Antwerp - Friday 22/6/2018 part 1

The spire of Sint-Willibrordus church breaks the horizon, looking north east from my bedroom window at the rear of the Ibis Budget Antwerp hotel, on Friday morning. The weather looked fair but taking a jacket proved to be a good idea.

Later, Simon and I sat in the warm upstairs area at EXKi, De Keyserlei 20, with chill-out music playing, for continental breakfasts of coffee and pain au chocolat (2.50 euros before 11am).

Wandering northwards from here we came across the Chinatown gate on Van Wesenbekestraat, at the junction with busy Carnotstraat.

We walked past cafes and Chinese supermarkets before reaching the triangular open space of De Coninckplein with a bike sharing station in one corner.

Beer lover Simon

It was a lucky coincidence to find that we had stumbled upon the entrance to Beer Lovers Bar, Rotterdamstraat 105, facing this corner. Unluckily, it was closed but we resolved (unsuccessfully) to return here later in the weekend.

We peered through the windows to view a contemporary style spacious interior. There were posters on the corner entrance door for a Brouwerij Kees tap takeover / meet the brewer (22 June 2018), a 2nd Anniversary Party (23 June 2018) and for Billie's Craft Beer Fest (30 Nov - 1 Dec 2018).

Colourful artwork decorated the Muizenstraat windows of Beer Lovers Bar.

We continued our walk, following the tram tracks into Richardstraat which is lined with houses of different styles and shapes.

We walked back to Antwerp Centraal station where the main entrance is on Koningen Astridplein. Left of the station and also visible in the panoramic photo is the entrance to Antwerp Zoo, with a camel statue above.

Our plan was to take a De Lijn tram (3 / yellow line), from a station underneath this square, to the western terminus at Zwijndrecht Park and Ride Melsele.

Dorp tram stop - viewed from tram 3.

The tram travels underneath Groenplaats and the river Scheldt emerging at ground level to complete the journey westwards via Dorp. This long journey was good value for 1.60 euro using a Lijn Card.
From the terminus we set off on foot for the walk of a mile north to Cafe de Smoutpot. Our route was along a level minor road wide enough for a single car but with no pavement for pedestrians. We passed a farm shop in the way and saw a variety of crops growing in the fields.

We arrived at 12.30pm to meet up with the rest of our group who had walked from the same tram stop but by an alternative road.

Time for the first beer of the day - chosen from the blackboard with details of draught beers which is slightly different from the printed beer menu.

I chose Kwaremont and it is explained to me that this is the cyclist's beer and a cyclist figure is portrayed in the stem of the bulbous glass.

Keith, Simon and Andrew - Cafe de Smoutpot

Our table is opposite the bar and my seat has a good view of the cafe with its wood burning stove and chimney pipe on the left and traditional armchairs at the front near the entrance. Unusually, a 1950s style fridge door has a dominating position on a shelf over the stove! Sound insulation panels are suspended from the ceiling. The pale green paintwork is tastefully reflected in the beer menu.

Another nice feature is the use of cupboard doors and drawer fronts for the face of the marble topped bar. Note also the stylish 1970s'ish retro TV set on a shelf behind the bar.

We decided to order lunch to go with our next round - several ordered Croques Madame and there was an order for a mixed plate of cheese and meat.

I ordered a Croque Monsieur to go with a draught Tank 7. An explanation for the wide availability of this Farmhouse Ale is that Duvel Moortgat acquired the Kansas City based Boulevard Brewing Co in 2013.

I took the opportunity to photograph Anneke with a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine.

L to R: Simon, Andrew, Richard, John & Tim

She kindly reciprocated by taking a photo of our group for the De Smoutpot instagram account.
Anneke and Nelis reopened De Smoutpot in 2017. An article in Het Nieuwsblad on 8 July 2017 by Mattias Goossens 'Poldercafé De Smoutpot maakt muzikale doorstart voor hele gezin' explains that 'New owners Anneke Buytaert and Nelis Hiel of Café De Smoutpot, on the border of Melsele with Zwijndrecht, go for a fun meeting place for the whole family, where there is also room for music.'

