Brussels - Sunday 24/6/2018

A La Mort Subite faces Scott's Bar at Rue Montagne aux Herbes Potagères 2. The pizzas at Scott's Bar were recommended by Barry and Karen who had visited a few days previously. They also told us that the bar had a big screen and was screening FIFA World Cup games with English commentaries.

Our group had left Antwerp before the Sunday lunchtime session of Bierpassie Weekend in order to watch the England v Panama game in Brussels which kicked off at 2pm local time. My first beer at Scott's Bar was Maes Pils (2.20 euros / 25cl) and this allowed me to reserve a table with a reasonable view of the screen.

Once joined by the others it was time for a Blanche de Bruges (4.70 euros / 50 cl) served with slices of lemon and lime. This was a goal filled game which ended England 6 Panama 1. Several pizzas were enjoyed by our group although it was too early to take advantage of the Happy Hour offer.

After the final whistle we crossed the street to the historic and traditional A La Mort Subite. CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium explains its name is derived from a dice game and was later given to a beer brand.

As on previous visits I enjoyed a glass of draught Mort Subite Peche (4.3% abv) with a flavour of sweet peach.

Andrew was still hungry and ordered a tomato omelette, served with a large slice of bread.

Richard, wearing yet another vintage of CAMRA Kingston Beer & Cider Festival t-shirt, checked his phone for distances to nearby bars. My CAMRA Good Beer Guide Belgium research had identified Brasserie du Lombard at Rue du Lombard 1, as a nearby bar that none of us had visited before. We walked there via Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, using the northern entrance to the arcade lined with exclusive shops. This arcade entrance is visible in the top photo (beyond the crowd of tourists).

We entered Brasserie du Lombard and found a high bar on the left with a range of fifteen fonts, several of which were out of service.

We ordered our beers at the bar and found a table on the right where a full height mural adorned the far wall.

Keith and Simon faced towards the entrance where they could watch the next FIFA World Cup game on TV. The chandelier light fitting on the left side of the bar was noticeable for the (Delirium) pink elephants above it. The proprietor was wearing the same design of navy polo shirt bearing a pink elephant as Andrew, something that will surely remain in our memories!

The art nouveau style beer menu was studied before the next round of drinks was ordered. This bar has a good range of bottles including a good selection in 75cl size that are hard to find.

During our trip, John's red moustache protector, seen here attached to a thin stemmed Silly Triple Swaf glass, had attracted much interest.

It was good to have a chat here with Keith Moore about his homebrewing. He is waiting to find out the style for the next contest at the 4th CraftBeerMesse in Mainz (23/24 November 2018), where his beer has previously won a prize. Keith had noticed that Bosteels Brewery Pauwel Kwak was available on draught at Cafe du Lombard so ordered this and it was served in the distinctive flask shaped glass in a wooden holder.

Simon ordered locally brewed draught Brasserie de la Senne Zinnebir. It was a relief to find that my choice of bar met with general approval. With its big windows on two sides and high celing it was a pleasant place to enjoy some Belgian beers, chat and keep up with the football. The proprietor was efficient if not exactly friendly. It was reported that toilet facilities were obviously not designed for large persons.

Moeder Lambic Fontainas (on right)

I would meet up with the group again, about an hour later, at nearby Moeder Lambic, Place Fontainas 8, after checking in at Hotel Floris Ustel.

This was the weekend of the Fête nationale du Québec event at Moeder Lambic. There was Quebec style folk music in one of the gazebos outside and draught beer was being served for the audience from a bar in a wooden shed.

Our group had found a booth with a view of the TV for the next World Cup football game.
As the last to arrive my seat was a stool in the aisle. As usual, I admired the design of this bar with its exposed brickwork, framed brewery photographs and suspended lighting. Keith pointed out that the grey seating sections for the booths were actually hollow and made from wood painted to match the appearance of the polished concrete floor.

Thanks to Andrew (centre) whose round included our 50cl measures of festival beers. Note that Richard had now changed into a red Kingston beer festival shirt.

I enjoyed my No Science Da' Funk (Single hop Zeus Pale Ale). The No Science website mentions 'this is not Belgian style / but we still put our Belgian touch in it' and gives the microbrewery's contact address as Rue Dieudonné Lefèvre 37, Brussels with opening hours as Fridays 13:00-16:00. This looks like a plan for a future Brussels visit!

