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Cafe Rose Red, a great Bruges bar
It only opened a few years ago, but in my opinion, Cafe Rose Red is one of the top three beer cafes in the beautiful medieval city of Brugge (Bruges.) Kris Veireman, who is the general manager of both Hotel Cordoeanier and the attached cafe, is a very passionate beer lover who is a great…
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Délices & Caprices: a great beer shop in Brussels
Our “Cafe of the Week” really isn’t a cafe, per se, but you can drink beer there. You can also buy beer to take home (or wherever else you plan to drink it. As long as you enjoy it.) Délices & Caprices calls itself: “The Belgian Beer Tasting Shop in the heart of Brussels,” and…
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Cafe Le Trappiste, Brugge
The wonderful, atmospheric new “Le Trappiste” in Brugge (Bruges) is already making fans from all over the world, despite opening just a little over a year ago. “The Trappist” first lured beer lovers on May 9, 2013, but it still feels new. Co-owner Regnier De Muynck has been a fixture on the Belgian beer scene…
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‘t Brugs Beertje enjoys 31st birthday
One of Belgium’s great beer cafes just celebrated 31 years of business. ‘t Brugs Beertje (“Brugge’s Little Bear”) first opened on Friday, May 13th, 1983. Co-founder Daisy Claeys is still owner, and remains one of Belgium’s top publicans. I spent an evening at The Little Bear on Monday, April 21st, and it was thoroughly enjoyable,…
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Cafe In ‘t Vagevuur, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw
There are some beers that are hard to find. Brouwerij Lindemans straight draft lambic is one of ’em. A lot of people that haven’t tasted the non-sweetened beers from this brewery may not know how good they really are. Lindemans lambic is used by all of the lambic blenderies in Belgium in many of their…
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Cafe In de Welkom, Dworp
There are a lot of old cafes in Belgium’s Payottenland and Zenne Valley that should be better known. Many have closed their doors in recent years, as older owners retire, and their cafes are sold or continue to be used as residences. One of them that may also close for good at some point is…
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The Beer Bars of Turnhout, Belgium
During my many visits to Belgium (27, so far!) I’ve had the pleasure of exploring many places that are far off the well-known beer tourist circuit. In so doing, I’ve had some of the most fun of my travels, and met some of the friendliest people involved in the Belgian beer world, and beyond. A…
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“Welcome to Lambic Country” article in All About Beer Magazine
I’m happy to say that I have a 3,000 word article about Belgian lambic beer and lambic cafes in the March 2014 issue of All About Beer Magazine. I cover a basic background on the style, as well as brewing and blending methods, and 17 great cafes where you can taste superb lambic beers. These…
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Taverne ‘t Rond Punt, Heist-op-den-Berg
Heist-op-den-Berg has a new beer bar, and it’s a fine addition to the local beer scene. Taverne ‘t Rond Punt (“The Roundabout”) is located, appropriately, just off a roundabout a few km south of the city. This is the second bar run by Rudi Vets and his wife, Gerda. “t Rond Punt stocks about 60…
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De Kleine Duivel opens in Baltimore
A little slice of Belgium will soon open in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Since I live here, well, I thought I’d tell you about it. Just because I like beer. Belgian beer, especially. If you’re reading this article, you probably do too. (If you don’t, maybe I can convince you.) The much-anticipated De Kleine Duivel (“The…