Brussels - Sunday 24/6/2018

A La Mort Subite faces Scott's Bar at Rue Montagne aux Herbes Potagères 2. The pizzas at Scott's Bar were recommended by Barry and Karen who had visited a few days previously. They also told us that the bar had a big screen and was screening FIFA World Cup games with English commentaries.

Our group had left Antwerp before the Sunday lunchtime session of Bierpassie Weekend in order to watch the England v Panama game in Brussels which kicked off at 2pm local time. My first beer at Scott's Bar was Maes Pils (2.20 euros / 25cl) and this allowed me to reserve a table with a reasonable view of the screen.

Once joined by the others it was time for a Blanche de Bruges (4.70 euros / 50 cl) served with slices of lemon and lime. This was a goal filled game which ended England 6 Panama 1. Several pizzas were enjoyed by our group although it was too early to take advantage of the Happy Hour offer.

After the final whistle we crossed the street to the historic and traditional A La Mort Subite. CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium explains its name is derived from a dice game and was later given to a beer brand.

As on previous visits I enjoyed a glass of draught Mort Subite Peche (4.3% abv) with a flavour of sweet peach.

Andrew was still hungry and ordered a tomato omelette, served with a large slice of bread.

Richard, wearing yet another vintage of CAMRA Kingston Beer & Cider Festival t-shirt, checked his phone for distances to nearby bars. My CAMRA Good Beer Guide Belgium research had identified Brasserie du Lombard at Rue du Lombard 1, as a nearby bar that none of us had visited before. We walked there via Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, using the northern entrance to the arcade lined with exclusive shops. This arcade entrance is visible in the top photo (beyond the crowd of tourists).

We entered Brasserie du Lombard and found a high bar on the left with a range of fifteen fonts, several of which were out of service.

We ordered our beers at the bar and found a table on the right where a full height mural adorned the far wall.

Keith and Simon faced towards the entrance where they could watch the next FIFA World Cup game on TV. The chandelier light fitting on the left side of the bar was noticeable for the (Delirium) pink elephants above it. The proprietor was wearing the same design of navy polo shirt bearing a pink elephant as Andrew, something that will surely remain in our memories!

The art nouveau style beer menu was studied before the next round of drinks was ordered. This bar has a good range of bottles including a good selection in 75cl size that are hard to find.

During our trip, John's red moustache protector, seen here attached to a thin stemmed Silly Triple Swaf glass, had attracted much interest.

It was good to have a chat here with Keith Moore about his homebrewing. He is waiting to find out the style for the next contest at the 4th CraftBeerMesse in Mainz (23/24 November 2018), where his beer has previously won a prize. Keith had noticed that Bosteels Brewery Pauwel Kwak was available on draught at Cafe du Lombard so ordered this and it was served in the distinctive flask shaped glass in a wooden holder.

Simon ordered locally brewed draught Brasserie de la Senne Zinnebir. It was a relief to find that my choice of bar met with general approval. With its big windows on two sides and high celing it was a pleasant place to enjoy some Belgian beers, chat and keep up with the football. The proprietor was efficient if not exactly friendly. It was reported that toilet facilities were obviously not designed for large persons.

Moeder Lambic Fontainas (on right)

I would meet up with the group again, about an hour later, at nearby Moeder Lambic, Place Fontainas 8, after checking in at Hotel Floris Ustel.

This was the weekend of the Fête nationale du Québec event at Moeder Lambic. There was Quebec style folk music in one of the gazebos outside and draught beer was being served for the audience from a bar in a wooden shed.

Our group had found a booth with a view of the TV for the next World Cup football game.
As the last to arrive my seat was a stool in the aisle. As usual, I admired the design of this bar with its exposed brickwork, framed brewery photographs and suspended lighting. Keith pointed out that the grey seating sections for the booths were actually hollow and made from wood painted to match the appearance of the polished concrete floor.

Thanks to Andrew (centre) whose round included our 50cl measures of festival beers. Note that Richard had now changed into a red Kingston beer festival shirt.

I enjoyed my No Science Da' Funk (Single hop Zeus Pale Ale). The No Science website mentions 'this is not Belgian style / but we still put our Belgian touch in it' and gives the microbrewery's contact address as Rue Dieudonné Lefèvre 37, Brussels with opening hours as Fridays 13:00-16:00. This looks like a plan for a future Brussels visit!

Our final Sunday destination, in a rerun of the 2017 visit, would be Poechenellekelder, Rue du Chêne 5, near Mannikin Pis. We arrived to find Barry and Karen, Terry and Trish sitting outside. After some negotiation we decided to find a long table inside as the temperature was dropping outside.

Our table was near the bar, making our hard-working waiter's job slightly easier. We were also grateful to staff for taking this photo with my iPhone's camera. Note the puppets suspended from the ceiling and walls that are a feature of this much appreciated establishment.

A blackboard lists the beers available on draught.

After a Brasserie de la Senne Taras Boulba, I chose a bottle of 5.8% ABV amber coloured Martin's Pale Ale from the menu which is dry hopped with Kentish hops. This was a good accompaniment to the delicious and filling baked lasagne which has become a regular food highlight of a Brussels trip.


Any visit to the (downstairs) toilets involves passing a display featuring a couple of seated puppets.

There was time for another beer and I chose another beer brewed in Brussels - Brasserie de la Senne Jambe-de-Bois, the 'Belgian Revolution triple'.

Afterwards, on my way back to the hotel I passed a tempting cheese shop -
La Fruitière, 99-103 Rue du Marché au Charbon with a marvellous window display.

See Monday's blog post for the next instalment.