Our final Sunday destination, in a rerun of the 2017 visit, would be Poechenellekelder, Rue du Chêne 5, near Mannikin Pis. We arrived to find Barry and Karen, Terry and Trish sitting outside. After some negotiation we decided to find a long table inside as the temperature was dropping outside.

Our table was near the bar, making our hard-working waiter's job slightly easier. We were also grateful to staff for taking this photo with my iPhone's camera. Note the puppets suspended from the ceiling and walls that are a feature of this much appreciated establishment.

A blackboard lists the beers available on draught.

After a Brasserie de la Senne Taras Boulba, I chose a bottle of 5.8% ABV amber coloured Martin's Pale Ale from the menu which is dry hopped with Kentish hops. This was a good accompaniment to the delicious and filling baked lasagne which has become a regular food highlight of a Brussels trip.


Any visit to the (downstairs) toilets involves passing a display featuring a couple of seated puppets.

There was time for another beer and I chose another beer brewed in Brussels - Brasserie de la Senne Jambe-de-Bois, the 'Belgian Revolution triple'.

Afterwards, on my way back to the hotel I passed a tempting cheese shop -
La Fruitière, 99-103 Rue du Marché au Charbon with a marvellous window display.

See Monday's blog post for the next instalment.

Brussels - Monday 25/6/2018

Day 5 in Belgium would  be the warmest - no jacket required.

My route from Hotel Floris Ustel (Midi) to meet up with the others in Hotel Floris Arlequin (Grand Place) after breakfast was mainly along Avenue de Stalingrad. A dog kept watch on passing pedestrians outside Anne H, Tapissier Garnisseur at No. 17.

Cafe Bebo lies a little further along at Place Rouppe. This is a corner cafe, mentioned in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium, which obviously deserves a visit in future.

From Hotel Floris Arlequin, Richard led us uphill to Parc de Bruxelles with its lawns, trees, dusty paths and a pool with a fountain.

Richard led us to our destination, Woodpecker, before noon and a majority of our group chose refreshment in the form of an ice cream or a coffee rather than beer on this occasion. This was a pleasant place to relax with background music playing by Fat Freddy's Drop.

We retraced our steps to the park's entrance at Parc Metro station. It was then only a short walk to Bier Circus at Rue de l'Enseignement 57.

We ended up sitting outside on the shady side of the street as the bar had no windows and we preferred to be outside in the warm weather. A blackboard on the far wall of the bar gave details for five draught beers including Dupont Saison (3 euros / 25cl), Hopus Primeur (4 euros / 33cl) and '25 years Bier Circus' (4.5 euros / 33cl). Enamel signs decorate the walls of the bar and tall fridges behind the bar display a range of bottled beers which are listed in a menu.

The 6.5% abv Saison Dupont was a popular beer for the first round at Bier Circus.

We went inside to the restaurant area where most of our group ordered lunch from an appetising menu with a limited range of dishes. Old beer bottle tops are incorporated into the decor in a colourful way.

In contrast to the bar, the triangular restaurant area has plenty of natural light from windows on two sides of the room. A large blackboard shows draught beers and the special dish of the day (15 euros).

The 8% abv '25 years of Bier Circus' special, a favourite Tripel Blond on this trip, was brewed for Bier Circus by Brewerij den Hopperd (Westmeerbeek). As the only non-diner, I was grateful to Simon and Keith for letting me finish off their chips! Everyone enjoyed their meals and for next time in Brussels a meal at Bier Circus will be something to look forward to. Note that Bier Circus opens only from Monday to Friday.

Old LP and EP covers on the end wall were of interest and the music playing included classics like CSN&Y's 'Almost cut my hair' and blues from Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown.

There was time for a third beer before Bier Circus closed for the afternoon and the draught (dry hopped) Hopus Primeur, served in its distinctive glass, was superb.

Apart from the circus theme there are plenty of cartoon characters to spot among the decor including Tintin.and Snowy (Milou).

There was time to visit one more bar in Brussels on this visit and we headed back downhill, past the Cathedral of St Michael & St Gudula, to Delirium Cafe, Impasse de la Fidélité 4. 

