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.

Antwerp - 3 - Beer Passion Weekend 2016

BierPassie Weekend programme

The 17th BierPassie Weekend was held in Groenplaats, Antwerp on 24/25 & 26 June 2016.

Richard, Andrew, Simon, Keith & Mark - BierPassie Weekend XVII

This was my first visit to the beer festival but most of the others in our group of seven had been visiting Antwerp for the last fifteen years or so.

Friday 24 June, 2016

Simonsstraat, Antwerp - near Plantin Premetro station

Arriving on the day of a general strike meant that we walked from the Tryp hotel to Groenplaats as very few trams were running.

Sint-Jorispoort - between Nationale Bank and Mechelseplein tram stops

We didn't follow the most direct route but did get to see the triangular Stadspark between Simonstraat and Sint-Jorispoort.

We also passed the Maagdenhuis Museum which is housed on the ground floor of a former orphanage for girls. The collection includes paintings from the 15th to 17th centuries.

section of KBC Tower (Boerentoren)

Now we could see the KBC Tower (Boerentoren), once the tallest skyscraper in Europe, standing just east of Groenplaats and knew we would soon reach the beer festival.

Layout of bars etc

Before we could buy a beer we went to the Beer Passion shop in the marquee and collected a programme and bought a Belgian Beer Sommelier tasting glass (5 euros) and a stock of jetons / tokens (2 euros each) to use at the bars.

A glass of Cornet, from the closest bar to the shop (1 - Brouwerij De Hoorn) would be my first beer of the festival and one to recommend to the others.

Now we could find a table to sit at with a view of the Cathedral of Our Lady.

Our table was near the Belgian Beer Sommelier bar (18) and the programme mentions that a 75cl bottle of beer could be purchased for 4 jetons so we split a bottle of Buffalo Bitter (Brouwerij Van Den Bossche).

Dixieland Street Band

At 7pm, the Dixieland Street Band passed by our table playing traditional New Orleans jazz music.

We would taste a few more beers including Ben's Belgian White (brewed to the specification of Ben Vinken - Beer Sommelier and organiser of BierPassie Weekend).

The sun was setting by the time we left the festival to find a table inside at Cafe Kulminator.
Later we would sit outside Cafe ZeeZicht in Dageraadplaats after midnight for a final beer before a short walk back to our hotel.

Saturday 25 June, 2016

Johan Van Dyck - Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie

A lunchtime visit to Brasserie Aura and an introduction to Seef bier and Bootjes bier from  Anterwerpse Brouw Compagnie is described in my previous Antwerp - 2 - Seef bier blog post.

One of my first beers of the afternoon was Barbar Blonde from the Brouwerij Lefebvre bar (13).

It would soon be time to take shelter in the Beer Sommelier Bar after grey skies threatened a sudden downpour.

From this sheltered table I could enjoy my 20 cl glass of Kriek Max (6 - Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste) with a fruity cherry flavour. Once the rain had stopped we headed towards the river Scheldt and turned left for Best Beer Cafe (BBC) where Tripel Karmeliet (Brouwerij Bosteels) is available on draught and the Euro 2016 football match between Wales and Northern Ireland was showing on TV. Later we would visit De Groote Witte Arend (the Great White Eagle) beer restaurant.

Sunday 26 June, 2016

Hotel Tryp - reception area

Before leaving the hotel on Sunday morning, I asked Keith Moore from our group some questions about the hobbybrauer / homebrewing prize he won at the first CraftBeerMesse in Mainz. Keith lives in Langen, near Frankfurt airport and brewed a Black IPA for the craft beer festival. His winning beer was based on a recipe he found on the internet for a Cascadian dark ale. In September 2016, he will supervise the brewing of about 950 litres of a version of this beer at Rheinhessen Brau, Mainz-Ebersheim. He will receive 50 litres as his prize and the remainder will be on sale at the second CraftBeerMesse in Mainz (25/26 November 2016).

Cafe Pelikaan

Our group took the #11 tram to Melkmarkt, passing Cafe Pelikaan on the short walk from Groenplaats. We initially settled at a table without an umbrella but as grey clouds approached and the rain started we moved to another table with an umbrella over it.

For my first beer on Sunday I chose a Mongozo Mango (3.6% ABV) fruit beer, brewed in the Netherlands.

Marco de Rango at the B.O.M. Brewery bar

Keith Moore and I visited the B.O.M. Brewery bar (8 - Belgian Original Malt Bakery and Brewery) with beers brewed by Bert Van Hecke using malts he has baked or roasted. We talked to Marco de Rango (Hopsessed) about the beers. Marco said 'our beer's not OK - it's perfect!'. I ordered a draught Triporteur from Heaven (6.2% ABV) and Keith chose a Full Moon 12 'a hell of a 12 with Belgian Oak roasted at full moon' served from a bottle. The oak flavours are obtained by adding oak chips roasted at the bakery. Keith selected Full Moon 12 as his favourite dark beer of the BeerPassie Weekend.

