Martijn 
It’s the end of August, which means it’s time for the biggest craft beer festival of Brussels: BXLBeerFest! For this third edition they’re once again pulling out all the stops to make this a great beer festival: clean glasses for every beer served, cold storage for the kegs, great food, and plenty of room to sit or walk around to socialise with old and new beer friends!
We’ve seen the Holy Smoke meat smoker in the beer festival circuit quite a few times. Most of the time, there was either a long queue of hungry people, or they were sold out, both a good indication of their popularity and quality. In 2017 they opened an actual restaurant near the Porte de Hal, with an even bigger smoker, to provide everyone in the usually fully-booked restaurant with heaps of pork ribs, sausages, brisket, and pulled pork…
The third edition of the Swafff! Brussels Craft Beer Festival this weekend, kicks off the beer festival summer in Brussels again. On Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th of May, Karreveld Castle and its grounds will be the place to be anyone interested in sampling beers from almost 20 Belgian and other European breweries. Add some food, a DJ, four bands, games, and a bouncy castle, and you’ll have a fun filled weekend for the whole family ahead of you!
UPDATE: La Tana has moved across the street, and the bottle shop has now moved into that space as well, so there are no longer two different locations.
Valerio’s love for beer was already obvious in La Tana 1.0, where the mostly Italian and Belgian beers served alongside the pastas and other Italian dishes, were a more than worthy accompaniment. To do a bit more with that passion for beer, he opened La Tana 2.0 just a couple of houses up the same street as the restaurant: a beer shop, where you can sit down—even on a small terrace, when the weather permits—and enjoy a cold one as well!
From the outside, it would be easy to think Fernand Obb is yet another greasy spoon, but both the food and the beer menu will quickly show you it’s not: upscale burgers, luxury shrimp and cheese croquettes, and a wide range of local beers.
Don’t expect to find any chips though, but we promise you: you will not miss them at all!
We don’t go to the theatre often, and even this time, it was only to grab a bite in its restaurant, Au Marché National. Well, we were lured there by the prospect of an exclusive beer—No Science‘s TNT, brewed especially for the Théâtre National. Unfortunately, it’s only available—on draught—in the bar of the theatre, right next to the restaurant, which is apparently closed during lunchtime. Luckily for us, there are some nice bottled beers available in the restaurant.
Super Fourchette describes itself as “Record restaurant, sustainable and comforting canteen, showcase for independent labels”. In this description, they neglect to mention that this ‘canteen’ also serves a nice selection of organic, Belgian beers to go with your lunch. Pick your seat carefully though, and sit at one of the ‘listening tables’, if you want to listen to your own choice of music on vinyl or cassette, while having your beer and bite!
It’s been a while since we had an excuse to visit Schaerbeek to report on a new beery destination, but the Python Beer Cellar finally lured us back to the city of donkeys!
The modern looking bar—but with just a touch of curly nostalgia—is quite a walk away from the other beer bars in Schaarbeek, therefore serving a completely different herd of customers, who can—and should—make this bar their own.
A new, one-day edition of Wanderlust, Brussels Beer Project‘s anniversary festival, will take place tomorrow, Saturday 15th September 2018, once again hosting a wide selection of befriended breweries from nearby—Belgium and the Netherlands— and far away. Unless something unexpected pops up, Wanderlust is already the last beer festival of the year, so don’t miss this opportunity to try some new beers!
You’ve probably tasted their products, even if you’ve never heard of La Fruitière: some of the best beer bars get the cheese for their cheese platter from this cheesemonger. Cheese and beer make a great combination, so it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that finally, a cheese shop decided to sell and serve beer as well, and even on draught! And not just any beer, but some of the best Brussels—or even Canada, as it happens—has to offer!