I spent 5 days in Brussels before Christmas and I was really blown away by the city's beauty and the amazing food and beer. We didn't get to hit all the beer spots we had planned to but it was a great trip and I hope to go back someday. Below are some notes from the spots we visited. Cantillon - I'm a professional brewer and of course I've been on many brewery tours. That being said, the Cantillon brewery tour was amazing. The historical brewing practices they still use was fascinating. There is a small bar that we loved and bottles and merch were for sale by the entrance. The beer was fantastic and it was definitely the biggest highlight of the trip. Moeder Lambic - This beer bar had much more of a craft beer vibe than any other beer bar we visited. They had an outstanding tap list of Belgian craft beer including a few Cantillon options on draft. They also were the only place we saw local IPA's available. They do have food and it was never very packed the 2 times we visited. Little Delirium - We hit this location up because we heard from everyone that the main Delirium location gets packed with tourists. Little Delirium was pretty chill and had a cool selection of both Delirium and other notable Belgian beers. Poechenellekelder (Puppet Bar) - We tried twice to get a seat here but it was always packed. It's right on the corner from the Manneken Pis statue so there are tons of tourists crowding outside. It seemed really cool inside and they had a solid beer menu. It seems worth a stop but you should hit it at a slow time. La Mort Sabite - Honestly I was a little underwhelmed. The interior is beautiful but staff seemed ambivalent and the beer list was on par with all the other Belgian beer bars. (Delirium, Kwak, Leffe, La Chouffe, etc). It didn't help a tour bus of 20 people dropped off right after we arrived. Bieres Et Tout Le Bazar - This tiny bottle shop was actually the best place to find Cantillon and they had Westvleteren for €14 a bottle. If De Biertempel didn't have what you were looking for, swing by here to see if they have it. De Biertempel - A much nicer and larger bottle shop. They did have Westy Quad and Dubbel but at €17 a bottle. They were sold out of Cantillon bottles at the time but the did have an impressive selection of Belgian beers.
Your post gives me renewed hope for the future. Brussels is an amazing city, with so much beer culture and history. So many great places there have closed in the last year or two, like Restobieres, La Fleur en Papier Doré, and more recently Pasta Madre.
Homebrewer here and not into sours-- best tour I've been on. My guide explained brewing and saccharification in a way anyone would understand.
Best username ever, majorly jealous. Glad you enjoyed our fair and quirky city. Plenty more here to poke around in beer-wise if you get back. Good observation about e.g. Moeder being the only of this list of classic places with a craft-draft vibe — it was never really a thing here until ML came along. Now we have a few dotted around other parts of town. It's nice to have a few local IPAs in the mix without them being like 50% of all lines. ... Now please just tell us you ate well.
Help me out. We will be in Brussels for 2 nights, September 7-9. I have the beer part figured out, but could use some dining suggestions. We will be staying near the Center Square. Thanks/cheers!
Thanks for sharing some trip reports! My cancellable beer opinion is that Poechenellekelder is a bit overhyped. As in it's really good - solid A tier - but it's a bit weird how some people seem treat it as being the same sort of don't-miss bucket-list experience as Cantillon or Grote Dorst or Kulminator rather than one of a number of nice beer bars in Brussels. I wonder whether there's a self-fulfilling thing where people recommend it over, say, Les Brasseurs because it was the place that everyone recommended to them. I have to admit, I was shocked when La Fleur en Papier Doré closed. On the other hand, L'Amère à Boire, which used to be my partner's local back when she lived in Brussels, now has three branches (including one conveniently placed between Moeder Original and the Parvis St Gilles) and if they're as good as the original then that's a win.
Les Brittignes - fine dining, modern Belgian, nice beer list La Villette - classic Belgian brasserie, tons of antique breweriana Holy Smoke - TX BBQ in BXL Le Damoiselle - bistro w/nice lambic list La Buvette - fine dining Old Boy - Asian fusion
Nuetnigenough is small, so definitely recommend getting a reservation. I’ve never had a bad dish there in 20 visits. Always a couple interesting taps and a solid bottle list.
Also, if you tire of Lambic and Saisons, I recommend a visit to Bar Dynamo. They always have a really nice tap and bottle list, and it’s close to Moeder OG and Liesse (where you can also get a decent meal and the only place to drink Cantillon Belle Mirabelle.
I'll second Nuetnigenough and La Villette, both are excellent. Also recommend Fin de Siecle and Bier Circus. For a quick lunch, Sultans of Kebab is cheap and awesome. And if you're at Cantillon and want lunch, walk two blocks to Beyrouth, which makes Lebanese pizza that is super cheap and amazingly good. For breakfast, Le Pain Quotidien is a favorite.
I was just at Poechenellekelder in January. I loved the place. It gives off a very “towny” vibe with a great beer list. Yes there are puppets and such everywhere but they don’t seem to try very hard. I also like that you get the Manakin Pis volunteers in there after they have a ceremony. BTW, the bar opens at 11am. Show up at 10:55 and you’ll get a seat.
