Brussel Pubs

[Curry]

Gday All,

I know this has been covered in other threads but I was trying to get one thread going covering where to drink in Brussels, Belgium.

I have a couple of free days in Europe next February (on my way to Sweden for the World Rally Championship event) and I plan to spend those days drinking beer in Belgium. I know there are probably better places to go in Belgium (already done Brugge), but being winter and also the fact that I need to fly out of Brussels, then Brussels it is.

So far I have gleamed the following drinking establishments (thanks to the authors):

Cantillon Brewery and Gueuze Museum
Rue Gheude Straat, 56 - 1070 Brussels (Anderlecht)
No beer lover should visit Brussels without a pilgrimage to Cantillon Lambic brewery. The brewery is also a museum with self-guided tours. This picture is of Owen next to the old mash tun. There is also a tasting room at the end of the tour where you can sample and purchase the absolute best Lambic and Gueuze beers made in Belgium. The Cantillon beers are intensely sour and complex with marvelous aromas and flavors. Lambics are all fermented with the wild yeasts of the region around Brussels, but many breweries are starting to sweeten these beers. We hope Cantillion continues to make their beers in the time-honored fashion. In the next picture you can see the wild yeasts pouring out of the oak keg where this incredible beer is fermenting. Amazing! Open Monday to Friday from 8.30 AM till 5 PM and Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Closed on Sundays and public holidays.

Delirium Caf
Impasse de la Fidlit, 4A - 1000 Brussels
Delirium Caf offers you 2,500 beers from our menu (official world record). Some of these beers may be out of stock for diverse reasons (production problems, importation difficulties, etc...). However, they guarantee a minimum of 2,004 beers to be available at times. Open 10am 4am everyday.

Eetcaf Het Warm Water
Rue des Renards, 25 - 1000 Brussels
Is a very nice, atmospheric bar with Lambics from the Girardin range and some other beers, including Zinnebir, It's worth going to just for the Girardin beers. People flock here for Sunday lunch and brunch. They offer a wide range of breakfasts from 3 to 9, and brunches from 9 - 14. They have a staggering range of Belgian charcuterie and cheeses, and also great homemade soups. Opening Hours 8am to 5pm, Thursday to Tuesday.

In 't Spinnekopke
Place du Jardin aux Fleurs, 1 - 1000 Brussels
An ancient tavern-style restaurant off the beaten track, Jean Rodriguez practises on clients the recipes for his cookery books which teach the art of cuisine la bire. The list here reaches 80 and features the local classic, draught lambic. Closed Sunday

La Brocante
Rue Blaes 1000 Brussels
A Geuze bar. They have a great selection of lambics, and are priced well. They don't speak English, and the old lady that serves you can get stroppy if you don't make an effort to speak French. Well worth a lazy afternoon, good prices on food as well.

Le Bier Circus
Rue de l'Enseignement, 89 - 1000 Brussels
Although it is a fair walk from the Grand Place, Le Bier Circus is a "must-see" spot in Brussels. The beer menu goes on and on with some very rare selections. Opening hours are: Monday noon to 3 pm, Tuesday--Friday noon to 3 pm and 5 pm to midnight, and Saturday 6 pm to midnight. You could be here for hours just trying to sample all the small, regional Lambics they have to offer. Go with a group and share lots of different beers. This is THE BEER BAR of Brussels.

Restobires
Rue des Renards, 32 - 1000 Brussels
A delightful bistro with inspired food, great ambience and a beer list that the owner has selected from recent travels round his native land. Closed Monday-Wednesday.

Special Beer Service (SBS) - Store
Rue Eugne Cattoir, 13 - 1050 Brussles
The store has two parts: upstairs it is a beer distributor, so beer is sold by the case for generally good prices. The service is actually pretty bad. To get a price list, you need to ask one of the owners (husband/wife i believe) for a big book of prices. the husband speaks english, and the wife only speaks french. The real treasure here is the downstairs section, which is actually a dusty cellar full of dark crannies packed with beers. Oftentimes, on a table there will be an open 750 ml bottle of beer, and you can grab a glass and pour a sample of it.

Zageman
Rue de Laeken, 116 - 1000 Brussels
There is no better place to drink oude gueuze than the Zageman (closed Saturday and Sunday), a simple, turn-of-the-century backstreet cafe on the unfashionable side of Boulevard Adolphe Max. Try Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen, De Cam and black-label Girardin while staring at the football-league results board from 1943 and an advert for the film Mmoires d'un Gyncologue.


