Antwerp - Thursday 27 June 2019

A fourth consecutive June visit to Antwerp would provide an opportunity to visit some cafes featured in Regula Ysewijn's Belgian Cafe Culture, explore Antwerp Zuid, show Steve some favourite city sights and meet up at BierPassieWeekend with beer loving friends.

Bristolian Steve joined my train from Newbury to Paddington at Thatcham and later we boarded the 12.58 Eurostar train from St Pancras International to Brussels Midi after a late breakfast at the Barrel Vault.

Antwerpen-Centraal

A free ice-cold can of Coke Energy handed out at Antwerp Central station was a welcome bonus on a hot day. The first task was to purchase a Lijnkaart from a De Lijn ticket machine at the station (10 trips for 16 euros). The second task, to find the platform for the tram to Antwerpen Bres, would have been easier if Google Maps or the De Lijn map indicated that the Astrid tram stop is underground.

Hotel Rubenshof is only a short walk from the tram stop. The decor of the main floor has art nouveau features and is rather more impressive than the size of our rooms.

After checking in, we walked to Biercafe de Jordaan in nearby Boudewijnsstraat on the corner with Boudewijnssteeg. The small corner bar had a few tables inside and the windows were open on this hot day.

My first draught beer was Hapkin, a strong blonde beer enjoyed at a high table just outside, next to a Velo Antwerpen stand for the city bike hire system. Tourists can register for a one day (4 euros) or one week (10 euros) Velo pass that allows unlimited bike hires of less than 30 minutes. Longer trips involve extra charges. Unusual features of the red bikes are that the front wheel is smaller than the rear wheel and that some bikes have drive shafts instead of chains.

We walked towards the historic city centre with the intention of visiting some traditional cafes featured in Regula Ysewijn's book.

However, when we reached 't Half Souke, Hoogstraat 59, it was closed. The book mentions that it is named after an old coin and that inside the tiled floor is uneven due to ground movement.

We continued a further 100 metres to reach De Ware Jacob, Vlasmarkt 19. The outside tables were in strong sunshine so we enjoyed our beers inside.

Regula Ysewijn writes that 'true Jacob' has only been a cafe since 1977 but that the interior is much older and was salvaged from other cafes.

De Ware Jacob has clay floor tiles and for heating there is a free standing stove with a chimney pipe. The draught beer I enjoyed here was another favourite - Jack's Precious IPA by Brouwerij The Musketeers, based in Sint-Gillis-Waas about 25km west of Antwerp.

Aware of a nearby cellar bar from a tweet by Scot Haynes, we would next visit Pelgrom at Pelgrimstraat 15, a pedestrian street 150 metres away.

The entrance features an illuminated display of shelved bottles and lamps under suspended beer kegs.

Downstairs, there are several cellar seating areas but we sat at a table facing the bar. There are 24 equally spaced taps and beer details and prices for 12.5cl and 25cl glasses are clearly displayed above. The temperature was nice and cool below ground level.
The cheapest draught beers were from the independent, family run Haacht Brewery Super 8 range.

My choice was Super 8 Saison served in a distinctive ball shaped glass with a heavy base. This farmhouse style beer is brewed with rye, malt, oats, wheat and spelt grains. It was spicy from the addition of ginger and galanga. The 25cl glass of 4.8% ABV beer cost 2.75 euros.

Several Trappist beers are also available from the illustrated bottled beer menu.
We would return to Pelgrom on Saturday afternoon, with our beer loving friends, to escape the heat on an even hotter day.

The time was 9pm local time as we approached Cafe Pelikaan, Melkmarkt 14, set slightly back from the north east aspect of the Cathedral of our Lady. Regula Ysewijn advises 'There has been a cafe in this building since 1870 but the current interior dates from the beginning of the 20th century.'

Now was my opportunity for a Trappist beer with Orval listed at 4.20 euros on the beer menu (which it was necessary to ask at the bar for).

Steve and I both ordered a draught Tripel d'Anvers brewed by Antwerp's De Koninck brewery and the glasses show the Antwerp skyline.

We were soon joined by Richard, John and Keith who had enjoyed horse steak dinners at a nearby restaurant after arriving in Antwerp earlier than us. They would order draught Rodenbach, a permanent beer at De Pelikaan.

As well as brass bar rails, floor tiles are often found in traditional Belgian cafes and this was the case at De Pelikaan.
It was after 11pm local time when we left De Pelikaan. The others would go on to visit Zeezicht in Dageraadplats before returning to the Tryp by Wyndham Hotel with air conditioned rooms as standard.

