Brussels June 2026

We started off in the first bar I ever drank in on my first visit to Belgium many years ago, the 120 years old La Terrasse, Avenue des Celtes 1, Etterbeek, 1040 Brussels (website). Here we both drank Duvel, from the Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat, or Duvel Moorgat Brewery, a Flemish family brewery founded in 1871 by Jan-Leonard Moortgat, and now run by the 4th generation of Moortgats (website). A combination of yeasts from a Scottish ale (McEwan's Scotch Ale, very popular in Belgium at the end of WW1) was extracted and used by Moortgat's sons to help create a lighter ale, which, legend has it, was called a 'real devil' or Duvel, meaning Devil. Duvel (8.5%) is a multi award winning pale golden ale (my description), or Strong Blond ale (their description), with lots of body and flavour, and a subtle bitterness, it is very good indeed. 👍

On our way into the city centre, a couple of days later, we had a brief look around and drank a coffee at the Comic Art Museum, Rue des Sables 20, 1000 Brussels. a glorious Art Nouveau building designed by Victor Horta in 1905, originally a department store, becoming the museum in 1989 (website). We then passed La Monnaie (above - website), the national opera house, where my niece sings. Also, this is where the Belgian Revolution first erupted in 1830. In 1815 Belgium had become the Southern Netherlands following the Congress of Vienna (Britannica). The Belgian bourgeoisie began to tire of King William I of the Netherlands, and now he had forbidden the presentation of Daniel Auber's opera La Muette de Portici at La Monnaie. 

The opera portrayed what the King considered to be a potentially inflammatory story of nationhood, courage and freedom, and he must have foreseen what would happen. The opera had been banned since the 3rd of August, but was performed anyway on the 25th of August 1830, and the words did incite the audience to riot, many rushed to leave the theatre and take to the streets, where they were soon joined by members of the working class; there were other contributory factors, of course, including unemployment and a harvest failure. By the 4th of October 1830 independence from the Netherlands was declared, and a week later the Dutch forces retreated from Belgium. ✊

We carried on to our luncheon destination, Le Cirio, Beursstraat 18, 1000 Brussels (website), next to the old Belgian Stock Exhange, La Bourse (Brussels), a long-time favourite for Dan and I. Le Cirio was originally an Italian Delicatessen founded by Francesco Cirio in 1886, and the present interior was redesigned by Henri Coosemans in 1909 in the style of an Art Nouveau Italian cafe. As you can see from the image below, great lighting and decoration within. Oh yes, and we ate here too, Croque Monsieur this time, always very good grub indeed! 😋

Here Dan drank Hoegaarden Grand Cru (8.5%), described further down at Le Perroquet, and I drank Duvel, also 8.5%, described above when imbibed at La Terrasse. My apologies that we drank some old dependable beers more than once, but that's life. I do like trying new beers, as more regular readers will realise, and I also like to enjoy good beers again and again, it's a hard life, but someone has to put in the research and make sure others stay up to scratch. 😉

Next is one of the most interesting bars you may ever enter, La Fleur en Papier Dore, Rue des Alexiens 55, 1000 Brussels (website), 'the flower made from gold foil.' This really is an 'arts' bar, created by the poet and gallery owner Gerard van Bruaene, and visited over the years by artists and musicians, such as the Surrealists, like Rene Magritte, and singer and actor Jacques Brel, who did like his bars! Bits and pieces here and there, much unmatched furniture, and pictures and all sorts adorning the walls, and pleasantly laid back, I love this bar, and why I return. 😍

Not an enormous choice of beers here, but their local tripel, which I drank of course, from the Brussels brewery Brasserie de la Senne (website), is their 8.0% Tripel Verschueren (Tripel Verschu). As you can see from the photograph, the beer is pretty natural, very suitable for vegans, golden, slightly citrussy and fruity, with a dry bitter finish. Sorry, but the hops used are pretty difficult to find out, but I'd be surprised if the blend used doesn't include Styrian Golding and Saaz hops, I've asked before, but if you know, please let me know, cheers! 👍

