Leuven - Friday night

Earlier on Friday 23 March, we had called in briefly at M-Cafe, using the internal entrance from M-Museum, when there was insufficient time to visit an exhibition by Edgard Tytgat.

After a rest at the hotel, we returned to M-Cafe via the external entrance at Savoyestraat 10.

The dimly-lit interior of M-Museum is visible through a glass wall at the far end of the bar. I ordered Brasserie de la Senne Taras Boulba from the beer menu under the misapprehension that it was available on tap. 

In fact the 14 beers on tap are listed on a blackboard behind the bar.

Koen brought the beers to our table and chatted with us about the cafe. He accepted a copy of West Berkshire CAMRA's Ullage magazine from my stock. We passed Koen's 'beer test' questions - I identified Brasserie de la Senne as a brewery from Brussels. Koen mentioned that M-Cafe holds regular beer events and that people were gathering this evening for a presentation about the Arthur's Legacy beers brewed at Brouwerij de Hoorn where Cornet is also brewed.

Later, Gunter Slachmuylders noticed that we were taking an interest in the presentation and invited us to stand at the side and sample a few of the beers that attendees were served while he translated salient points from the talk and slides. 
Gunter, quietly explained that he is employed by Brouwerij Palm (Steenhuffel) which owns Brouwerij Rodenbach (Roeselare) and Brouwerij de Gouden Boom (Brugge) as well as Brouwerij de Hoorn (Steenhuffel).

Simon was overjoyed to discover that Alexander, named after Alexander Rodenbach (b 28/9/1786), is now being produced again at Brouwerij Rodenbach for general sale. 'This mixed fermentation beer consists of two thirds beer that was matured in oak casks for 24 months and one third young beer, and has been subjected to maceration with sour cherries.'

After making a contribution towards the cost of the presentation we were able to sample Brugge Tripel Prestige 2016 (9.5% ABV) from Brouwerij de Gouden Boom. Also present at this event, Steven Bollion commented on Untappd 'Nose: juniper, coriander, orangepeel. Little Sweet, Dry, juniper, gin. Some cardboard... lemon, spicy....'. 

Simon and I had not intended to stay this long before finding a meal so we thanked Gunter and left before the end of the presentation and managed to find a table at De Werf, Hogeschoolplein 5, overlooking the square.

Simon's pasta with meatballs may have been a better choice than my pork wrap but my Duvel Tripel Hop Citra made a good accompaniment!

The decor is shabby chic with a 'decorating in progress' theme. It had an informal atmosphere and seems to be aimed at a student crowd serving popular beers and easy to prepare food.

Leuven's Oude Markt is famous for being ringed with bars of all types and has been named 'The Longest Bar in Europe'. 

We had identified Cafe Belge, Oude Markt 35, towards the lower left side of the www.use-it.travel map (illustrated by Studio Oogbouw) as a bar that should have some decent beer and arrived to find it dimly lit, noisy and crowded. 

 We found a space to stand below the DJ's pulpit, near the entrance to Cafe Belge. 

This was my chance to drink Pauwel Kwak from Brouwerij Bosteels from a new design freestanding glass. The famous hourglass shape is retained but it no longer requires a wooden holder. Closing time at Cafe Belge is 6am on Friday nights!

Oude Markt - looking south towards Heilige Drievuldigheidscollege

One beer here was enough and we emerged into the Oude Markt.

We called in to The Capital, Grote Markt 14 where there was one free table by the door. I enjoyed a bottle of one of my favourite beers - Hop Ruiter, an 8% IPA Tripel brewed by Scheldebrouwerij in Meer. We watched the chain-driven 'bottle lift' bringing beers up from the cellar to bar level and concluded that an employee must be based in the cellar simply to find bottles and place them on the constantly rotating lift.

We returned to M-Cafe shortly before midnight and found Koen and Steven at the bar. Only a few customers remained.

Steven introduced us to Spacelord from a 75cl bottle. With its coffee and vanilla flavours this was an ideal nightcap. 

