Antwerp - revisits - June 2024

Simon, Andrew and Richard at Antwerpse Brouw Co (ABC)

On my eighth visit to Antwerp (Thursday 20 June to Sunday 23 June 2024) to allow a seventh visit to Beer Passion Weekend festival, there was time to revisit several favourite bars in addition to those visited for the first time (Antwerp first visits - June 2024).

This post will follow a top down order from the key in the rough map above starting with Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie taproom. The top photo shows Simon and Andrew both wearing their decades old Bierpassie Weekend t-shirts on Saturday 22 June. I joined them in the courtyard, seated near a wedding party, after my first visit to 't Licht der Dokken and the viewing tower at Red Star Line museum. 

When there was a rain shower we moved inside to a raised corner of the taproom near the fermentation vessels and a view of the bar. I enjoyed a 33cl glass of Cheerio!, a limited edition 8% abv Tripel beer aged on natural fruit (raspberries, blackberries and sweet cherries (5 euros).

At the end of this post, the chart above showing posts about previous visits to Antwerp bars, provides blog post weblinks for more photos and descriptions of all the bars revisited.

Bar Paniek

Enjoying a quayside location, Bar Paniek is in the corner of a warehouse building now used as a workshop housing a fascinating collection of industrial equipment and products.

Classic tunes playing here included All Along the Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix) and appropriately Sitting on the Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding).  

Curved staircases lead to a mezzanine level above the bar. Many tables have games boards on them and pinball and darts can be played. The basic toilet facilities are accessed from outside. 

Dr Beer

The next Saturday afternoon visit was to Dr. Beer where we met up again with (L to R) Jennie, Paul and Linda. There was a long table against the far wall, beyond the bar, where we could sit together.

One of the many distinctive features of this cosy bar is that 500ml measures of beer are served in clinical measuring jugs!

Tim's 500ml jug of Johannes De Weize II brewed by Dok Brewing Co (Gent), served from tap 6, cost 8.40 euros. We ordered some late lunchtime food here e.g Croque Monsieur. Andrew treated us to a taste of his hot edamame beans. Tim met Jeroen Peeters, the owner, on his March 2024 visit so was glad to have another chat with him before we left. Jeroen had explained that at busy times only a single bill for a group can be paid by card but on this occasion he was able to accept two separate payments to accommodate us.

Dr Beer is a verified venue for Untappd allowing current beers on tap to be checked in advance.

Our subsequent visit to 't Waagstuk features in  the Antwerp - first visits June 2024 blog post.

The Northerner

We ended up at The Northerner on Friday 21 June after a day in Lier and and an evening at the Bierpassie Weekend festival in Groenplaats. It was the night of the Netherlands v France Euro 2024 football match and, unsurprisingly as we were in Flanders, the bar was crowded with Dutch supporters both inside and outside. Without hesitating, Simon weaved his way to the bar and emerged with a tray of Saison Dupont for us and we stood outside drinking until the match ended and there was space for us to go inside and sit down.

The bar emptied out later and there was a chance to get a photo showing the wheelback chairs, dark floor tiles and relatively low ceiling. I remembered it as a bigger space but in fact it is rather compact.

After midnight, Andrew fetched our table another round of drinks including a draught Brussels Beer Project Juice Junkie IPA for me, served in a stemmed glass (4.20 euros). As closing time approached the change in the music encouraged us to drink up although all the other chairs were stacked away before we actually left, without needing any direct requests to do so.

The Northerner is also an Untappd verified venue.

Jazzcafe De Muze

Having enjoyed two visits to De Muze in March, Tim was able to persuade the group to visit at the end of our first evening in Antwerp. It's located at Melkmarkt 15, just across the street from De Pelikaan.

Our table, in the 'tram compartment', between high backed wooden seats gave a side view of the stage and we particularly appreciated the trumpet player's musical abilities. Admission is free but there's an extra 50 cents per drink once the music starts.

Paters Vaetje

Paters Vaetje has a small frontage with a red canopy in Blauwmoezelstraat on the other side of the cathedral from Groenplaats.