Walking back, if you've followed using a map, this blog follows a pretty circular wandering, we visited a new bar for me, Le Perroquet, Rue Watteeu 31, 1000 Brussels (facebook). Another Art Nouveau style interior with stained glass panels, where sitting inside was quite relaxing as the majority of customers were sitting outside, breathing in the fumes. 😉

Here Dan drank, from Hoegaarden (website), their 8.5% Grand Cru, a spicy wheat beer, which has developed since the monks of Hoegaarden started brewing there in the 15th century. Hoegaarden suggest that their early wheat beers were extremely sour, and the monks began experimenting with orange peel and coriander, which certainly comes through in the taste, together with forest fruits, peach and pear, and slightly malty. An interesting mix of wheat beer and Tripel, with spicy undertones, and pretty good too.

I drank Westmalle Tripel (9.5%), probably my favourite Belgian beer. 😁Brewed with Tettnanger (hopslist), Saaz (hopslist) and Styrian Golding (hopslist) hops, a golden ale with a subtle fruity flavour, and a dry bitter refreshing finish, quality! Westmalle Tripel is a 'trappist' ale, the brewery established at the trappist Westmalle Abbey since 1836 (website), and gradually updated over the years. Although the monks no longer brew the beers themselves, they remain in overall charge of the brewery, ensuring tradition is upkept and pure ingredients used, including from their own water supply, 100% barley malt, hops, and yeast from their own culture.

Another bar we've visited many times, near to where Dan used to live, and not far from where their current, temporary now sadly, abode is, Brasserie Le Petit Paris, Rue Charles Degroux 2, 1040 Etterbeek (website). Nestled over a small roundabout, with great memories of food and drinking here, including one late evening many years ago when it was raining, we were sitting outside under the extended cover, listening to the pitter patter of the rain, no-one else outside, watching the late evening world go by, sigh... This time Dan drank Westmalle Tripel (9.5%), description above, and he also provided bottles of Westmalle Tripel at the flat, cheers Dan! 😁 

I drank, from the Trappistes Rochefort series (website), Rochefort 8 (9.2%) aka "The Speciale." Brewing had started at the 13th century Abbey of Notre-Dame  St-Remy by 1595, the monks worked on farming and mining beforehand. During the revolutionary period from 1789, the monks fled from French troops, and they returned 100 years later. Because of looting and the destruction of their church, they built a new church and brewery and, as farming failed to meet the monastery's full financial needs, they supplemented their income by selling their beers. Moving on to the 20th century and Rochefort 8, first brewed in 1955, originally for the Christmas season. The aroma is dark fruits with a hint of cloves like a fruit cake, the colour is a dark tawny, and the flavours appropriately include a BIG fruity taste, with dark and dried fruits, and a very subtle toasted bread and malt, ending with a dry finish, it's pretty darn good! 😋

And the view from the balcony of my sister-in-law's flat in Brussels on my morning of departure, I came here on Eurostar and came back to London/England on Eurostar, then by 2 other trains home. I did drink a beer I wouldn't usually drink in the posh people's lounge before catching the Eurostar back, but that's another story. "Au revoir Bruxelles!" ✋

Namur Visit

I had never been to Namur before, indeed, I have visited Brussels many many times, and have visited Flemish towns/cities, such as Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp and Leuven before too. So my brother Dan recommended we visit Namur for the day from Brussels (more of in another blog to be written very soon), Namur, the capital of Wallonia (Visit Wallonia) is a short train journey from Brussels. Our first stop was the tourist office (website), as I always like to get myself a wee map of places I visit so I can work out where I'm going. The tourist office is very close to the Sambre, which is a tributary of the Meuse, and conjoins just a few hundred metres further away.

