Antwerp - The Usual Suspects 2022

 After missing visits to Belgium in 2020 and 2021, the Usual Suspects returned to Antwerp on 30 June 2022, a day before the start of Bierpassie Weekend.

Simon, Andrew, Dave, Tim, Keith & Richard - De Vagant

The author of this post (Tim) was glad to meet up again with Simon, Andrew, Keith and Richard. This would be Tim's first meeting with one of the instigators of the annual pilgrimage to this Belgian beer festival - Dave. 

John Reynor - RIP

Sadly, John Reynor, another early adopter, passed away in 2021. We would pay a tribute to John at De Vagant on the Friday with jenever and beer and Dave generously footed the bar bill.

Previous posts about visits to Antwerp have followed a daily diary format but this year there will be three geographically differentiated posts as shown in the rough map:

S - Het Steen area featuring Cafe Pardaf and Paters Vaetje

H - Hoogstraat area featuring 'T Half Souke, De Ware Jacob and De Vagant

G - Groenplaats area featuring Bierpassie Weekend and De Kat.

This post will feature a few bars and other places of interest falling outside these areas which are all in the Grote Markt / Cathedral of Our Lady area, near the river Scheldt.

It was convenient and economical for me to stay at the Hotel Rubenshof again. Unlike Tryp Hotel, where most of the others were staying, it does not have air conditioned rooms or a lift but thankfully temperatures were slightly lower than in 2019. Unhappily for the others, the Tryp Hotel air conditioning had broken down on this occasion.

The Hotel Rubenshof reception and breakfast rooms retain delightful art nouveau features including stained glass windows, carved wooden cabinets and decorative paintings. Breakfast cost 9 euros and  included juice, yoghurt, bread rolls, croissants, ham and cheese. There was sometimes a wait for the coffee pot to be refilled.

After checking in, my first attempt to secure a beer at nearby Biercafe de Jordaan was unsuccessful due to a holiday closure. This was a wasted detour not improved by the rain which had not let up since my arrival. Things would improve after tram rides to reach Groenplaats and then on foot to 'T Half Souke on Hoogstraat. See separate Hoogstraat post (WIP).

'T Half Souke is one of the heritage cafes, featured in Belgian Cafe Culture by Regula Ysewijn, that I had earmarked for a visit after finding it closed in 2019. 

Preparations for this trip included updating a Google map to show Antwerp cafes featured in Regula Ysewijn's book.

L'Entrepot du Congo is a brasserie near Hotel Rubenshof and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts that I had earmarked to visit for a beer or a meal. There were roadworks in this area and on this visit I would only photograph the exterior. It was interesting to find 'Brouwery Brys Bornhem' engraved on a stone panel of the frontage.

I had also hoped to revisit Cafe ZeeZicht with the 'usual suspects', previously visited in 2018 (photo above). Near Tryp Hotel, this is one of the beer cafes in Dageraadplaats (known by our group as 'Argument Square' after many previous late night drinking sessions!). This was another missed opportunity for me on this trip though. 

Apart from Belgian beer cafes and the festival, this trip included three interesting visits unrelated to beer! On the Friday morning, while the others were resting after staying up until 4am in 'Argument Square', I enjoyed a free solo visit to Plantentuin (Den Botaniek), a landscaped botanical garden created in 1825.

Later, I would meet up with Simon for a walk around the Begijnhof / Beguinage which dates from 1545. With its cobbled streets, church and central garden this was well worth a visit although it was not as extensive or impressive as the one in Leuven which we had visited in 2018.

Looking North towards Antwerp from the ferry at Linkeroever

The third visit was to cross the river Scheldt on the free ferry from Het Steen to Linkeroever with Andrew, Dave and Simon on the Saturday afternoon while Keith and Richard revisited Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie in the docks area to the north. Simon would return to Antwerp using the pedestrian tunnel while Andrew, Dave and I returned on a later ferry. The four of us met up at De Ware Jacob. See separate Hoogstraat post (WIP).

We had intended to visit Brouwerij De Koninck, the brewery of Triple D'Anvers and Bolleke De Koninck APA (Antwerp Pale Ale). Another opportunity for 2023!