On a previous visit the group had discovered a quieter upper floor but this was closed on a Monday afternoon. 

The only way to fit the long bar into a photo was with a panorama. Blackboards above the bar list the draught beers which are served from descending fonts evenly spaced along the length of the bar.

This was a good opportunity to drink a Jack's Precious IPA from by The Musketeers Brewery. A beer from their Belgian Legends series, the glass is illustrated with Jack the Asian elephant, who sadly ended up as meat for a Dutch sausage factory after Ghent zoo closed in 1904.

We found a big table in a relatively quiet area decorated with backlit historic brewery mirrors.

On the way back to the Hotel Floris Ustel, to collect my case, my route passed Het Zinneke, the sculpture of a urinating dog by Tom Frantzen. Also known as Zinneke Pis, it is protected from traffic by a bollard at Rue des Chartreux 35.

Once on board Eurostar, I was able to enjoy a cold souvenir can of Jupiler Pils, purchased from the Carrefour Express, inside Brussels Midi station. The can had been rebranded 'Belgium' (Official Beer of the 2018 FIFA World Cup) and the back of my can had a photo and signature by M. Dembele with a Belgian Red Devils symbol. In three days time, Belgium beat England 1-0 in the group stage to win the group. Both teams progressed to the final 16.

Dispensary, Copenhagen

A highlight of a May 2018 visit to Copenhagen was spending a few hours on a Sunday evening at Dispensary, listening to live jazz from the Karin Linn Quartet and drinking the house lager - Beverly Pils Cop brewed locally by Dry & Bitter.

The 39th Copenhagen Marathon had been run earlier on Sunday 13 May while I relaxed at my friends' house in Værløse. The temperature reached 24° C compared to an average 16°C for this date.

Nørrebro station - elevated section of 'F' line

Using my Rejsekort to check in at Værløse station and check out at Nørrebro station after changing from an 'A' line to a 'F' line service at Ryparken station costs 20.80 Dkr, with the off-peak discount applied (approx £2.50), for a journey of approximately 10 miles.

A 7 minute walk along the busy pavement of Nørrebrogade leads to the junction with Ægirsgade where Kösem (Turkish) cafe and restaurant is situated. Dispensary is next door at Nørrebrogade 184 and must take its name from Stjerne Apothek, a previous occupier of the premises whose name still appears above the frontage, in letters of stone.

Just inside the entrance are barrels with blackboards, one lists snacks and the other lists events.

A large blackboard above lists the beers available from the 30 taps which are ranged just underneath the surface of the high wooden bar.
There are comfortable leather seated stools at the bar and from here there was time to choose a beer appropriate for 6pm on a hot day.
I wasn't looking for a beer from the UK so that ruled out the several Beavertown, Left Handed Giant and Fierce options. Some of the (Swedish) Brewski beers were tempting but it was a combination of local brewery (Dry & Bitter) and cheapest price (50 Dkr) that made the Beverly Pils Cop, from tap 1, a good choice. In a Facebook post, Dispensary Whisk(e)y and Beer recommends Port Askaig 8 year old Islay Single Malt Whisky to pair with their house beer!

The left side of the bar has an extensive range of whiskys and whiskeys. A tracked ladder can be moved along to reach the whiskys on the highest shelves. Tasting notes for whiskys and beers are available from clipboards on the bar.

The Karin Linn Quartet had limited space, on the other side of the entrance area from the barrels and blackboard. Kasper Priess Hollesen (guitar), Jon Henriksson (double bass) and Malte Svale Holme Hansen (drums) started off the set with a jazz instrumental. These talented young musicians were then joined by Karin Linn with 'her impressive voice, which is unique in the contemporary Jazz-scape of Copenhagen', As the set progressed, the musicians also took it in turns to show their skills with solo passages. There was a break in the set and with a second 'pint' and the best seat in the bar there was no reason for me to leave until they finally left the 'stage' around 8pm.

Before leaving the bar, a visit to the downstairs toilets revealed that there is a second spacious but rather dark room downstairs with more seating and some games machines.

Returning to the ground floor, the wall of the rear area is interestingly decorated with top, base and staves from a deconstructed whisky barrel.