Billie's Bier Kafetaria at night

Meanwhile, Steve and I walked back to Hotel Rubenshof, passing Billie's Bier Kafetaria. Further along, it was a good idea of Steve's to stop for a takeaway pizza. Our hotel rooms did not have air conditioning but unfortunately my room did have a mosquito or similar biting insect that would leave its mark.

A late return to Hotel Rubenshof

Antwerp - Friday 22/6/2018 part 2

My walking route from Ibis Budget Hotel near Antwerp Central Station to Hostel Pulcinella was via City Park and passed the renowned Cafe Kulminator, Vleminckveld 32, visited the previous evening.

Kleine Markt - near Cafe Kulminator

Kleine Markt is overlooked by a statue of Mary and baby Jesus, including a streetlamp, on the junction with Bredestraat, just 50 metres further north-west.

I was able to check in to my spacious first floor room with a view of the courtyard garden by about 6pm. A partial refund of the room rate, due to single occupancy, was a pleasant surprise.

 

BierPassie Weekend XIX - day 1

The advantage of staying at Hostel Pulcinella is that it is only 600 metres from the entrance to the BierPassie Weekend festival in Groenplaats.

The festival opens at 5pm on the Friday. On arrival at Groenplaats, I purchased a Beer Sommelier tasting glass (5 euros) and jetons (plastic beer tokens - 2 euros / 20cl) and picked up a free programme at the entrance. Our group was sitting inside the tent housing Ben's bar.
Andrew pointed me to Keith Moore who was chatting with Johan Van Dyck and Karen Follens the founders of Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie in front of the Seefbier wagon / bar.

Before joining them I used my first jeton for a glass of Super Cadix dry hopped lager from the wagon.

Karen Follens and Johan Van Dyck with Ullage magazine

Page 6 (detail) - Ullage magazine (Autumn 2017)

I was glad to be able to give Johan an Autumn 2017 issue of Ullage magazine which included a photo of an Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie poster and details of the brewery's new taproom / cafe which our group would visit at lunchtime on Saturday.

Keith Moore with Keef Bier

Slightly earlier, Keith had presented them with bottles of Keefbier, with a label based on the Seefbier label but incorporating Keith's bespectacled face insted of the face of 'Seef man'.

Having brought a copy of the latest edition (8th) of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium with me, I was able to show Johan the entry for Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie, on page 77 of the 'Belgian Breweries A to Z section'. Johan was a bit doubtful about their brewery's 'Tiny' size category although happy that it had not been categorised as 'Miniscule'!
Thanks to Johan for a complimentary glass of Nonkel Pater, the dark and rich 9% abv 'Qua-dubbel'.

Back at Ben Vinken's bar, I used a jeton for a glass of Brouwerij Van den Bossche Buffalo bitter, poured from a 75cl bottle with a cork closure.

 

Aura Brasserie

Most of our group wanted to visit De Peerdestal, a restaurant where the menu included horse steak, but Simon and I decided to revisit Aura Brasserie, Hoogstraat 34, for an omelette.

I found a table inside near the bar with shelves for a variety of Belgian beer glasses. A few draught beers are available here including Antwerp's De Koninck APA (Antwaarpse Pale Ale).

Arriving before Simon, I ordered a St Feuillien Grisette Blonde Bio which was served with a small dish of coated nuts.

When Simon arrived, I ordered a bottle of Het Nest SchuppenBoer (Jack of Spades) - a 'floral and peachy tripel'.

Simon chose a bottle of Brasserie du Bocq Deugniet. The image on the bottle of a cheeky rascal (the meaning of Deugniet) was a surprise. Subsequent research shows that there is an Antwerp connection with the statue, from which the image is taken, being situated near the junction of two pedestrian streets -Korte Gasthuisstraat and Everdijstraat in the 'De Wilde Zee' neighbourhood, immediately south-east of Groenplaats and the Cathedral of our Lady. Barely visible from Google Maps Streetview, the bronze statue mounted on a plinth is the work of Luc Verlee for the city of Antwerp in 1976 according to a comprehensive blog about the city's statues by Alfons Van Camp. Another blog by Lia in Brussels links moustaches and music via John Lundström to this statue which has been 'kidnapped' and recovered on several occasions.

The excellent omelettes we ordered were served with a salad so my decision to order an additional Greek salad to share was somewhat unnecessary.

a view from Vlaaikensgang 'secret' passage

On our way back, after the meal, we noticed an alleyway leading east from Hoogstraat and detoured down it, turning left at a corner to emerge into Oude Koornmarkt. This charming 'secret' passage is Vlaaikensgang.