Soon after arriving on Thursday evening, I met up with Andrew and Richards at a ground floor table near the entrance and enjoyed the familiarity of returning to an often visited bar where the service is always friendly. Simon would join us after a delay to watch the England v Denmark Euro 2024 match on a TV in a bar near Brussels Midi station. On this occasion we put the small kitchen to the test and enjoyed dishes of lasagne served in the pot or spaghetti bolognaise with parmesan cheese.

As tradition dictates, Tim's first beer in Antwerp was a draught Bolleke De Koninck.

De Ware Jacob

De Ware Jacob is an authentic traditional cafe bar featured in Belgian Cafe Culture by Regula Ysewijn. It's high on Tim's list for revisiting as the small range of draught beers includes Avec Les Bons Voeux from Brasserie Dupont (9.5% ABV). The menu includes a range of local beers on the first page. One can be sure of good service from Guy Dockx or his staff here.

Het Souke

Nearby, on a corner of pedestrianised Hoogstraat, is Het Souke, another of Tim's favourites now run by Jacob Gouka and also featured in the Belgian Cafe Culture book but under its previous ownership as 't Half Souke. Although it was initially empty inside there were customers outside and it would later fill up inside after the Belgium v Romania Euro 2024 game ended (2-0).

There are 5 draught beers and the bottled beer range is on display at the bar as well as being listed in the beer menu. Tim's freshly poured draught Val-Dieu is also on the bar in this photo. 

De Vagant

Another essential revisit, De Vagant was Tim's last bar of the day on Saturday after Het Souke and now after midnight! Cherry Chouffe on draught was an easy choice here. Owner Bart Daems can be seen behind the bar and a row of Jenever bottles.

Weblinks for blog posts  about previous visits to these bars

Name                         Blog link                                                         No of photos

Antwerpse Brouw Co https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2024/03/antwerp-spring-2024.html                         1

Antwerpse Brouw Co https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2019/07/antwerp-friday-28-june-2019.html                 5

Antwerpse Brouw Co https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2016/07/antwerp-2-seef-bier.html                         3

Antwerpse Brouw Co https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2018/07/antwerp-saturday-2362018.html                         8

Antwerpse Brouw Co https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2023/07/ABCrevisit.html                                         6

De Muze         https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2024/03/antwerp-spring-2024.html                         4

De Vagant https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2023/07/antwerp-2023-revisits.html                                 3

De Vagant https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2022/07/Antwerp-2022-Hoogstraat.html                         6

De Vagant https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2024/03/antwerp-spring-2024.html                         1

De Ware Jacob https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2019/07/antwerp-thursday-27-june-2019.html                 3

De Ware Jacob https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2022/07/Antwerp-2022-Hoogstraat.html                         9

De Ware Jacob https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2023/07/antwerp-2023-revisits.html                                 3

De Ware Jacob https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2024/03/antwerp-spring-2024.html                         1

Dr Beer         https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2024/03/antwerp-spring-2024.html                         2

Dr Beer         https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2023/07/antwerp-2023-first-visits.html                         3

Het Souke https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2023/07/antwerp-2023-revisits.html                                 2

Het Souke https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2022/07/Antwerp-2022-Hoogstraat.html                         6

Het Souke https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2019/07/antwerp-thursday-27-june-2019.html                 1

Paniek         https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2019/07/antwerp-friday-28-june-2019.html                 2

Paters Vaetje         https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2023/07/antwerp-2023-revisits.html                                 1

Paters Vaetje         https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2019/07/antwerp-friday-28-june-2019.html                 4

The Northerner https://beereurope.blogspot.com/2023/07/antwerp-2023-first-visits.html                         3

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!).

Antwerp 2023 - Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie revisit

In the early afternoon of Friday 30 June 2023, Tim and friends including Mark and Les (above) arrived at the impressive brewery, taproom and courtyard of Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie at Indiestraat 21 in Antwerp's docklands north of the city centre.

This was after first visits to Gaarkeuken 110 and the nearby Taverne t'Kerkschip, described in a separate post: Antwerp 2023 - first visits.