The rear label has some nice graphics and plenty of information including ingredients (water, sugar, pale malt, chocolate malt, black malt, caramalt, malt extract, coffee, vanilla and cocoa), food matching suggestions and that 'Maltefakker' brewed Spacelord at Brouwerij de Vlier, Holsbeek (only 5km away). 

Subsequent research shows that it is usually possible to visit Brouwerij de Vlier's taproom on Saturdays from 16:00 to 20:00 and include a brewery tour at 15:00 for 5 euros. A return visit to Leuven seems necessary!

Oude Markt, Leuven

Friday night in Leuven had been interesting and enjoyable. Special thanks go to Koen, Steven and Gunter.

Leuven - Friday

'See you at 10am' we agreed as Simon got out of the lift on the third floor and I continued to the sixth floor of Leuven's Ibis Budget Hotel, after walking back from Cafe PaRaDoX in the early hours.

At 10am on Friday 23 March 2018, Simon had not appeared so I sat in the hotel's foyer reading about Belgian breweries in my 2002 edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide to Belgium & Holland by Tim Webb. Simon never changes his watch from UK time so perhaps he would appear at 11am local time?
At 11.15am it was time to set off on my own and let Simon catch up later!

It is possible to visit the Stella Artois (AB InBev) brewery in Leuven but a photo of a delivery lorry in Bondgenotenlaan would suffice on this visit. Further along the road, beyond the statue of Justus Lipsius, a variety of market stalls were trading. Freshly griddled waffles (3 for 1.50 euro) were warm and very sweet.

At Monseigneur Ladeuzeplein there is a good view of the Leuven University Library and Tower.

My route to STUK was via Herbert Hooverplein and Sint-Donatus Park with remains of the original inner city walls from the 12th century.

STUK, Naamsestraat 96, 'a house for Dance, Image and Sound' includes a public cafe on the ground floor. STUKcafe is spacious with high windows on two sides and a mirror behind the bar. Although a good selection of beers was available, a coffee was my preference. By now Simon had responded to my text messages and would soon arrive after taking a direct route from the hotel.

A short walk led us to the Groot Begijnhof. This well preserved, traffic-free, beguinage dates from the early 13th century.

Simon had visited before and suggested a slow tour of the cobbled streets to appreciate the peaceful setting, now mainly occupied by university academics.

We crossed the southern part of Leuven's ring road using a pedestrian / cyclist underpass, featuring some colourful street art, just west of the river Dijle.

We had lunch and beers at De Spuye, Tervuursevest 101, overlooking the river.

The furniture had a solid, industrial, feel about it and the red theme is related to the colour of the tiles around the fireplace.

Music, played through decent loudspeakers, included tracks by Keane and The Knack.

There was a short tap list here so it was an opportunity for me to drink a bottle of Orval Trappist Ale served in the correct glass.

Simon chatted with the barman and discovered that his draft blond 6% ABV Job by Biercentrum Delvaux / Brouwerij De Kroon was brewed in Neerijse, about 10 km south of Leuven, by the 'beer professor' Freddy Delvaux. A Belgium Beer Tourism blog post mentions that Freddy Delvaux and his son Filip are experts on yeast and fermentation.

From here we took the underpass back towards the beguinage and then walked in a clockwise direction to reach the Botanic Gardens.

It was good to see how tidy the gardens were and that we could warm up by having a look inside the temperate and tropical greenhouses which housed a pond with terrapins. Free entrance.

Continuing clockwise we headed to the Klein Begijnhof / small beguinage near Saint Gertrude's Abbey and Church, north of the city centre.

We crossed the river Dijle and headed for De Blauwe Kater, Mechelsestraat 51, which opened in its new location, facing the Vismarkt (Fishmarket), on 16 March 2018. Simon remembers visiting the bar, famous for its jazz and blues nights, in its previous location (Hallengang 1).

The interior is spacious and we took advantage of an empty table on the first floor, with a low balcony, overlooking the ground floor.

