The prospect of a first visit to L'Ermitage Nano Brasserie in Brussels and day trips to Mechelen and Leuven made a trip to Belgium by Eurostar, while the United Kingdom still remained a member of the European Union, something to look forward to in March 2019.
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| L'Ermitage Nano Brasserie, Brussels - decorated window to street. |
Friday 22 March arrived and the first stage was to get from Newbury to Brussels via London Paddington and St Pancras International.
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| £6.25 Newbury to London (with railcard) |
On previous trips the return fare from Newbury to London often cost more than the single fare from London to Brussels but on this occasion I had snagged an advance single fare of £6.25 in a Great Western Railway ticket sale.
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| London Paddington station - view from overbridge |
Thankfully my train arrived at London Paddington on time. The view from the overbridge leading to the Hammersmith and City line station called for a photograph. With mainly electric trains instead of diesels nowadays the station is quieter and the air quality is better.
A walk through St Pancras International revealed that there were no queues for the Eurostar terminal so I headed for the
Barrel Vault, the new Wetherspoon pub sited in the unit previously occupied by Marks & Spencer on the east side of the station with windows facing Kings Cross station.
There was time to order a small breakfast (£3.10) and coffee with refills (£1.80) while I waited for Simon to arrive.
Simon duly arrived and after breakfasting we joined the short queue for the 10.58am Brussels train at the Eurostar terminal. Despite Simon's intention to book a forward facing window seat we ended up with a rear facing seat and not much window. The train was full so there was no opportunity to move seats.
Brasserie de L'Ermitage
After arriving on time at Brussels Midi we walked to
Brasserie de L'Ermitage, 26
Rue Lambert Crickx via Place Bara.
On Friday or Saturday a visit to this brewery and tasting room can be combined with a visit to nearby
Brasserie Cantillon and is recommended. See
L'Ermitage Nano Brasserie blog post for more details of the quirky decor, beers and brewery.
After checking into our hotel we caught a 51 tram from Bodegem south to Albert at 16:10.
We both used our pre-purchased
MoBIB cards to pay for the journey on board.
Most of the trip was underground and leaving Albert station we headed for Parc de Forest passing
Bar du Matin at Place Albert on the way.
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| Parc de Forest (panoramic) |
It was a surprise to find that we were now in an elevated position with views towards Anderlecht from
Parc de Forest. We noticed that there were plenty of people in the park relaxing in the sunshine.
We took a walk down towards the northern corner passing a group of fir trees with hanging parrots nests and noisy green parrots congregating.
A view from this side of the park included a variety of houses in Avenue du Mont Kemmel bathed in afternoon sunlight.
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| 4,5,6 Ave du Mont Kemmel |
We walked back up this road and spotted some decorative art nouveau houses at the road's highest point.
Moeder Lambic Original
After repassing Bar du Matin we walked down Rue Arthur Diderich to find
Moeder Lambic 'Original' on the corner with Rue du Savoie.
Arriving here at 17:00 we enjoyed two beers inside at a chunky wooden table beside an open window. The hip-hop style music playing seemed a bit incongruous with the surroundings.
More details of our visit can be found in a separate blog post
Moeder Lambic Original, Saint-Gilles which includes the daily tap list with three cask ales. A visit to this bar is recommended but note the 16:00 opening time on weekdays.
On leaving it was downhill again towards the Barriere roundabout which many trams circumnavigate.
Brasserie Verschueren
We walked north down Chaussee de Waterloo to reach Parvis de Saint-Gilles and
Brasserie Verschueren arriving at 18:30.
The tables were busy but we found a narrow table inside the art deco style room with a view towards the bar. For details of the 'Bieres Maison' from De Ranke and Brasserie de la Senne that we enjoyed here and Pepsi the cat view a separate blog post
Brasserie Verschueren, Saint-Gilles.
Brasserie de L'Union
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| Simon at the Brasserie de L'Union |
A two minute walk east along the broad pedestrianised Parvis de Saint-Gilles led to the equally stylish
Brasserie de L'Union on the corner with Rue de Moscou. There are black and white photo portraits behind the bar and the illuminated bar canopy is topped with a sign 'L'Union fait la force'.
