We’ve had our fair share of pizzas in Brussels already, but New York-style pizza as it is made at Fight Club, that was a first for us. Not only has this cosy corner restaurant something new and interesting to eat, it also exclusively serves Brussels beers! A tasty slice of pepperoni pizza and a glass of Brasserie de la Mule Lager from the tap, who could resist that?
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…
In Belgium you can’t get around Duvel, and even we drank our fair share of this extremely foamy beer before moving on to either very local or foreign beers from microbreweries… But when we heard that Duvel was now available on draught in Brussels as well, we decided to revisit the original Belgian golden strong ale once again, and we headed to Manneken Pis, or more specifically, Manneken Pis Cafe, as it was recently renamed when it became the newest Duvel Moortgat showcase.
It can be quite frightening when upon entering Caberdouche, you see big tanks of Stella below your feet in the pits of hell where they belong… Or maybe it is just a floor window offering a glimpse of the the beer cellar of the bar? Luckily, there’s quite a bit more on offer, among which a dedicated Brussels Beer Project tap, and a couple of beers from Tiny Rebel, that not quite so tiny anymore Welsh brewery, that seems to become more available in Brussels every passing day.
In all the excitement over the upcoming weekend activities, we almost forgot to share all that beery information with you, our thirsty readers. So if you haven’t done so already, quickly clear your schedule for Wanderlust, Brussels Beer Project‘s second anniversary festival, and #Collabfest2017, BrewDog‘s fifth edition of their bars & breweries collaboration festival. Both are starting today — Friday the 20th of October — but Wanderlust will already end with a big party on Saturday evening, while you can still try those brand spanking new #Collabfest2017 beers — since they’re brewed especially for this festival — in BrewDog Brussels on Sunday afternoon!
There’s only a few days to go until BXLBeerFest will start, probably the biggest craft beer festival that will take place in Belgium this year. Almost 50 breweries from all over the world, are bringing over 300 different beers, bottled, canned and kegged. Add clean glasses for each and every beer, a permanently updated Untappd beer list, half a dozen of food trucks and a pop-up restaurant, and it is bound to be a great success. The only thing there isn’t enough of, is time: two days are just too short to try everything!
The beer festival season has started again, and this year sees the launch of yet another festival, but one we’re particularly excited about: the BXL BeerFest! The beer festival is still a couple of months away — the 26th and 27th of August 2017 at Tour & Taxis — but tickets are already available now!
It really is a beer weekend in Brussels, and then I don’t (just) mean the massive event on the Grand Place. Brussels Beer Project opened their brewery one year ago, and they’ll be celebrating this with a brand new beer festival: Good Beer Feast! They’ve invited thirteen breweries from all over Europe, each pouring four different beers. Including four of their own beers, that means 56 different beers will be available on the Vismet this Saturday. That’s not a lot compared to the hundreds of beers served on the Grand Place, but in our opinion, it will be a much more interesting selection!
UPDATE: Closed permanently…
Since the gourmet burger trend started, loads of burger places appeared in Brussels, trying to get their piece of the pie. You can now find burgers in all price ranges, and the ones at Cool Bun are certainly in the higher range. In this case however, that is completely justified! The burgers are grilled to perfection — some places just don’t seem to understand ‘medium’ — with the finest, organic ingredients, and they even have some American craft beers to go with this pinnacle of American cuisine.
As much as we love to spend an evening in a restaurant or bar, cracking open a bottle at home or somewhere else with friends can be at least just as nice. Supermarket beers — even though the offer has improved over the last couple of years — just won’t do for those occasions, of course, but luckily there are shops like Malt Attacks. You won’t be able to have a drink there unfortunately — barring special events — but you’ll surely find the ideal beer to enjoy at home!