Based on the soundtrack of our visit that included She's a Bread Baker by C.W. Stoneking, Fruits of my Labour by Lucinda Williams and On the Road Again by Canned Heat, the recorded music on offer is of a high standard.

Nelis was interested to see a mention for De Smoutpot in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium (8th Edition).

Nelis generously presented us with some bottles of Duvel including a label that is a collector's item. He explained that every thousand bottles an alternate label is used. Only close inspection reveals that a figure on the left of the shield is an angel and on the right is a red devil - visible in the bottle on the right of the photo.

Nelis also showed us some recent handsome books that feature Belgian cafes. Must Drink by Luc Hoornaert features drinking places in Flanders.

De Smoutpot is one of the places featured but note that it has been redecorated since the photos for the book were taken.

Another attractive book is Authentieke Belgische cafes by Regula Ysewijn. This is also published in English as Belgian Cafe Culture.

It was time for another beer and I ordered a 5% ABV Saison style Blonde Stoot from Bieren Cabardouche of Antwerp, served in a tumbler style glass.

Before we left there was time to have a look at the extensive garden behind the cafe.

There is also a covered outside area positioned on the right side of the top garden photo.
Our group enjoyed this visit and having enjoyed such friendly service and hospitality it is very likely that we will return to Cafe de Smoutpot on our next visit to Antwerp.

We all took the same rural route back to the tram stop, which was along a different road than the one that Simon and I had used earlier.

Thanks to Mark Geeson for mentioning to us before our trip that Cafe de Smoutpot had reopened. He had spotted this news on page 177 (Other Antwerp Cafes) of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium (8th Edition) by Joe Stange & Tim Webb.

Antwerp - Friday 22/6/2018 part 2

My walking route from Ibis Budget Hotel near Antwerp Central Station to Hostel Pulcinella was via City Park and passed the renowned Cafe Kulminator, Vleminckveld 32, visited the previous evening.

Kleine Markt - near Cafe Kulminator

Kleine Markt is overlooked by a statue of Mary and baby Jesus, including a streetlamp, on the junction with Bredestraat, just 50 metres further north-west.

I was able to check in to my spacious first floor room with a view of the courtyard garden by about 6pm. A partial refund of the room rate, due to single occupancy, was a pleasant surprise.

 

BierPassie Weekend XIX - day 1

The advantage of staying at Hostel Pulcinella is that it is only 600 metres from the entrance to the BierPassie Weekend festival in Groenplaats.

The festival opens at 5pm on the Friday. On arrival at Groenplaats, I purchased a Beer Sommelier tasting glass (5 euros) and jetons (plastic beer tokens - 2 euros / 20cl) and picked up a free programme at the entrance. Our group was sitting inside the tent housing Ben's bar.
Andrew pointed me to Keith Moore who was chatting with Johan Van Dyck and Karen Follens the founders of Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie in front of the Seefbier wagon / bar.

Before joining them I used my first jeton for a glass of Super Cadix dry hopped lager from the wagon.

Karen Follens and Johan Van Dyck with Ullage magazine

Page 6 (detail) - Ullage magazine (Autumn 2017)

I was glad to be able to give Johan an Autumn 2017 issue of Ullage magazine which included a photo of an Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie poster and details of the brewery's new taproom / cafe which our group would visit at lunchtime on Saturday.

Keith Moore with Keef Bier

Slightly earlier, Keith had presented them with bottles of Keefbier, with a label based on the Seefbier label but incorporating Keith's bespectacled face insted of the face of 'Seef man'.

Having brought a copy of the latest edition (8th) of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium with me, I was able to show Johan the entry for Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie, on page 77 of the 'Belgian Breweries A to Z section'. Johan was a bit doubtful about their brewery's 'Tiny' size category although happy that it had not been categorised as 'Miniscule'!
Thanks to Johan for a complimentary glass of Nonkel Pater, the dark and rich 9% abv 'Qua-dubbel'.

Back at Ben Vinken's bar, I used a jeton for a glass of Brouwerij Van den Bossche Buffalo bitter, poured from a 75cl bottle with a cork closure.