The beer we both ordered here was draught
Brouwerij Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet (8.4% ABV 33cl, 3 euros). The bad news was that it was not served in the brewery's own glass however it is a beer that I always enjoy drinking.
La Brocante
After a 1km walk north via Rue Haute along the side of the University Hospital we reached
La Brocante, 170 Rue Blaes, on a corner of Place du Jeu de Balle, the site of the daily
Marolles market (8am-2pm) where antiques and bric-a-brac can be found. It was now 20:20.
Less busy than the previous two brasseries we found a table near the bar and after spotting a promotional poster I ordered draught
Brasserie {C} Smash (Liege Pale Ale, 6.2% ABV, IBU 26 - 'notre nouvelle sensation houblonnee') hopped only with Mosaic and certainly tasting hoppy.
There is an interesting sculpted city scene with a central tree behind the bar and a variety of enamel brewery signs. Music from a commercial radio station was playing.
The cafe even displays its own enamel sign which may not be as old as it looks?
The floor tiles are the same as at Brasserie Verschueren and La Brocante also has its own cat.
There was no opportunity to stay for a second beer here as it closes at 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
Cafe Bebo
Instead we walked another kilometre to the spacious premises of
Cafe Bebo, 2 Avenue de Stalingrad, arriving at 21:00.
We both ordered draught
Brasserie Dubuisson Cuvee des Trolls which was served in the correct 33cl glassware. The 7% ABV, 19 IBU blonde ale, with dried orange peel added at the boiling stage, cost 3.50 euros here.
Poechenellekelder
After this beer we walked a further 500 metres, past
Mannekin Pis to Poechenellekelder and were relieved to find a free table on arrival. I ordered lasagne as usual and draught Brasserie de la Senne
Taras Boulba.
We stayed for another beer as there is always good service here and the surroundings are fascinating.
Moeder Lambic Fontainas
We left before midnight and stopped off at
Moeder Lambic Fontainas on the way back to our hotel.
This is a different style of bar to the original in Saint-Gilles. Here you can rely on the same good service but with a larger choice of beers in a more contemporary setting. The six handpumps can be spotted half way along the back of the bar by the Cantillon sign.
Simon was especially impressed by his black IPA from Ghent's
Dok Brewing Company -
Sabrosura. This was brewed in collaboration with Madrid's
La Quince Brewing and includes mango and Guajillo chilli additions.
We would return to Moeder Lambic Fontainas on Saturday night after a visit to Mechelen and there are photos from this visit at the end of the
Mechelen meander blog post.
On Sunday we visited Leuven - more details in
Leuven jazz festival blog post.
On Monday, before returning to the UK we visited some Victor Horta art nouveau buildings in Ixelles and revisited Saint-Gilles including a second visit to Brasserie de L'Union - more details in
Brussels (South) blog post.
We passed Cafe de Welkom near the junction of Oudburg and Drongenhof but this is simply a taproom for Gent's Dok Brewing Co without catering. 
There is an impressive bound beer menu and we asked the barman to give us a bit more time to study it before taking our order which was professionally served. The draught page (left) includes three exclusive beers at the top. The Abbey beer page warns that they are not Trappist beers and that the abbeys may not exist! There is also the reminder that payment is per table and not per person. 
Tim's final beers in Ghent (above) were draught Brouwerij Huyghe Paranoia (IPA) dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic and a bottle of Ter Dolen Armand, dry-hopped with Cascade and named after the co-founder of the brewery Armand Desplenter. 
Rich had previously set us a task of choosing eight 'Desert Island Discs' and we had a good time taking turns in rounds to present our choices and say a few words about them. 
Perhaps it's not surprising that we are friends when we all enjoy beer, music, travel and can cope with spending four full days together! 
After midnight, it was time to leave and walk back to the hotel just as the Waterhuis was about to close.
Passing near St James' church again we noticed that it was busy at Afsnis at a quarter past midnight. A bar to visit on another trip perhaps!
