Le Barboteur – Bièrothèque

We weren’t quite sure which venue to start our blog with, until we noticed a tweet from a friend, picturing a beer menu with a long list of American beers. As it turned out, she was at Le Barboteur where they were having an American themed week, called “Craft Bless America”. So of course, the next day we went there ourselves.

Le Barboteur essentially is a beer store, where you have the opportunity to taste a couple of beers as well. Against one wall you’ll find the unrefrigerated beers on sale to take home. The rest of the little corner shop is filled with tables for the customers who prefer to have a drink right there, a couple of fridges with bottled beers, and a small bar with five beer pumps. Next to the bar, there is a doorway leading to a cosy backroom, where you’ll also find a tiny but interesting beer book selection for sale.

It surely wasn’t our first time at Le Barboteur. We had been there before for a couple of tap take-overs, going by the name Brewer’s Delight. Until recently however, they stayed quite close to home, mainly choosing Belgian and French breweries to be their guests at these events. So it came as quite a surprise to see the U.S. to take the main stage this time.

Usually they have a food truck in front of the shop during those one or two day events, but unfortunately, during our last visit, there was no sign of an American hamburger stand or hot dog cart anywhere. This time however, it wasn’t an actual tap takeover, since all American beers were only available in a bottle, and the event lasted a whole week, instead of the usual one or two evenings. Luckily we had eaten just before coming, so we didn’t really need a food truck. In case of empty stomach emergency, we could always have ordered one of the available cheese and cold cuts platters.

We arrived quite early, and it was still quite easy to find a seat, but an hour later, the place was packed. Judging by the fact that quite a few people were drinking non-American beers, far from everybody there was present especially for the event. I guess we’ll have to come back on a ‘normal’ evening to find out how lively this ‘beer store’ is then…

Most — if not all — beers here are served in an unbranded TeKu glass, developed by Italian brewer Teo Musso and the legendary beer expert Kuaska. It is considered to be the official Italian glass to taste beer, and a few breweries (like Brasserie {C} in Belgium, and BrewDog in the UK) use a branded version of this glass to serve some of their beers in. The TeKu glass might not be the best choice for all beer styles, but I’ve noticed some other glasses behind the bar, so maybe a discerning customer can choose another glass?

We thoroughly enjoyed our evening, trying quite a few beers we hadn’t tasted before. The only bartender was overwhelmed at times, but at beery events like this, even waiting in line to be served, chatting with fellow beer lovers, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Each time I just received the opened bottle with an empty, freshly rinsed glass. Perfect for me, but less experienced beer pourers might prefer otherwise, although I’m quite sure the bartender will happily pour it for anyone who asks.

Even though we haven’t been at Le Barboteur yet on eventless days, we would happily do so, if the beers on the shelves — both Belgian and foreign — are any indication of the beers usually available in the fridges. Even the small but often changing selection on draught alone would justify some more visits.

tl;dr

Beers

• 5 pumps, both (uncommon) Belgian and foreign beers, often changing
• Numerous bottled beers for sale, nice selection refrigerated

Bites

• Cheese and cold cuts platters, different options and sizes
• Often food truck present during events

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What have people been drinking here recently?