We decided to find somewhere to look at the map and drink a coffee near the tourist office, and we found the Taverne Le Prince Baudouin, Rue de Marchovelette 15 (facebook), opposite La Bourse. A right friendly locals bar, neat and tidy, and the most choice for what to add to a coffee I've ever had, served up with the black coffee were milk, cream, whipped cream and a wee biscuit, which, as Dan doesn't like them particularly, I consequently had 2 biscuits. 😁

After some sight-seeing and touring the area (Namur's not so big), and working out where we would be drinking later, we settled on eating at La Taverne Alsacienne, Place Marche aux Legumes 11, 5000 Namur, (facebook)  in the first photograph above, which specialises in cuisine from the Alsace region of France. We had 2 different versions of their speciality Flammekueche, a bit like thin crusted pizzas made with flat bread, with a very decent salad, and delicious! 😋

As you can see above, we both drank the 8.4% Karmeliet Tripel (website), brewed with Styrian Golding hops (hopslist), at the Brouwerij Bosteels in the village of Buggenhout in East Flanders; the brewery was founded in 1791 (website). A golden ale, a wee bit sweeter than Westmalle (more soon), plenty of fruit and body, hints of vanilla and citrus, pretty good! 👍

I was pretty disappointed by two of the bars I was intending to visit, earlier we had tried La Cuve a Biere (facebook), but even though it was a Friday, it wasn't opening until late afternoon, and La Chapitre (above - facebook) was meant to be open by 14.00, but it still wasn't open at 15.00! If I return it will have to be at a weekend, or stay there overnight. 😞

So, a wee bit frustrated, we ended up in Barnabeer, Rue de Bruxelles 39, 5000 Namur (website), which we knew was open at 14.00 because we had passed by earlier, I told you Namur isn't a huge place. 😉 Indeed, Barnabeer is open from 14.00 every day of the week (open until 01.00 Monday to Thursday and until 02.00 on Fridays and Saturdays); it remains closed all day on Sundays. Who knows what the craic is Sundays in Namur, I'll not be finding out methinks. 😒

Barnabeer is quite roomy inside, with a large outside area too, indeed, when we were there all the action appeared to be outside, mostly younger folk going out there, but some older folk too. It had the feeling of an old bank to me, but I cannot discover the original purpose of the building, it is certainly impressive. They have an impressive beer list too, with over 300 different beers available, as you can gather from the image including the bar above, about 45 beer fonts!

The staff are very friendly and informative, and we decided to have bottled beers from 2 local-ish breweries, interestingly, rather than having glasses for each different beer, as is usual in Belgian bars, they serve all beers up in their own glasses, as you can see from this image. Floreffe Tripel (8.0%), an Abbey Style blonde beer has been brewed by Lefebvre in Quenast since 1983 (website). Specific hops used are kept secret, but include a combination of European and English hops, certainly producing an easy drinking beer, with a slightly spicy finish, nice one. 

Floreffe Abbey was originally founded in 1121, with a brewery set up in the abbey during the 13th century, the abbey was abandoned by the monks at the end of the 18th century following the French Revolution. Their brewery was restored in 1960 and brewing was run there by Het Anker (website) until 1983. Maredsous Abbey is a much newer abbey founded by Benedictine monks in 1872, with brewing not starting until 1947; since 1963 Duvel Moortgat (website) began brewing their beers under licence until 2023, when the Maredsous Microbrewery was created in collaboration with Duvel Moortgat (website).

So, to my favourite beverage of the trip, Maredsous Tripel (10.0%), brewed using Styrian Golding (hopslist) and Saaz (hopslist) hops. Maredsous Tripel is a golden-orange-amber colour with a gentle malty aroma and flavour with hints of banana, orange and apple, and spicy cloves and coriander to finish. Sweet at first, but with a bitterness coming through very soon to balance the overall taste, quite rich, and very good indeed! 👍

This photograph was taken on the train on the way to Namur, looks as though it could be in English, but is in French, as this was the train destined for Luxembourg from Brussels. On reaching Namur, the city centre is just 10-15 minutes walk due south from Namur railway station.

