Knees to Chin

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Surprises can be right around the corner, and sometimes quite literally, as was the case for Knees to Chin. We must have passed their Brussels center restaurant dozens of times, without thinking it would actually be a candidate for our blog. Then all of a sudden, we noticed people drinking some Dutch craft beer here! One might expect beers from a microbrewery like De Kromme Haring in a specialised bar—we actually attended a meet-the-brewer and tap takeover with these guys at GIST a while back—but not quite in a Vietnamese street food restaurant. Of course, now we had to check the place out!

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Brasserie de la Mule

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There was still one brewery with a proper taproom we didn’t write about yet, and that was Brasserie de la Mule, in Schaerbeek. And what a great taproom it is! A long bar to sit at—rarely found in brewery taprooms—and a great walled Biergarten. The use of the German word here is very much intentional, since they really like their German style beers here! And the best way to serve a German wheat beer is of course in a large (0,5 l), curvy Weizenbierglas. Bring on the next heatwave, here is the perfect place to cool down and, uh, ‘hydrate’!

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The Festival Season is Upon us!

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The clock once again switched to summer time, the days are longer, the terraces are open and usually quite full. June already started, this means the beer festivals are upon us, and finally again the full lineup! In this blog post, we’ll go over the beer festivals and events that are already known to us—even if just a little—and we think will be worth going to, so you can put them in your calendars already, and ask for the necessary days off from work…

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Mazette

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After many months of anticipation, the pieces of the administrative puzzle fell into place, and Mazette could finally open its doors and beer taps. Mind you, having a brew kettle, a kitchen, a huge wood-fired oven, and a comfortable space for the customers, all in one open space, was never going to be simple. But since the fire department gave its final go-ahead a little over a month ago, we’re able to enjoy all the products this utterly loveable cooperative brewpub in the Marolles has to offer: freshly brewed beers, straight from the tank, homemade sourdough bread baked in the aforementioned oven, and seasonal food.

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Brasserie Surréaliste

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The opening of Brasserie Surréaliste taproom is one we’ve been waiting for for a long time. The most obvious reason is that it’s right in our neighbourhood, only a couple of minutes’ walk away. It certainly helps they brew cracking beers, though, right there on the premises, below your feet when you’re standing at the bar. The fact that they managed to convert a space that has been neglected for way too long into something so beautiful, is just the icing on the cake. And starting today, it’s open for everyone to enjoy!

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Bobbi Bao

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Update: Out of business…

Whenever I pass Bobbi Bao, I can’t help but think of the Blues Brothers‘ rendition of the song Rubber Biscuit, which includes the words “Bow bow bow” at some point… However, there’s nothing rubbery about the soft Chinese steamed buns served there, and the tasty filling make you quickly forget the sad lunches described in the song.

What lured us in—apart from the prospect of pulled pork and fried chicken—was the fact this restaurant had their own brewery!

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Bap and Dak

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It seems Korean food is becoming more and more popular in Brussels, and some of them really make an effort to make their beer menu as attractive as their food menu. An excellent example of this is Bap and Dak, in the Rue Lesbroussart in Ixelles.
Not only do they offer a tasty selection of Korean comfort food inspired by the vendors of the steamy Gwangjang market, but they also showcase some of the best local craft breweries!

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Liesse

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Liesse is a bit of a strange place: you could be enjoying some Alsatian cuisine like flammekueche and bretzel one day, and returning some time later, only to find a completely different, undefinable, eclectic combination of dishes on the menu, like a lentil dahl, mayonnaise eggs, and crispy pork belly!
What does seem to be a constant through all menu changes, though, is a motivated team helping the chef in residence to get the food to the hungry customers, the high quality of said food, and a selection of incredible Cantillon bottles!

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BBP Bailli

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Everybody knew Brussels Beer Project was building a big new brewery with a taproom near the Biestebroek dock, but the opening of BBP Bailli actually came quite unexpected for most of us. On Saint Patrick’s Day, the Michael Collins pub on the corner of the Rue Bailli and Avenue Louise was still very much an Irish pub—albeit closed, like every other bar in the country—but just three months later it opened with the bright BBP colours painted just about everywhere, and a whole lot more beers on draught!

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Belgium Beer Week 2021

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The first beer festivals are reemerging again, but in Brussels not really yet. Luckily, like last year, when beer festivals weren’t at all allowed, Belgium Beer Week comes to the rescue, proposing dozens of beer-related activities from 23 till 29 August 2021. Last year, its scope was limited to Brussels and Antwerp, but this second edition also includes activities in Leuven, Bruges, Ghent, Mechelen, Liège, and Namur.

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