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.
bottled
Nanobrasserie de l’Ermitage
The latest brewery in the Brussels region to open their doors, is Nanobrasserie de l’Ermitage. You can even take that quite literally, since every Friday and Saturday afternoon and evening, everybody is welcome in the brewery’s pallet and keg decorated, but cosy taproom to try their beers, and have a (guided) wander around the brewery. Beer lovers already found their way to Anderlecht to visit nearby Cantillon — less than 200 meters away — but now they have a reason to stay after the last lambic of the day is served!
Fermenthings
UPDATE: The shop in Jette has closed, but Fermenthings moved in with La Source, now mainly focussing on workshops and fermented food.
Beer is the — sometimes very beautiful — result of fermentation, but so are coffee, cheese, cider, kombucha, miso, and many other delicacies. At Fermenthings, you’ll not only find many of these products, but also the necessary tools and ingredients to make your own at home. Beer — from Belgium and far abroad — features heavily in the store, and we’re not sorry about that at all! Quite a few of those beers are even chilling in a fridge, so you can have a taste, before stocking up on beer and other fermented products.
Menma
When you think about having a beer, a Japanese ramen restaurant isn’t the first thing that springs to mind. However, after the obligatory sake and plum wine, the first thing on the drinks menu of Menma Artisan Ramen you’ll notice, is a short list of beers, and even a couple of them on draught: Uijin, and Uijin Yuzu Blond. Considering the only beer of this brewery we ever had was at Moeder Lambic, we had to try these Japanese beers! Although… are they really Japanese?
Wanderlust & #Collabfest2017
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!
De Gele Poraa
Don’t judge a bar by it’s appearance, is a lesson we’ve learnt early on when writing this blog. In the case of De Gele Poraa, this is more true than ever! After you make your way past the — largely unused — smoking room, try to make your way between the bar and the first couple of tables, the room opens up, and you have the opportunity to take a minute to look at the beers on the chalkboards. Well, you might need more than just a minute, since for what appears to be just a little neighbourhood bar, the offer is surprisingly large!
La Belladone
UPDATE: Closed permanently…
In an area of Saint-Gilles where you can eat well, but will struggle to find many interesting places to have a drink afterwards, luckily there still is La Belladone. The Eastern European character the bar once had, seems to have faded away for the most part — still some spiced and regular vodkas on the menu though — but the art nouveau decor it has now, suited us just fine. Of course it helps when almost all beers are from smaller, artisanal breweries, as are the snacks.
À la Bécasse
After a gueuze and lambic filled weekend, we decided to visit a venue best know for its sweet lambic in earthenware jugs: À la Bécasse. The bar is visited by both tourists – a lot of them – and locals, looking for something ‘authentic’ and probably easy to drink. The upper bar room even is quite popular with students, ordering 10 and 20 liter jugs to keep them hydrated during a cantus, a tradition filled evening of singing and – of course – drinking.
JeanBon
We were a bit hesitant to write about JeanBon on our blog: there was only one beer in the fridge, and it wasn’t even a great one… However, the delicious baguettes made more than up for this shortcoming. On the store shelves, there was a choice of better beers available — like a Geuze Boon, or Bertinchamps‘ La Prose — some of which would have paired nicely with our lunch in the windowsill. Could you please put some of those beers in the fridge as well, Jean?
Restobières
UPDATE: Closed permanently…
When it comes to beer and food, you can’t look past Restobières. Their Belgian dishes, often using beer as an ingredient, combined with beers from mostly smaller breweries — no InBev here — makes the restaurant a must-visit on the list of many beer tourists coming to Brussels. But even though many of the customers here are tourists — I think we were the only locals during our visit — the quality of the food and beers here is much higher than in the Rue des Bouchers!