So, my next blog should be about Brussels, cheers for now folks! 😁
 

National Beer Day (+ Dark Beers Part 4)

This dark treat is a collaboration between Brouwerij Kees of the Netherlands (website) and Tuletorn (meaning Lighthouse) of Estonia (website), their Marble Cake (10.5%), described by them as a "Baltic Chocolate Marble Cake Pastry Porter." My notes say: "looks good, great chocolate aroma with a hint of liquorice. Taste? Big very dark chocolate flavour, nowhere near as sweet as I expected, with a dry finish, luxurious!" I liked it very much. 😉

From Burnt Mill Brewery of Ipswich (website), their 8.4% Obsidian Flow Imperial Stout. The hops used for these darker beers are not usually shared by brewers, but there seems a suggestion that Wai-iti hops (hopslist) have been used by Burnt Mill to add further complexity to this impressive stout. They suggest roasted coffee, liquorice, dried fruits and cinder toffee (honeycomb, like in a Crunchie Bar) in the taste. I noted "gentle chocolate in the aroma with a hint of liquorice, and darker chocolate with hints of coffee and liquorice in the flavour, with a dry finish. Plenty of body, as expected, initially bitter-sweet, but not really sweet at all!" If that makes sense? Notes are written as I'm drinking and interpreting, and yet another very good stout. 👍

Another strong collaboration, this time between Sinnister Brew of Scotland (website) and Bereta of Romania (website), their Tactical Frivolity, a 12.1% Imperial Pastry Stout brewed with coconut and vanilla! It pretty much does what it says on the label, plenty of flavours, with dark chocolate adding to the vanilla and coconut, I said "luxurious!" Nowt more to add. 😁

Finally, from Siren Craft Brew of Berkshire (website), renowned for their extra-specially tasty stouts (eg Caribbean Chocolate Cake blog), their 13th anniversary Imperial Stout, Shattered Mirror (9.1%). Brewed with "Cacao, Vanilla, Toasted Coconut, Coffee, Deconstructed Rum Barrels (presumably either spirals or chopped stave chips as in the CCC series - blog again), and Lactose." That gives you an idea of how much variety of flavours could effect the taste! 

Indeed, the aroma is BIG, big chocolate particularly, with hints of coffee, coconut, caramel and vanilla, and the taste doesn't disappoint or let it down. Similarly though, and I shall copy my notes directly for this: "Rich, thick and luxurious, with a big dark chocolate flavour from cacao, and hints of rum and vanilla." Well, that was what stood out for me, and very enjoyable too. 😋

So, all in all, 4 excellent stouts, Happy Beer Day! 🍫🍺

Monday 15th June is Beer Day Britain 2026!

Happy Beer Day Britain 2026! (website) June the 15th being the anniversary of the day that Magna Carta was 'signed' in 1215 when King John attached his seal to the document that brought in measures for ale, among other things: "There shall be standard measures of wine, ale, and corn" (National Archives). Celebrate as appropriate folks, and enjoy the day, cheers! 😁

And over 300,000 page views of this blog now, many thanks folks! ✊

And I have been away, so expect something a wee bit different coming up very soon. 😉

 

Dark Beers Part 3

Starting with Indie Rabble Brewing of Windsor (website) Tiny Violence Stout (5.0%), and certainly what I would call a stout if tasting blind. No details of the hops used is available. I didn't get significant chocolate in the taste, so presumably no chocolate malt, but they have used cocoa powder, which adds a hint of chocolate, and it was just a hint for me, despite their website suggesting "decadent chocolate" truffle! An easy drinking stout with roasted malt/barley flavour and hints of coffee. I certainly enjoyed drinking it and noted "Pretty damn good."

From Dundee in Scotland and Holy Goat Brewing (website), their Date Porter (5.9%). This export strength porter is brewed with a blend of double roasted crystal, red rye crystal and amber malts, then conditioned on 150kg of Tunisian Deglet Nour Date syrup. Again, no details of the hops used are provided. And yes, you can tell it is brewed with dates, there's a hint of fruit and liquorice in the aroma, a pleasant rich fruitiness in the taste with a dry finish. Pretty good! 

The Kernel Brewery of South East London (website) Export Stout - Damson (7.5%) is based on a 19th century recipe of Truman Brewery (Brewery History). Hops used "vary from batch to batch" and it's aged on whole English damsons for 6 months! Surprisingly little aroma, but big fruity taste, slightly tart, hint of coffee, and chocolate from the chocolate malt in the mix (plus Maris Otter, Brown, Black and Crystal malts), and a dry bitter finish. Pretty damn good!