Selfie photo: Les M with L to R: Les, Mark, David, Tim, Simon & Graham

Mark was in his element on this visit to Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie. Having purchased a red Seef Bier cap for himself, he would treat us all to the delightful taste of the limited edition 10% ABV AnniverSeef JubileumBier in elegant glasses served from a 75cl bottle.

From our courtyard table we noticed that brewery owner Johan Van Dyck was being interviewed at the table on the other side of the entrance ramp and Tim approached him after the interview to present the latest issue of West Berkshire CAMRA Ullage magazine. With his typical enthusiastic and generous nature, Johan came over to our table for a chat. 

He mentioned that the Anniverseef is a one off beer made with a first fermentation using Seef yeast, a second fermentation still in the tank with added sugar and champagne yeast and then a third fermentation in the bottle with champagne yeast. 

Martin's Pale Ale

a previous version of Martin's Pale Ale 2018 

Johan talked about Martin's Pale Ale, a classic pale ale whose origins lie with an English family that moved to Antwerp at the beginning of the 1900s. However it was first brewed in England and later in different parts of Belgium with the recipe changing over the years. Now it has been brought 'home' to Antwerp with Martin's Pale Ale now brewed at Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie. The Anthony Martin website gives details of many beers from its breweries including the latest Martin's Pale Ale.

Johan enlisted help from award winning home brewer Keith Moore in Germany and beer author Ron Pattinson in Amsterdam two years ago before finalising the brewing recipe which includes UK sourced East Kent Goldings and Fuggles hops. Keith sent him several different bottles of typical English pale ales available in Germany. Ron sent Johan details of English pale ales that were exported to Belgium and the recipe for the pale ale that Whitbread once exported to Belgium using his extensive brewing history resources.

Johan said 'Our dream is to make the Antwerp beer scene vibrant and alive again'.

Radio Minerva Tripel

Johan also explained that Radio Minerva (Tripel) is named after 40 year old Radio Minerva a popular Antwerp based radio station which has older volunteer presenters and plays music from earlier eras. Radio Minerva helped with publicity when Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie was crowdfunding to build its brewery. When Radio Minerva looked for a way to celebrate it's anniversary, the Tripel was brewed to also help with funding the radio station. It's popularity led to it becoming a permanent beer and it has won gold awards including Frankfurt International Trophy 2023 and European Beer Challenge 2023.

Belgian Beer Brothers describe the history of Minerva Tripel before a tasting of the beer in a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04M2e8yBP2E 

ABC Taproom and Brewery

After checking his phone to confirm the time of his next appointment, Johan invited our group to join him on an impromptu brewery tour in the time remaining.

Only a chain separates the brewery from the taproom.

Johan explained that the brewery capacity has increased since 2020 and is controlled by an automated system that can be accessed remotely.

Many thanks to Johan for the interesting tour of Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie. His enthusiasm and dedication to the Antwerp beer scene is admirable.

Keith Moore

Heiko Müller & Keith Moore  (photo: HM)

Johan had mentioned meeting our brewer friend Keith Moore, also mentioned above, a week earlier when he visited Antwerp to meet Richard and Andrew at the 22nd Beer Passion Weekend festival. 

As one of the original crowdfunders for Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie since first meeting Johan in 2016, Keith's name is on the founder's plaque inside the brewery.

Keith has won several hobby brewer contests in Germany including Mainz craft beer festival prize for home brewers. His 2016 winner was a Black IPA based on a Cascadian dark ale recipe. The 2018 summer beer style contest was won by his Entdeckung (Discovery), based on the beer once brewed by Fuller's. Keith won first place in the Sour Beers category for his Langener Gose in the competition for the 2020 Hobby Brew / HeimBrau Convention.

The photo below the heading from the March 2023 Hobby Brew / HeimBrau Convention in Romrod, near Marburg, shows Keith Moore with the silver award for his low alcohol Ruby Light Dark Mild (2.2% ABV) and Heiko Müller with the silver award for his 39 Days Saison.