured in the Liverpool Echo.

From here we would make our separate ways to the next rendezvous, Doctor Duncan's, on foot or by bus.

Doctor Duncan's

Doctor Duncan's is now a Mikhail Group pub that operates several bars in Liverpool including The Brewery Tap in Cains Brewery Village. It's located at 1 St John's Lane, facing St John's Gardens between St George's Hall and the Ship & Mitre.

It was quiet on this Monday evening, a day when the pub's kitchen is closed. There is a Victorian pharmacy cabinet display inside and our group were seated in a dimly lit rear section of the pub.

There is another antique pharmacy cabinet mounted on a rear wall.

Alfred Waterhouse was the architect for the building which was completed in 1898. A room on the other side of the central bar has the original ornate tiles from the building's original use by the Pearl Assurance Company. After taking some photos, Tim and Meg soon departed in search of a pub with food but would return to Doctor Duncan's on Tuesday afternoon for a drink with Mark before his train back to London and their visit to the nearby Walker Art Gallery.

Earlier on Tuesday, after breakfast at The Richard John Blackler, the group had crossed Lime Street in the rain and headed to Ma Egerton's Stage Door, located at 9 Pudsey Street, directly behind the Liverpool Empire theatre.

Mark, Les, Jon and tankard pictured in the pub with a strong theatrical theme. Lancaster Black and Whakahari (Purple Moose) were the only two cask ales available. The piped music was played at quite a loud volume and the selection included Don Henley - The Boys of Summer.

The redeeming features of the pub for Tim was the art nouveau style fireplace (although not lit) and the interesting theatrical displays.

This post complements a Liverpool 2024 - revisits post mainly featuring Peter Kavanagh's, The Roscoe Head, The Vernon Arms and the Lion Tavern.