My next beer was Wild Jo (5.8% ABV) brewed in Antwerp by De Koninck and served from a bottle. The 'Wild' refers to the wild yeasts used to ferment it and the 'Jo' refers to Joseph van den Bogaert 'whose own lust for adventure ensured the survival of the brewery after WWI'. This was one of my favourite beers from the festival. See also my earlier blog post Antwerp - 1 - De Koninck about the traditional De Koninck beer served in a Bolleke glass.

L>R: John, Andrew, Keith, Mark and Richard

Returning to our table, I found the table had been moved closer to the umbrella pole to provide maximum cover from the heavy rain.

I was keen to have a word with Ben Vinken on the last day of the festival so visited the Bier Sommelier bar and ordered a glass of Ben's Belgian Saison. As there was not enough for a further serving from the bottle afterwards, Ben generously let me keep the remaining contents of the bottle for my group to sample.

Beer Sommelier Ben Vinken (left)

2 jetons (4 euros) is the usual charge for a portion of cheese at the Beer Sommelier bar but Ben kindly gave me a small portion of Vieux Chimay, the darker cheese to accompany my glass of Ben's Belgian Saison. The other cheeses were Westmalle and Belle Dalle. Ben Vinken and Michel van Tricht have published a book Bier & Kaas (Beer & Cheese) in several languages which suggests 50 top Belgian beers paired with appropriate cheeses. Ben explained that his bottled beers, like Ben's Special Belge, are brewed to his specifications by Brouwerij Anders.

When I returned to our table and asked for suggestions for a beer to try, there was much support for the draught Corsendonk Dubbel Kriek so I took their advice! This was a beer to savour and later selected by Keith, Mark and Richard as their favourite lambic or kriek at the beer festival.
By now we had worked up a good appetite and it was time for a visit to Huisbrouwerij 't Pakhuis for some lunch to go with beer brewed on the premises. After lunch we returned to the hotel to collect our luggage before catching the train to Brussels for a night before returning to London by Eurostar on Monday evening after visits to some of our favourite beer bars.
I look forward to returning to Antwerp in 2017 for BeerPassie Weekend XVIII. Cheers!

Antwerp - 1 - De Koninck

It was appropriate that my first beer on arrival in Antwerp should be a 'Bolleke De Koninck' (named after the shape of the glass).

The A.P.A. on the De Koninck label stands for Antwaarpse Pale Ale. The eponymous 5.2% ABV beer is brewed with pale barley malt, caramelised malt and Saaz-Saaz hops from the Czech Republic. Tasting notes from the brewery suggest 'Slightly malty with a note of caramel. Slightly hoppy and a hint of cinnamon'.

Dageraadplaats is a traffic free square lined with cafes and brasseries, the ideal place to stop for a beer after walking from Antwerpen-Berchem station towards Tryp hotel via Cogels Osylei in the Zurenborg district of the city with its stylish architecture.

Cogels Osylei, Zurenborg, Antwerp

De Koninck's Antwerp city brewery was established in 1833. It is located about a kilometer from Antwerpen-Berchem station and we would pass the side entrance of the brewery later in the weekend. The brewery is open for tour experiences from Tuesday to Sunday.

De Koninck - Antwerp City Brewery

We could have spent all Friday afternoon at cafes in Dageraadplaats but we were keen to check in and head for the Beer Passion Weekend, held annually in Groenplaats, Antwerp. 24 June 2016 was the first day of BierPassie Weekend XVII.

We headed off towards the hotel leaving Dageraadsplaats but we would return to the tree-lined square later in the evening!

Museum aan de Stroom

On Saturday morning we enjoyed a visit to the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) near the river Scheldt in the Eilandje district of Antwerp.

Panoramic views of Belgium's second largest city can be obtained from the roof terrace accessed by a series of escalators.

We passed Het Steen, Antwerp's oldest building, on the riverside and saw the statue of Lange Wapper, the giant, a Flemish folklore character, at the approach to the castle entrance.

We walked from here to Aura Brasserie at Hoogstraat 34, a pedestrian street between Groenplaats and the river.

For our first beer of the day we each ordered a draught 'Bolleke' of De Koninck which was served to our table near the window. We ordered omelettes for lunch which were served with slices of bread and individual salads encircled by a cucumber strip 'wall'.

Simon mentioned that in previous years the group would usually sit in the vine-covered patio area at the back of Brasserie Aura but with intermittent light rain this was not an option today.

As editor of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine, I took the opportunity to leave a copy with the proprietors of Aura Brasserie who had catered for our group so well. I look forward to revisiting the brasserie on my next visit to Antwerp.

Before heading to the Beer Passion Weekend festival in Groenplaats for the second time we would try another local beer recommended by the brasserie - Seef bier from Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie. This will be the subject of a separate blog post on BeerEurope. Roger Protz has already written about Seef after meeting Johan Van Dyck in 2012.