Brussels: pubs and beer

Our home for the week

Monday morning after RVV we packed up are stuff and headed from Brugge to Brussels.  I had rented us an apartment through AirBnB since we were going to be there five nights and we wanted a little more room and a kitchen.  The apartment was in a great location right next to the Bruxelles Central train station and Grand Place.  The owner, Marcelo, was there to meet us and he was very nice.  The place was small, but very cute and Marcelo even left breakfast foods and drinks in the fridge.

Since this is Belgium, a big part of our sightseeing involved trying the various beers and checking out some of the great pubs in the area.  In total I tried about 20 or so new beers, not sure how many of those were while we were in Brussels.  This post will highlight my favorite beers and places to drink them.

After a little bit of a rest we decided to head out to get some food and drink at Moeder Lambic, yet another recommendation by Garrett.  I had a lovely quiche and sampled a few beers.  We ended up staying longer than we planned due to a rainstorm that lasted about 30 minutes.  This place was not right in the middle of the tourist area, which was really nice.  There were a lot of locals just hanging out, socializing, and drinking delicious Belgium beer (I guess that is sort of a given).

Moeder Lambic

Can't argue with that

Not sure what I did wrong here

A lovely slightly fruity beer

Another really great pub for experiencing Belgium beer, especially if you like some of the harder ones to get, was Le Bier Circus.  This was a recommendation of Nick's brother, Andrew, who had spent some time in Belgium before he moved to Berkeley to get his MBA.  Again, another place that was off the beaten path with mainly locals and perhaps tourists with a serious interest in beer.  I can't remember exactly what we ate, but I'm guessing it was probably cheese and bread.  Bier Circus had an extensive beer menu (although not as extensive as Delirium Cafe), including some pricey vintage beer.  I originally tried Liefmans Goudenband when Gregg served it to us post-RVV and really liked it.  It is brewed in Oudenaarde and Gregg said it was hard to get but they had it at Bier Circus.  I have since discovered that they also serve it here in Atlanta at the Brick Store!

Le Bier Circus Menu

Liefmans Goudenband: Yummy!

Through reading various people's blogs I found Poechenellekelder (try and say that even once).  This pub was in a location you would never, ever expect: right across from Manneken Pis.  You can sit on the lovely patio next to the street and watch the tourists for HOURS (wow do you see some amazing things) or go inside and enjoy the quirky ambience, seriously, this place is a bit odd...in a good way.  We went here several times because we loved it so much. I do have to specifically mention one beer: Cantillon Gueze.  This was the most sour beer that I have ever had.  I really was not a fan, but at least I tried it!

One of my favorites

Amy's new boyfriend

Somewhere in there is the Manneken Pis

Sweet, yet sour.  One of my favorites.

Like a dessert

So so so so sour

One final stop on the pub tour was the famous Delirium Cafe, only 200 meters or so from our apartment.  We went here one afternoon to relax and check out the scene, and it is definitely a scene for the young crowd.  We ended up running into an American guy I had met earlier in a shop.  I had started talking to him because he was wearing a Chicago Marathon jacket and it turned out he was from Kansas City (like Amy) and had just run the Paris marathon!  I had mentioned Delirium Cafe to him and we ended up there at the same time so Amy and I bought him a beer.

Delirium Cafe consists of several different bars, each with a different focus, so you have to check each of them all out.   In total they have over 2000 beers that you can try, so make sure you ask to see the big beer menu if you want to try something you don't see (you can even buy one as a keepsake).  We ended going back to Delirium Cafe on our last night Brussels and stayed much later than we planned (like 2 am or so), but it was a blast!

Delirium Cafe downstairs bar

Delirium Cafe beer cellar

Finally, the Trappist beers get their own review.  As mentioned before, I was able to acquire some Westvleteren 12 when we were in Brugge and so Amy and I shared a bottle our last day in Brussels.  It was good, but didn't necessarily blow my mind.  I think it would have been better had we been able to let it settle for several months, but we didn't really have that option.  I was able to sample the other five Belgium beers: Chimay, Orval, Westmalle, Achel, and Rochefort.  I cannot say that I remember exactly what each of them taste like, but I wasn't as much of a fan of Achel and Orval.  I definitely remember really like Chimay Tripel, but I am pretty sure I also liked Westmalle Dubbel and Rochefort a lot too. 

Westmalle Dubbel

Chimay Tripel

Westvleteren 12

Rochefort 10

Orval

Achel

Finally I want to give a special mention to St. Bernardus Abt 12 in this section on Trappist beers.  Although it is not officially a Trappist beer because it is not brewed by monks, it does use the same yeast and recipe as Westvleteren 12.  The history of this beer can be seen here.  I do think these two beers taste different (but I did not do a blind taste test) and I really did like St. Bernardus.

Almost a Trappist beer

Up next: actual sightseeing in Brussels and Antwerp and a few more bike races.