Can anyone add to this and maybe recommend some local brews to check out. Specifically I am looking for places that have lots of Lambics.

Thanks in advance

Cheers

Curry

P.S. I will report back with exact locations of great places I find.

 

[bconnery]

To be honest you've got a pretty good list right there.
The first two in particular are MUSTS if you are in Brussels.

If you want to pick up beers for your travels there is a warehouse called Special Beer Service or something like that SBS? Search for it and you should find it. It was a little out of the way but had a massive selection.

de Ultimate Hallucinate was a cool bar with a reasonable selection but great atmosphere.
I'd say the list you have there will keep you busy...

I was there for four days and didn't drink the same beer twice pretty much.

 

[Voosher]

Personally I preferred Antwerp to Brussells so I'd recommend the short jaunt north if you can.
As far as specifics are concerned get into the centre of town and take pot luck. I found the locals very friendly and helpful.
And besides, I can't remember the names of any of the places. The combination of Flemish/French/Dutch whatever and a seriously pickled brain precludes any reliable recommendations.

 

[Malnourished]

Le Zageman was due to close this May, though I haven't heard for sure that it's definitely closed. It's a shame - it was a great place.

Otherwise your list looks excellent. Warm Water (l'Eau Chaude) just around the corner from Restobires and La Brocante usually has Girardin lambik and kriekenlambik (and perhaps faro) which are both relatively hard to find in Brussels.

And Delerium is open 10am to 4am, not 4pm.

 

[Curry]

Thanks bconnery, I researched the SBS and have added it to my list above. Still trying to find de Ultimate Hallucinate.

Voosher, I totally understand where you are coming from brother!

Malnourished, cheers mate. I'll keep a watch on Le Zageman and thanks for the tip on Warm Water.

 

[bconnery]

Found my travel diary from then, details and proper spelling are:

De Ultieme Hallucinatie
Koningsstraat, 316, Rue Royal

I saw the Ultimate Atom on your list didn't I? If not, that's another recommended for food and beer.

Jealous.

Ben

 

[kook]

That list looks pretty good, though as Lach said I'd definately take a look at Warm Water. It's worth going to just for the Girardin beers.

I've never been to La Brocante, Zageman or SBS. I must admit most my time in Brussels is usually spent in Bier Circus and Delerium. They really are the two highlights for me.

If you've got a spare day take the train to Antwerp and visit Kulminator. It's worth it, the vintage selection is just incredible.

 

[sinkas]

Kulminator in Antwerp is great,

There is a fairly good bar, I think on the same street as Cantillion, but much closer to the train station ( or in the direction), however its quite possible we took several wrong turns etc, on the way to Cantillion, I will look though my photos, and see if I can work it out, they gave us a few freebeers, for being Aussie...

 

[Curry]

Thanks again guys; the users on this forum never fail to impress me with there willingness to help not to mention the level of knowledge out there.

I have added Warm Water to the list based on the recommendations. I just hope this list helps someone else in the future.

Cheers

Curry

 

[doglet]

Mort Subite in Brussels should be added to your list. It's a nice old bar with table service and they have a couple of their own beers to.

 

[kook]

To be honest I didn't enjoy Mort Subite that much. The table service was poor when i visited, and the beers are sweetened artificial lambics anyway. You can pick almost all of them up in bottles in the supermarkets there, with the exception of the lambic blended wit (which is also average).

 

[bugwan]

I spent a long and completely forgotten night at the 'Drug Opera' in Brussels a few years back. It was a great night (I was travelling on my own and was warmly greeted by the locals, resulting in a lock-in!). I can't remember much, but they do serve beer

Otherwise, head to Rue des Buchers (roughly translated as 'Butcher Street') for a great seafood feed after all the imbibing...!

 

[Ash in Perth]

I was in Brussels early this year and found a couple of nice pubs. one of the best was called 'La Becasse'. The waiters were dressed like monks, the decor looked real medievil and lambics (mainly timmermans though) were served in ceramic jugs. They also had some great beers like Rochefort and a couple of other trappist ales for good prices.

Although it is down a little alley between buildings and very well hidden, it is well known by beer lovers and isnt too hard to track down. I think beeradvocate.com has a review some where.