Antwerp 2023 - revisits

On my sixth visit to Antwerp (Thursday 29 June to Sunday 2 July 2023) and the first not coinciding with Beer Passion Weekend festival, there was time to revisit seven favourite bars in addition to those visited for the first time (Antwerp 2023 - first visits).

Cafe Kulminator

As it was near Hostel Pulcinella, our group managed three visits to Kulminator but I missed the third visit in order to meet up with Paul and Jennie in De Vagant on Saturday. Groups and tourists are not usually welcome at Kulminator and Dirk in his gatekeeper role must hear the words 'taste', 'cash' and 'euros' before considering admittance. Despite his age, the bright red frame of Dirk's spectacles made him look rather intimidating as he surveyed us on the pavement from his elevated position inside!

On our first visit, David fluffed his lines and said 'sample' instead of 'taste' but eventually the door was opened for us after assurance that we could pay for our drinks with cash (euros).

L to R: Paul R, Graham, Les, Simon, David, Tim & Mark. Photo: Jennie R

Paul and Jennie needed to point to our group, sat near the window, in order to gain admission after our earlier arrival on the Friday!

Leen served the beers for our group including Gueuze for Graham using the traditional method.

Although the classical music and traditions of the legendary Kulminator may not appeal to all, the price list has not been updated for several years resulting in better value than ever!

Tim enjoyed a total of three beers on his two visits with the 75cl bottle of St Feuillien Saison shared. The third beer was draught Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keizer Whisky Infused 2022 brewed in Mechelen by Het Anker.

De Vagant

In 2022, Tim had visited an updated De Vagant with a group to honour the late John Reynor with beers and jenevers served by Bart Daems, the new manager. On Saturday 1 July this year, Bart was wearing a Heino t-shirt and posed with the autumn 2022 Ullage magazine opened at the page with a story and photos from that day including John at top left of page in photo below.

This was Paul and Jennie's first visit to Antwerp and it was nice to meet up with them again here while the others were at Kulminator for the third afternoon running.

Tim enjoyed a draught Cherry Chouffe on this visit.

De Ware Jacob

It was only a short walk down Reyndersstraat and Vlasmarkt to reach De Ware Jacob.

The excellent draught range here includes (Tim's choice) Brasserie Dupont Avec les Bon Voeux (9.5% ABV), Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie Seef and St Barnardus Abt 12 (10% ABV). Although there was a table free outside we preferred to enjoy the surroundings of the compact room with its wood panelling, inlaid mirrors and traditional bar furniture.

Guy the owner was not around but Tim asked Dafne to pass on the autumn 2022 issue of Ullage which includes a mention of his previous visit.

Het Souke

Photo: Mark G. L to R: Tim, Les, Graham, David, Paul, Jennie, Simon

Tim was keen to revisit Het Souke after a first visit in 2022 when he met owner Jacob Gouka and enjoyed the music at the cafe on the corner of pedestrianised Hoogstraat and narrow HH Geeststraat.

This was the first time the whole group came together on the Thursday with Les, the last to arrive c/o FlixBus, now able to enjoy his first beer.

The five draught beers are Stella Artois, Bolleke, Seef, Val Dieu Cuvee and Tripel d'Anvers. 

There are 24 bottles including Trappist beers, Minerva and Bootjes Biers from Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie and Tripppel and Blackout from Swiekes bv established in 2020 at Oud Turnhout, east of Antwerp.

Tim gave Jacob the autumn 2022 Ullage magazine which includes an article with his 2022 photos from Het Souk. James posed for a photo holding the relevant page open while resting his left arm in plaster on the shoulder of Maximilian - his 'best coworker yet'.

Paters Vaetje

We enjoyed simple meals like lasagne from the limited menu for the small kitchen next to the bar at Paters Vaetje on the Saturday evening. This reliable beer bar is easy to find as it faces the north west corner of the cathedral near the ground level Nello & Patrasche marble sculpture. Tim's beer selection was draught Brouwerij The Musketeers 'Joyride in a Shopping Cart' a 6.5% ABV honey ale from the brewery's Bucket List series of limited edition beers (4.10 euros). 

Oud Arsenaal

Tim and David's last beer in Antwerp on the Sunday would be at Oud Arsenaal on the way to Antwerp Centraal station for the train to Brussels. We were both keen to revisit this brown cafe with its interior dating from the 1920s. Regula Ysewijn mentions in Belgian Cafe Culture that it is one of the few cafes in Antwerp that is still run by the same family that started the business.

Every table inside was occupied when we arrived but we shared a table and then gained some elbow room as a lady next to us kindly moved to a vacant seat on the other side of her window table, to face her friend.