Sureshot Brewing of Manchester (website) collaboration with Emperor's Brewery of Leicestershire (website) and their Oggdo Bogdo (12.0%) a Maple Fudge Imperial Stout. Yet again, no details of hops used for this. The name 'Oggdo Bogdo' is a Star Wars gaming character, I had to look it up. 😉 To the beer, certainly chocolate this time and marshmallow in the aroma and a little maple syrup, smooth, and milky even, to drink, and a big chocolate taste for this one with hints of caramel and vanilla and a dry finish. Quite luxurious! 😁

There may well be another Dark Beer blog reasonably soon, and something a bit different coming up too, many thanks for reading folks, I'm happy to share my love of beers, cheers! 👍

June Whiskey of the Month

I'm a wee bit early with June's whiskey review but I have to own up, I've already seriously dipped into this month's bottle! 😉 So, my earlyish whiskey for the month of June is from Donegal based Sliabh Liag Distillers, founded in 2014, and the first new legal distillery in the county for "over 175 years" (website), and their 46.0% The Legendary Dark Silkie Irish Whiskey (website).

I've been a wee bit confused as the colour of the label doesn't match the darker blue in the image on their website, but does match their usual Legendary Silkie! Confused? I certainly am. Anyway. my review is going to be of the whiskey I've been drinking, and this is definitely a blend, of 70% soft grain whiskey aged in Portuguese Moscatel oak casks, 15% double distilled single malt whiskey aged in sherry casks, and 15% of triple distilled peated single malt whiskey aged in bourbon casks. So what do I make of the whiskey that I've been drinking?

I notice a slightly smoky peat aroma, with hints of orchard fruits and caramel. To taste, not that overpowering peat that you get with some Scot's whiskies, much more subtle, but certainly there. Tasting, I get a sweet, but dry, butterscotch flavour mostly, with hints of burnt toffee and the sweet fruitiness of raisins, maybe even a little orange citrus, and warming me up all the way down (46.0% remember 😉). Summing up, it's not bad at all, but I'm not a great lover of peat in whiskey, so shan't be buying another bottle, though if you like peat in your whiskey this may be too subtle for you. 😕 Summing up. it's drinkable for non-peaty smoky whiskey drinkers, but maybe not enough for others, sláinte! 👌

Revisiting 'The Vic' in Derby.

Virtually opposite the main Derby Railway Station exit is The Victoria Inn, 12 Midland Place DE1 2RR, built in 1878, and familiarly called "The Vic" by locals (website). It is a well known music venue that closed down in 2019, but reopened again in July 2022 with its new licensees, John and Emma, following refurbishment. Again acclaimed as a music venue as well as being an excellent public house, selling 6 rotating cask ales that change weekly, and 12 ciders. Opening times are 09.30 to 22.30 Monday to Saturday, and 12.00 to 22.30 on Sundays.

On our last visit we drank ales from Leatherbritches Brewery of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire (website). I started off with, and returned to it later too, their 4.2% 'Single Hopped Session Ale' Citra Pale; more details of the Citra hop, and regular readers will appreciate this is one of my favourite hops, can be seen at hopslist. Lovely citrus and tropical fruit aroma, with similar taste, notably grapefruit, and a nice refreshing dry bitter finish, good stuff! 👍

Secondly, I drank their 4.3% Monster Mash (yes, it was a graveyard smash! 😉), another pale golden ale, brewed with Motueka (hopslist), Amarillo (hopslist), Mosaic (hopslist), and with other hops from the Antipodes I believe, apologies, but I can't discover the other hops used. 😒 A bit more body, and slightly darker, than the Citra Pale, but plenty of citrus and tropical fruit in the taste, even slightly spicy, and with a more bitter aftertaste. Another goodie! 😁

We also drank their 3.8% The Bounder, another session pale ale, which had more subtle hints of citrus and tropical fruit flavours in the taste, and slightly spicy too, a wee bit more thin, as you'd expect, but very easy drinking, more good stuff! Apologies for not taking a photograph of the pump clip (it features Terry Thomas, not the reason why I didn't photograph it, I just forgot!), and the hops aren't divulged either, I'm guessing they may change slightly every now and then. 😏

Whatever, well worth a visit folks, cheers! 🍻