Update 1: There has been a change of management and name (now Ramdam).
Update 2: There has been another name change—Clair Obscur now—and a change of concept as well, so the bar as described here, does no longer exist…
A bit hidden behind the Trinity church, at the border of Ixelles and Saint-Gilles, you can find a quaint, cosy bar, named L’auBIÈREgiste. The name of this bar is a play-on-words, putting bière in the middle of the word l’aubergiste – innkeeper – thereby shortening the popular phrase “A beer, innkeeper!” to just one word. However, in a bar with an offer like they have here, asking for just “a beer” will not suffice!
There are five beer pumps at the bar of L’auBIÈREgiste, one of which usually pours the Limburger pilsner Cristal (by Alken-Maes). Luckily the other taps are reserved for more interesting beers. They often change, but each tap seems to be reserved for a specific (gypsy) brewer. So until they decide to change a brewer, you can expect to find draught beers by De la Senne, Bastogne, Dupont and The Musketeers. The menu includes the alcohol percentage and the (approximate) beer style — “triple-ish”, for instance — which makes picking your beer much easier.
For a reduced price, they propose a beer flight — a number of small (12 cl) beer glasses each holding a different beer — of all five beers on draught. But for someone who isn’t interested in (commercial) pils at all, this offer quickly loses appeal. All draught beers are available in 25 cl, 33 cl or 50 cl glasses however, and the different prices for those sizes are on the menu, so you can make your own flight, albeit in bigger glasses.
The fridges are well stocked with beers from Belgium and abroad, and especially the UK seems to be well represented. On our last visit they just had a delivery from Weird Beard, as you can tell from the photos.
This ‘inn’ doesn’t provide any lodging — although some of the couches look very comfortable — but there is something more substantial to eat than the usual plates of cheese and cold cuts: flammekueche! This is a tasty Alsatian version of the pizza, made with fromage blanc or crème fraîche instead of the tomato sauce on the Italian version, and thinly sliced onions and lardons on top. L’auBIÈREgiste serves five different varieties from their open kitchen.
The staff is knowledgable and passionate about beer, which is exactly what you need in a beer bar to be successful. By keeping a commercial pils like Cristal on draught, and having quite a selection of wine as well, but great (imported) beers on the other hand, L’auBIÈREgiste seems to be looking for a balance between the real beer geeks, and those who are just looking for a drink. And it appears to be working!
tl;dr
Beers
- 5 beers on draught, often changing (apart from the Cristal pilsner)
- Lots of beers in the fridges, of which a great selection of foreign beers
Bites
- Flammekueche!
- Cheese and cold cuts
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What have people been drinking here recently?
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