Before heading back to Nørrebro station there was a convenient stop to be made at
Kösem (Turkish) cafe next door.

It was a lovely evening and I was able to find a bench, with a view of practising skateboarders, at nearby Superkilen park where my takeaway meal could be eaten.

A visit to Dispensary Whisk(e)y and Beer when in Copenhagen is recommended. Check their facebook page for details of free events at the bar.

Facebook: DispensaryKBH

Leuven - Saturday night

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The sun had already set over Leuven when we left the Ibis Budget hotel and crossed under the railway station to walk into the city centre on our last night (Saturday 24 March).

There was no room for us at Domus, a popular brewery restaurant where waiters skilfully ignored anyone not already seated at a table.

We headed to Oude Markt 37 where L-Cafe had been listed as a good place to find traditional Belgian food, run by two sisters - Liesbet and Lori. However, we were too late to eat as the kitchen closes at 20.45.

Belgenius - Citrus Strong Golden Ale

We were encouraged to stay for a beer and as beers from Belgenius were stocked we were easily won over. The small space downstairs was chilly so we decided to sit upstairs despite a warning about having to share the space with 'loud Dutch men'.

The pale wood furniture and lampshades give a Scandinavian feel to the upstairs room. Simon had the sensible idea of asking for a restaurant recommendation when we paid the bill for a bottle each (10 euros).

De Nachtuil, Krakenstraat 8, was only a minute's walk away and its Night Owl name reflects the late opening hours (until 2am Tue-Thu, 3am Fri-Sun).
We ordered mixed olives as a starter and main dishes which came with a separate large serving of Belgian frites to share.

We also ordered bottles of Cornet, as recommended on Friday night by Gunter. The Brouwerij De Hoorn tasting notes mention 'Cornet is an oaked, strong, blond Belgian beer (Alc. 8.5% Vol.). Its subtle touch of vanilla is achieved by adding oak chips during brewing. Brewed in honour of Salomon de Maldeghem, Knight in the 11th century.' I will look for Cornet again when in Belgium.

Metafoor

Having enjoyed a visit to Metafoor on Thursday night and finding it too busy on Friday night we decided to try and revisit this bar set back one street from Oude Markt at Parijsstraat 34.

Arthur's Legacy 13 - Aerts 2016 / Brouwerij de Hoorn

Simon found a spare seat at the bar and I stood next to him until another seat became free. The bar was very busy but the bartender was expertly serving customers as fast as they could present orders. We watched as he selected the correct glass, rinsed it, quickly filled it with beer from a bottle or tap, dunked the glass into a sink of cold water to rinse off any residues before serving. A craftsman at work and captivating to watch!

Another favourite Leuven bar to return to was De Blauwe Kater and on the way we passed an interesting looking comics shop - Het Besloten Land - just a few doors along from Metafoor.
We reached De Blauwe Kater around midnight and were glad to find a free table on the ground floor.

My first beer here was a Houblon Chouffe, the hoppy 9% ABV version of La Chouffe from Brasserie d'Achouffe (4.40 euro). This was a favourite beer on the trip and three bottles were purchased on Sunday from the essential Carrefour Express at Brussels Midi station before heading home.
The music volume was turned up and SoundHound was deployed to detect The Levee by Belgian band Blues Lee.

As previously observed, beer and music go well together especially the Blues! By the time I was drinking (green label) Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor, brewed in Mechelen by Het Anker, the tunes were authentic blues from John Lee Hoooker - Mr Lucky. Indeed I was!
Tasting notes from the Het Anker website describe the 8% ABV Hopsinjoor as 'derived from “Opsinjoor”, the typical character of Mechelen and also because of the use of 5 different kinds of hops. These hops are fractioned at a different time during the cooking process in order to conserve a maximum of aroma.' This is another beer that I will seek out again, perhaps even at the brewery in Mechelen where the station conveniently lies on the railway line between Brussels and Antwerp.

After 1am, as Simon was slowly drinking a quadrupel beer and my check on buses revealed an imminent departure it was time for me to leave and save the walk back to the hotel - on a bus that cost another 1.60 euro clip on my Lijn Kaart. The female bus driver cheerfully coped with everyone who boarded.