Old posters have been pasted on some areas of the wall and a blackboard gives the name of the band that will be playing on the next Monday night free gig. De Blauwe Kater has a list of over 100 beers and we resolved to return here on another day.

Before heading back to the hotel we stopped at Rector de Sommerplein to listen to some music at a 'Jamming with Fonske' gig, part of Leuven Jazz festival. The dates for the next festival have been set as 15-24 March 2019.

This area, near St Peter's and the Grote Markt, with steps and a road underpass is also the location for the statue nicknamed Fonske. An off duty tourist guide kindly explained to us that the Fons Sapientiae (Latin for 'fount of wisdom') statue was a gift from the university to the city. There was no water when we visited but it should be a fountain with water running from the glass he holds into his head representing a flow of knowledge as he reads.

Leuven - Thursday night

Diestsestraat pedestrian street led Simon & me directly from Leuven station to De Fiere Margriet, Margarethaplein 11, in the shadow of St Peter's church, a distance of about 1km.

 We had arrived earlier in Leuven on Thursday 22 March 2018 on an Inter City train from Brussels Midi (fare 5.50 euro) after transferring from a Eurostar train from London St Pancras International.

Our table near the window gave good views of the bar and staircase to first floor. This is a bar full of character but with a limited choice of draft beers.

Opting for a bottled beer from the extensive beer menu, my first choice of a beer from local brewery Hof ten Dormaal was unavailable. (We would make up for this by visiting the brewery's taproom on Saturday.)

Remembered from my last Belgian trip, a beer by The Musketeers Brewery, the strong and flavourful Troubadour Magma was a splendid second choice. A variety of music from 1967 was playing during our visit including: Moody Blues 'Nights in White Satin'; The Archies 'Sugar Sugar' and Tom Jones 'Green, green grass of home'.

Leuven's Grote Markt (St Peter's on right)

It was twilight when we emerged and set off for a wander around to get our bearings and succeeded in losing them but did pass an interesting statue en route.

 This depicts Pieter de Somer, the first lay Rector of Leuven University (1966), a biologist and founder of the Rega Institute.

Simon was relieved when we finally reached a decent bar - Metafoor.at Parijsstraat 34.

A good selection of draft beers included Boon Kriek reasonably priced at 3.20 euro per glass. With good music like the Rolling Stones 'Sympathy for the Devil' and Carly Simon's 'You're so vain' playing, this would be a bar to return to (on Saturday). We noticed that customers could bring in takeaway food and eat it in the bar as no food was served.

With appetites aroused we headed to Ah! Quy, a Vietnamese cafe for a cheap meal.

Afterwards, Simon was keen to visit The Capital, a bar remembered from a previous visit. Inside it was busy but we found a table near the entrance. The background sounds here were mainly from conversations as no music was playing.

My first beer here was Luvanium Blond brewed by Brouwhuys De Vaart whose brewery is actually closer to Mechelen than to Leuven. However, with this brand name the beer is widely available in Leuven, which has a huge student population.

Simon and Tim at The Capital, Leuven

We took each other's photos (spliced together above). When I advised Simon that the stone wall was actually wallpaper rather than a genuine finish he was disappointed by his own misapprehension.

We made a small dent in the impressive beer menu which ran to many pages.

The draft tap list was also impressive including Troubadour Magma and Kasteel Rouge, one of Simon's favourites.

Many of the bottled beers are stored on wooden shelves in the cellar which is visible through glass floor panels.

My favourite beer of the night came in a bottle - Hop-a-Billy, a 6% ABV hoppy saison brewed by 't Hofbrouwerijke of Beerzel, between Leuven and Antwerp.

Jack's Precious IPA from the Belgian Legends series of The Musketeers Brewery was another good beer from the list of bottles. 

On leaving, we walked back to Leuven station, passing underneath and continuing on to Cafe PaRaDoX, a sports bar in Kessel-Lo celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Although dimly lit we were still able to read the special beers list. The Gouden Carolus Tripel was the obvious choice for me to finish up with on my first night in Leuven while Golden Earring's 'Radar Love' (1973) played in the background.