't Brugs Beertje: Opinions

Yes, that place is unreal. Small, unsuspecting beer haven. Go there with beer knowledge, as they have some incredible offerings you don't want to miss out on. Only tip I can offer is to go there late afternoon, I don't believe it opens until 4 pm or so.

 

yes.

send him to cafe de garre also

 

And for good reason. Even the little street is atmospheric and hours can pleasantly slip by. I've been with non- (or not-much) drinkers who claimed they liked it. Hang by the bar to discuss and chat, talk beer and get suggestions. If you sit at a table, you might be able to strike up conversation with neighbors (probably fellow tourists, which I don't mean as a bad thing) but it's less of a given. Menu can be a bit hard to navigate but useful for pointing out some of the more obscure local offerings.

 

95 reviews on this site, 210 reviews on RB.

Everyone says it's shit - don't go !

Did you really need to create a post on this topic ???

 

Great pub. Definitely visit. Way better than De Garre.

 

It is like a living museum. When I was there, there were only tourists talking about how authentic it is but locals don’t go there. I have met locals who dislike it, in part due to the tourists.

That being said, I liked it. It was cute, fun to drink there. Nothing particularly rare there for me, maybe 4 beers which I hadn’t had before but the beer list was a solid one with manageable prices.

Great place.

 

Agreed that visitors (tourists plus beer hunters who are not otherwise commiting tourism) certainly have outnumbered locals in my handful of visits but I've always observed a few locals stopping in to hang at the bar (as opposed to the table seating).

 

Tourists are found in virtually every café in Brugge unless you venture away from the center to the outer side streets. It's the nature of the city.

 

De garre is what it is - their beer is contract brewed. it is very tasty but you'll spend 60 min in there max.

Bertje, to be honest, is overrated. i was there in May. all the hostels/hotels tell tourists to go there. all the beer geeks go there. so, depending what time of the year you're there, there may be little to no locals. it isn't like Kulminator, which i've always found really nice locals AND beer geeks.

The beer list at Berje has gotten a bit lazy. they haven't updated their menu. the waiting stuff seems indifferent.
Go if you like. but yeah, it doesn't even compare to Kulminator or Moedr Lambic as far as epic beer bars go. Those 2 are my favourite bars in the world.

 

Tim Webb(my big gun) and I disagree re: 't Brugs Beertje.
As I said above, tourists are unavoidable anywhere near the center and have been a presence at Beertje for many years. I've been there 5-6 times since 1998 and haven't considered their numbers a real problem. While Moeder Lambic Fontainas has more rare and "ticker beers", it also gets plenty of tourists and I prefer Beertje's atmosphere much more than Moeder's. Beer lists aren't the only consideration - if they were I'd spend time at Delirium Cafe whenever I'm in Brussels, but I hate it's atmosphere. Beertje's beer list always has plenty to make an enjoyable time for me. I don't always seek the rarest, most unusual beers in Belgium.

As the old saying goes, though - "different strokes for different folks".

 

just wondering when you were last there?
i was there in 2011 and this past May.
Two totally different experiences. night and day.
unless i was there in an off period, it went from being a quaint, enjoyable bar with a good beer list to being a bar with horrible service, a thin bottle list and a sad draught list.

 

July, 2010 - hard to believe it could change so much in such a short time.
Would like to hear from others who were there this year and can compare it to previous visits.

 

we bailed after 2 pints. we really had nothing to order. don't think they had many of the bottles i asked for.
it was total crap, as opposed to being nice and comfortable back in 2011. i still think it is overrated compared to Kulminator, whose cellar is ridiculous, but Bertje is, in my opinion, not worth the detour and one should drink at the grungy punk bar that's a 10 minute walk east from there that has Struise beer galore/

 

You paint a pretty grim picture. I can't believe Daisy would let it degenerate like that. Has it been sold? I still want to hear from others who've been recently but know it's history.

Even if it's true, there's no need to drink at a "grungy punk bar". There are a number of far better alternatives.

Curious why you were drinking pints in a Belgian beer cafe. I've never seen Belgian beer served in pints in that country.

 

i am using the term "pints" loosely. pints equals draught in my books. i wasn't drinking Belgian style i.e. the tom collins tall-thin 1/3 pint glasses of no-name ale that's on tap. don't fret. i was drinking from a tulip glass or something similar.

the grungy bar was excellent if you're not old and fancypantsed. the bartender's an incredibly nice guy and knows his beer. he's friendly and talks (bertje's staff never was helpful on any of my 3 visits). he's passionate about beer. he doesn't cater to tourists but caters to Belgians under 40 who like beer and like the punk asthetic. read the reviews before you frown down at it.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/ratebeer/?path=/p/de-kelk-brugge/9497/

the over-all Ratebeer rating is off compared to what it really should be. and consider that Cambrinus and de Garre are "ranked" the 2nd and 3rd best bars in Bruges before you fully appreciate De Kelk's ranking. i would suggest 3 bars in the city: de Garre for the experience, Bertje for the history and De kelk for the beer and feel.

 

furthermore, some recent ratebeer reviews or Bertje:

(no, i did not write that review)

and, finally, the most entertaining but the most accurate review. from March 2013. he gave the bar 46/100

 

Relax Atomeyes, you said pints and I took it at face value. Should I have been aware of your unusual use of the term?
You described De Kelk as a "grungy punk bar" and didn't provide the name. What the hell was I supposed to think? I was there several times in '08 and 2010 and like the place. While it's a little rough around the edges, I certainly wouldn't call it a grungy punk bar. It's away from the tourists and has a good beer list.

Is there anything else you'd care to lecture me about?

I still want to hear some others impressions of recent visits to Beertje.

 

I last visited the bear in Dec '12.
The range of beers available hasn't changed too much since I first visited in July '00.
There was a 'wow' factor back then that has now faded after many trips to Belgium.
They had the likes of Struise on the bottle list (both BA Tsjeeses on my visit) but nothing 'rare', so moving with the times to some extent.
It isn't that kind of place to need to serve rare beers to be honest and the tap list is never likely to expand beyond the 6 'safe' bets.
It's always had one too many tourists ie ordering Kwak and fruit beers, but the general ambience and service were absolutely fine on my last visit and it was pretty busy being the first weekend in Dec and the run up to Xmas.
Daisy was working too.