 

BierPassie Weekend XIX - late evening

Back at nearby Groenplaats we found a table on the west side of the square (on the left side of the plan from the programme).

I visited the Van Eecke (Leroy) Brewery stand (8) at the north end of the square, nearest the cathedral, for a glass of draught Hommelbier dry hopping 2018 'showcasing that earthy, floral Poperinge hop character'.

John, Andrew & Simon - Groenplaats

This Friday was not as warm in Antwerp as it was in the UK and it was nice to have a fleece to wear at our outside table in the square.

Another beer enjoyed at the festival this evening was Waterloo Récolte Saison from the Martin's stand (5).

Billie's Bier Kafetaria

We left Groenplaats before closing time and some took the tram to Dageraadplaats where we had all been the previous night.

However, Simon and I walked the 100 metres to Billie's Beer Kafetaria, Kammenstraat 12.

The choice of 11 draught beers is  displayed on a blackboard above the bar. These are sourced from around the world including AleSmith Speedway Stout (San Diego, USA) and Magic Rock Human Canonball DIPA (Huddersfield, UK).

At Billie's, most of the draught beers are more expensive than many of the bottled beers. Simon ordered a draught Rodenbach Alexander (6 euros) while a bottle of Schelde Brouwerij Hop Ruiter dry hopped IPA / Tripel (4 euros) suited me fine and was a favourite beer of the day.
With the help of SoundHound App it was possible to identify some of the decent music being played including Stoned Jesus (from Kiev) 'I'm the Mountain', Kaleo (from Iceland) 'Way Down We Go' and Austra (from Toronto) 'Lose It'.

My last beer at Billie's from a favourite Belgian brewery was also to my taste, a bottle of 7% abv Antigoon from The Musketeers Brewery Belgian Legends series, costing 3.5 euros.

A page from the beer menu illustrates that most Belgian beers are strong as Taras Boulba (4.5% abv) is included here in the Low Alcohol section!

It was nice to see Billie, who walked into 'his' bar some time after midnight!
Now it was time for me to walk the short 400 metres back to Hostel Pulcinella while Simon had to walk over 2km back to Hotel Ibis Budget, near Antwerp Centraal station.

* - any quoted beer descriptions are taken from CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium (8th edition) - Joe Stange & Tim Webb.

Belgian Beer Trip 2017 - Day 2

Bruges to Ghent 

On Thursday 22 June, 2017, there was time for black coffee at Hostel Lybeer before heading to the station with Mark and Dave / Bod, who had been staying at Snuffel Hostel.

At Bruges station, after checking that we could break our journey at Ghent, we bought single tickets to Antwerp (15.40 euro) and boarded a long Brussels-bound train.
On arrival at Ghent we were able to fit all our luggage into a large locker (5.50 euro for 24 hours). It was a hot day so it was frustrating to walk past the fountain outside the station without any cooling effect!
Mark led us first to the site of the original Gruut brewery at Grote Huidevettershoek 10, via Bijlokekaai (on the east bank of the river Leie / Lys), Nederkouter (the route of tram #1) and Ketelvest (beside Ketelvaart waterway). He was disappointed to see that everything had been stripped out, including the bar, so that no refreshment break was available here.

However, we passed some interesting buildings in Biezekapel Straat, beyond the cathedral, on the next leg to the current Gruut brewery.

Later research showed that a 2011 light festival show had been held in the rear courtyard of the Royal School of Fine Arts (KASK) / Royal Conservatory, with an unusual circular tower, accessed from Biezekapel Straat.

Gruut Brewery

A street fair was being set up in Rembert Dodoenstreef, a route to Baudelo Park, and the location of Gruut brewery.

With bright sunshine outside we appreciated some shade in the building that was once the city's fish market, although the sun still reached some parts through sections of glass roof.

Our first priority now was a cold beer and some water to go with it. My choice of Gruut Wit was refreshing. A 33cl glass cost 3.20 euros. In his 'Protz on Beer' feature of 31 January 2016, titled 'Annick's Gruut Beer is the Spice of Life', Roger Protz writes 'White is a wheat beer and is cloudy and extremely pale. It has a big spicy nose and palate with a pronounced hit of ginger, with hints of orange and creamy malt. Fruit and spice combine in the lingering finish.'

From our seats around a table near the bar, overlooked by stuffed cattle and a large painting of Ghent characters, we studied the beer menu before ordering a second glass.