Tim was delighted with the draught hazy Seef bier which may become his beer of choice on future visits to Antwerp where it is widely available.

David noticed that the young man serving our drinks resembled the current owner and was able to confirm that he was indeed the son and so the tradition continues.

Oud Arsenaal is close to the busy weekend market in Theaterplein so a weekday visit may be more suitable for anyone looking for a quiet spot during the day. 

Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie

Revisiting Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie and a meeting with Johan Van Dyck deserves a separate blog post to do it justice. Watch this space!

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 - 2 - Seef bier

On a Saturday lunchtime visit to the excellent Aura Brasserie, Hoogstraat 34, Antwerp, we followed a suggestion to try Seef bier from Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie.

Pronounced 'safe', Seef bier (6.5% ABV) proved to be a refreshing pale ale and one that we would be lucky to find again at our next stop.

Antwerp City Hall fronting onto Grote Markt

Cathedral of Our Lady (RC)

The Beer Passion Weekend (24-26 June 2016) at Groenplaats was only a short walk from the brasserie and we would pass Antwerp City Hall and the gothic Cathedral of Our Lady and a well disguised 'human statue' on the way there.

Cathedral of our Lady viewed from Goeneplaats, Antwerp

We already had some 2 euro jetons / tokens from our visit the previous evening, to pay for a 20 cl serving of draught or bottled beer from any of the brewery stalls within the railings in the central area of the square.

Tram tracks ran around the edge of the square and a horse drawn tram for tourists, decorated with a Seef bier advertisement, passed by.

We also noticed a van bearing the Seef bier logo parked next to a beer festival marquee.

Bootjes Bier

A wagon next to the marquee was serving Seef bier and Bootjes bier so it was time to swap a jeton for a glass of Bootjes bier (7% ABV), a second beer from Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie. Bootjes bier is described as a beer tribute to the famous Antwerp Red Star Line, a 'transatlantic' amber-red ale brewed using four malts without any added sugar, generous yet balanced in Belgian and US aromatic hops, finished with ginger and coriander.

While we were all drinking our Bootjes bier we were approached by a hen party group with the fiancee collecting money for drinks by allowing an attached sweet to be bitten off her top. Simon, wearing a BeerPassie Weekend t-shirt (right), obliged and afterwards we persuaded her to pose with us. (Thanks to Mark for taking the photo.)

Johan Van Dyck at Beer Passion Weekend 2016

Later in the afternoon we spotted Johan Van Dyck, resembling the brewer in the pop-up banner. I introduced myself and gave Johan a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine. Johan talked to us about the brewery which has just started a crowdfunding campaign to finance a new brewery and taproom in Antwerp. Seef bier was first featured at the Beer Passion Weekend in 2012 and was brewed to Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie specifications at Brouwerij Roman, the oldest family brewery in Belgium. After meeting him in 2012, Roger Protz wrote about Johan Van Dyck's background as marketing director at Duvel Moortgat brewery before he left to set up Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie.

Johan told us about initial difficulties finding outlets for Seef bier as many bars are owned or supplied direct by large breweries. However by providing branded glasses initially, followed by an enamel sign and a model figure for bars with the largest sales, penetration is steadily improving.

The crowdfunding campaign, launched in June 2016, offers 'Gold' investors (150 €) a beer a month, 'Diamond' investors (250 €) as Gold plus a nameplate in the brewery and 'Platinum' investors (1000 €) as Diamond plus a private visit to the brewery for 40 people. I'm sure that Simon, Mark, Andy, Richard, Keith and John join me in hoping that the crowdfunding is successful so that we can enjoy a visit to the new Antwerp brewery and taproom on future visits to the city!

Johan Van Dyck explained that Seef bier is a recreation of an old beer style in Antwerp that was lost in the 20th century as the popularity of lager increased. It took some time for Johan to locate a recipe for the beer. With help from the University of Leuven and the Delvaux Beer Centre he was also able to obtain a yeast culture. Seef bier is brewed with Belgian hops from Poperinge and a blend of malted barley, wheat, buckwheat and oats. Seven weeks of maturation follow the primary fermentation. The unfiltered beer is then bottled. Roger Protz includes further details and tasting notes in his 2012 report. Des de Moor has also written about Seef bier after tasting it at Zythos Bierfestival in 2012.

Seef bier has received several World Beer Awards for the Pale Ale category. Adrian Tierney-Jones is the International Chairman for the expert judges from each country.

In addition to the brewery's facebook page and website www.seef.be you can follow the accounts of its founders Johan Van Dyck and Karen Follens on Twitter.