Excelsior

Most of the places we’ve discussed so far, are found in the same areas: Brussels centre, Saint-Gilles, Ixelles, Schaerbeek. A little while ago we were involved in a little Twitter conversation about the lack of decent beer places west of the canal. We had to admit, apart from some breweries, we only knew of one: Excelsior, in Jette. But this bar could easily fool you with its huge Jupiler and Maes branding on the outside, and even inside, the only visible pump clip is once again on of those commercial pilsners. But once you peek into the fridges, things get a whole lot more interesting…

The top shelves of the fridge behind the bar are filled with BrewDog headliners, something you wouldn’t expect at all, in a place like this. Further down, some Tartaruga beers, a nice selection of Dochter van de Korenaar beers, quite a rarity in Brussels, Brasserie de la Senne and Brussels Beer Project. In another small fridge next to the bar, you’ll find En Stoemelings‘ big 75 cl bottles— the only size they fill.

But some other Brussels and foreign breweries regularly make an appearance in the Excelsior: our first visit here was actually for a tasting session of some of the first beers of De Zolder, and in announcements of their Friday evening event Beers & Love, we’ve seen the likes of l’Ermitage, Brew by Numbers, and less commonly available beers of BrewDog as well.

If you’re hungry, you’ll better stop at the friterie on the Place Cardinal Mercier before starting your drinking session, since most of the time, the choice at Excelsior is limited to crisps, cheese, and olives. However, on the beery Friday events tapas — by Tip Top Tapas — do seem to be available quite regularly, but we yet have to taste them.

So if you’re stuck somewhere west of the canal and in desperate need of a decent beer, Excelsior is where you need to be. Just curious to try this place? Make sure to go on a Friday evening and catch on of the  Beers & Love events!

tl;dr

Beers

• 4 pumps, but only Jupiler on draught during our last visit
• Unexpectedly nice bottle selection
  • Most Brussels breweries
  • not that commonly found brewers like:
    • Dochter van de Korenaar
    • BrewDog
    • Tartaruga

Bites

• Crisps, cheese, olives

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What have people been drinking here recently?