 

Aura Brasserie

Most of our group wanted to visit De Peerdestal, a restaurant where the menu included horse steak, but Simon and I decided to revisit Aura Brasserie, Hoogstraat 34, for an omelette.

I found a table inside near the bar with shelves for a variety of Belgian beer glasses. A few draught beers are available here including Antwerp's De Koninck APA (Antwaarpse Pale Ale).

Arriving before Simon, I ordered a St Feuillien Grisette Blonde Bio which was served with a small dish of coated nuts.

When Simon arrived, I ordered a bottle of Het Nest SchuppenBoer (Jack of Spades) - a 'floral and peachy tripel'.

Simon chose a bottle of Brasserie du Bocq Deugniet. The image on the bottle of a cheeky rascal (the meaning of Deugniet) was a surprise. Subsequent research shows that there is an Antwerp connection with the statue, from which the image is taken, being situated near the junction of two pedestrian streets -Korte Gasthuisstraat and Everdijstraat in the 'De Wilde Zee' neighbourhood, immediately south-east of Groenplaats and the Cathedral of our Lady. Barely visible from Google Maps Streetview, the bronze statue mounted on a plinth is the work of Luc Verlee for the city of Antwerp in 1976 according to a comprehensive blog about the city's statues by Alfons Van Camp. Another blog by Lia in Brussels links moustaches and music via John Lundström to this statue which has been 'kidnapped' and recovered on several occasions.

The excellent omelettes we ordered were served with a salad so my decision to order an additional Greek salad to share was somewhat unnecessary.

a view from Vlaaikensgang 'secret' passage

On our way back, after the meal, we noticed an alleyway leading east from Hoogstraat and detoured down it, turning left at a corner to emerge into Oude Koornmarkt. This charming 'secret' passage is Vlaaikensgang.

 

BierPassie Weekend XIX - late evening

Back at nearby Groenplaats we found a table on the west side of the square (on the left side of the plan from the programme).

I visited the Van Eecke (Leroy) Brewery stand (8) at the north end of the square, nearest the cathedral, for a glass of draught Hommelbier dry hopping 2018 'showcasing that earthy, floral Poperinge hop character'.

John, Andrew & Simon - Groenplaats

This Friday was not as warm in Antwerp as it was in the UK and it was nice to have a fleece to wear at our outside table in the square.

Another beer enjoyed at the festival this evening was Waterloo Récolte Saison from the Martin's stand (5).

Billie's Bier Kafetaria

We left Groenplaats before closing time and some took the tram to Dageraadplaats where we had all been the previous night.

However, Simon and I walked the 100 metres to Billie's Beer Kafetaria, Kammenstraat 12.

The choice of 11 draught beers is  displayed on a blackboard above the bar. These are sourced from around the world including AleSmith Speedway Stout (San Diego, USA) and Magic Rock Human Canonball DIPA (Huddersfield, UK).

At Billie's, most of the draught beers are more expensive than many of the bottled beers. Simon ordered a draught Rodenbach Alexander (6 euros) while a bottle of Schelde Brouwerij Hop Ruiter dry hopped IPA / Tripel (4 euros) suited me fine and was a favourite beer of the day.
With the help of SoundHound App it was possible to identify some of the decent music being played including Stoned Jesus (from Kiev) 'I'm the Mountain', Kaleo (from Iceland) 'Way Down We Go' and Austra (from Toronto) 'Lose It'.

My last beer at Billie's from a favourite Belgian brewery was also to my taste, a bottle of 7% abv Antigoon from The Musketeers Brewery Belgian Legends series, costing 3.5 euros.

A page from the beer menu illustrates that most Belgian beers are strong as Taras Boulba (4.5% abv) is included here in the Low Alcohol section!

It was nice to see Billie, who walked into 'his' bar some time after midnight!
Now it was time for me to walk the short 400 metres back to Hostel Pulcinella while Simon had to walk over 2km back to Hotel Ibis Budget, near Antwerp Centraal station.

* - any quoted beer descriptions are taken from CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium (8th edition) - Joe Stange & Tim Webb.