Addendum

In a theme related to the Wetherspoon's Carpets book by Kit Caless, some photos of Antwerp Cafe floor tiles are grouped above.

Leuven - Friday

'See you at 10am' we agreed as Simon got out of the lift on the third floor and I continued to the sixth floor of Leuven's Ibis Budget Hotel, after walking back from Cafe PaRaDoX in the early hours.

At 10am on Friday 23 March 2018, Simon had not appeared so I sat in the hotel's foyer reading about Belgian breweries in my 2002 edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide to Belgium & Holland by Tim Webb. Simon never changes his watch from UK time so perhaps he would appear at 11am local time?
At 11.15am it was time to set off on my own and let Simon catch up later!

It is possible to visit the Stella Artois (AB InBev) brewery in Leuven but a photo of a delivery lorry in Bondgenotenlaan would suffice on this visit. Further along the road, beyond the statue of Justus Lipsius, a variety of market stalls were trading. Freshly griddled waffles (3 for 1.50 euro) were warm and very sweet.

At Monseigneur Ladeuzeplein there is a good view of the Leuven University Library and Tower.

My route to STUK was via Herbert Hooverplein and Sint-Donatus Park with remains of the original inner city walls from the 12th century.

STUK, Naamsestraat 96, 'a house for Dance, Image and Sound' includes a public cafe on the ground floor. STUKcafe is spacious with high windows on two sides and a mirror behind the bar. Although a good selection of beers was available, a coffee was my preference. By now Simon had responded to my text messages and would soon arrive after taking a direct route from the hotel.

A short walk led us to the Groot Begijnhof. This well preserved, traffic-free, beguinage dates from the early 13th century.

Simon had visited before and suggested a slow tour of the cobbled streets to appreciate the peaceful setting, now mainly occupied by university academics.

We crossed the southern part of Leuven's ring road using a pedestrian / cyclist underpass, featuring some colourful street art, just west of the river Dijle.

We had lunch and beers at De Spuye, Tervuursevest 101, overlooking the river.

The furniture had a solid, industrial, feel about it and the red theme is related to the colour of the tiles around the fireplace.

Music, played through decent loudspeakers, included tracks by Keane and The Knack.

There was a short tap list here so it was an opportunity for me to drink a bottle of Orval Trappist Ale served in the correct glass.

Simon chatted with the barman and discovered that his draft blond 6% ABV Job by Biercentrum Delvaux / Brouwerij De Kroon was brewed in Neerijse, about 10 km south of Leuven, by the 'beer professor' Freddy Delvaux. A Belgium Beer Tourism blog post mentions that Freddy Delvaux and his son Filip are experts on yeast and fermentation.

From here we took the underpass back towards the beguinage and then walked in a clockwise direction to reach the Botanic Gardens.

It was good to see how tidy the gardens were and that we could warm up by having a look inside the temperate and tropical greenhouses which housed a pond with terrapins. Free entrance.

Continuing clockwise we headed to the Klein Begijnhof / small beguinage near Saint Gertrude's Abbey and Church, north of the city centre.

We crossed the river Dijle and headed for De Blauwe Kater, Mechelsestraat 51, which opened in its new location, facing the Vismarkt (Fishmarket), on 16 March 2018. Simon remembers visiting the bar, famous for its jazz and blues nights, in its previous location (Hallengang 1).

The interior is spacious and we took advantage of an empty table on the first floor, with a low balcony, overlooking the ground floor.

Old posters have been pasted on some areas of the wall and a blackboard gives the name of the band that will be playing on the next Monday night free gig. De Blauwe Kater has a list of over 100 beers and we resolved to return here on another day.

Before heading back to the hotel we stopped at Rector de Sommerplein to listen to some music at a 'Jamming with Fonske' gig, part of Leuven Jazz festival. The dates for the next festival have been set as 15-24 March 2019.

This area, near St Peter's and the Grote Markt, with steps and a road underpass is also the location for the statue nicknamed Fonske. An off duty tourist guide kindly explained to us that the Fons Sapientiae (Latin for 'fount of wisdom') statue was a gift from the university to the city. There was no water when we visited but it should be a fountain with water running from the glass he holds into his head representing a flow of knowledge as he reads.