Gruut Blond was my second choice. As with other beers from the brewery, apart from Inferno, there are no hops but but various herbs and spices are used instead.

The brewing vessels were relocated here from the previous site and can be seen at the end of the room, underneath the large painting and on the opposite wall to the bar. Fermenting vessels are horizontal.

Although we were apparently the first customers of the day, we later talked with Francois Prowse, a Kiwi now based in Brisbane, who was also on holiday in Belgium. Francois mentioned that he is a home-brewer and is able to source ingredients from Bacchus Brewing Co nearby. As usual, I took the opportunity to give Francois a copy of West Berkshire CAMRA magazine, Ullage.

Roger Protz's feature mentions that Gruut's brewster - Annick de Splenter - has parents who are both from important Belgian brewing families.

There are various brewing related portraits and pictures on the walls of the extensive space available for visitors.

Ghent to Antwerp
Dave and I persuaded Mark that it would be a good idea to get a bus back to the station as the sun was still shining brightly when we emerged. We each paid a cash fare of 3 euros to the bus driver and returned to Gent-Sint-Pieters station by a circuitous route. After retrieving our luggage we boarded a direct train to Antwerp. The first stop was Gent-Dampoort, a mere 500 metres from Gruut Brewery! For visitors to the brewery travelling from Antwerp by train it would obviously make sense to use this station. Other stations on the route included Sint-Niklaas and Antwerpen-Berchem before arrival at Antwerpen-Centraal.

We left from a side exit and walked down Vestingstraat, a narrow street where every shop was a jewellers, reflecting the continuing importance of the diamond trade to the city. Soon we would be on a wide pedestrian shopping street and then back to side streets to reach our modern hostel 'Pulcinella' in Bogaardeplein.

Cafe Kulminator

After checking in we soon headed out again to nearby Cafe Kulminator, Vleminckveld 32.

We sat at the big table by the window where we had sat on a visit the previous year. The noticeboard listing draught beers (bier van 't vat) was easily visible from here.

My first beer was Zure Kriekenlam by Timmermans (Martin's). This rarely available sour cherry flavoured lambic cost 4.20 euros.

This is a classic beer cafe, run by Leen and Dirk who will be winding down to retirement by closing at 7pm, with last orders at 6pm from 2020, according to a notice in the window.

We didn't consult the extensive bottle menu on this occasion and I next enjoyed a draught Chimay Grande Reserve from 2016 (3.80 euros).

The decor here has not been changed for many years which adds to its charm.

Billie's Bier Kafetaria

We only had to walk 400 metres towards the city centre to find Billie's Bier Kafetaria with bench seating on the pavement outside.

A blackboard sign at the entrance suggests 'Beer nerds come in try all Billie's crazy beers' and mentions that there are 11 beers on tap.

We found a table near the entrance doorway, which provided a welcome breeze, on a day which was still hot.

My first beer was from tap 4 - Stone the Crows IPA by Brewski (Sweden). At 5.50 euro this proved to be one of my favourite beers with a hazy appearnace and peppery notes.

We decided to eat at Billie's. The limited menu included Vlaams Stoofvlees (18.50 euros) a casserole dish served with chips and a dish of slaw. There was too much Flemish beef stew for me although Mark did accept one piece from the casserole. This would be a good dish to share between two people on a future visit.

While we ate our meals, the bar's dog spent more time near our table. His patience went unrewarded but perhaps he would be able to eat my leftovers later.

Ster, our charming and attentive barmaid / waitress explained that the bar is named after Billie the dog who seems to have the run of the place when he is not exploring nearby streets. I took the opportunity to give Ster a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine and mention some local breweries that advertise in Ullage and might be able to supply the bar like Wild Weather Ales and Renegade / West Berkshire Brewery.

Paters Vaetje

Paeters Vaetje, Blauwmoezelstraat 1, near the cathedral, is only 200 metres further on from Billie's.

John Reynor, Keith Moore & Mark Geeson

We had arranged to meet Keith and John here, also arriving a day early for Antwerp's BierPassie Weekend beer festival. My first beer, draught Gouden Carolus Classic by Brouwerij Het Anker is in the foreground of the photo above.

This busy bar, like most Belgian bars, has a big range of glasses to match all the beers they serve.

Some extra seating space is available in a raised section at the back of the room where a blackboard has details of beer specials.

After a long day, it was a struggle staying awake. Although failing to keep pace with my friends drinking and conversation there was still time to enjoy a Vedett Extra Ordinary IPA before the bar closed up for the night.