Gaufres, Charcuterie, et Bière (Brussels)

Yes, your French is accurate, that headline reads “waffles, cured meats and beer”. Well, I think it does, unless Google Translate let me down.

Back in June, I was fortunate enough to have some work travel that brought me to Paris. Typically my travels take me across Canada and down to Southern California. Going to the east coast of the US is a treat. Going to Europe is a whole dessert buffet. I don’t mean just for beer either (the beer scene in Paris is…meh. We’ll get to that in a couple later blog posts), the culture, the history, the architecture and….the….food. So much good food. But my travel didn’t start in Paris, I made a pit stop.

Planning Your Trip Around A Single Brewery Visit

We’re all guilty of it right? Planning a 2 hour train ride (each way) and a 2 day detour to visit one brewery? I’m not alone on this one am I?

Okay, that might seem excessive but when I found out I was going to Paris I instantly looked at the map to see what was close by……..Brussels! You know which OG brewery is based in Brussels, right? Brasserie Cantillon!

Cantillon was located smack dab in between my hotel and the train station. Coincidence? I think not. After dropping my bags at the hotel I rushed down the street to the brewery as it closed in an hour (5pm) and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it back the next day.

Honestly the tasting room leaves something to be desired. Dark and musty with grain bags and pallets leaning against the walls. Mismatched weathered tables and creaky chairs. Paint peeling from the walls and lambic stains on the floors. But it also creates some of the allure in a way. They don’t need a fancy tasting room with granite counter tops and designer furniture. Or a snack menu consisting of grass fed pork buns and pickled….everything. Cantillon makes some of the best beer in the world and that’s all that matters.

Speaking of their beer, if anyone cares what I tried…..

Magic Lambic (2019) & Rosé de Gambrinus & Gueuze 100% Lambic Bio (2019)

I ended up chatting with a guy from Toronto who I noticed was speaking English. He was out there for work and was as giddy as I was about visiting the world class brasserie. I also talked about how giddy I was about visiting Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen and that’s when this nice stranger broke my heart. I guess I should’ve looked this up before hand but he informed me 3 Fonteinen isn’t open Sunday to Tuesday. Unlucky me, I had to leave on an early train on Wednesday morning to Paris (insert sad face). Oh well, I guess there’s always….next time?? (insert sad face again).

On the bright side I was in Belgium and I’m pretty sure I could find good beer-a-plenty. Time to hop on my Lime scooter and continue my adventure!

Oh, here’s a tip when at Cantillon, DON’T TOUCH THE MERCH. I saw a guy get berated by a tasting room staff for touching one of the shirts hanging on a wire hanger across some twine. It was hilarious and frightening.

Delirium Runs This City

The next stop was at a beer bar I had researched before I got to Brussels, Moeder Lambic. I had read good things but when I got there the vibe was very touristy and the Blocus Triple I ordered wasn’t great. If the tasting room had a better vibe I may have stayed for another but it didn’t and I was also craving some waffles.

As any proper tourist should, you need to taste the food-on-the-go options when visiting a new destination. When in Belgium it’s waffles and fries with mayo. Not necessarily at the same time.

After a pit stop at Waffle Factory for some savory and sweet waffle options I made my way over to Delirium. You may or may not be aware but Delirium is a pretty massive brand. Everywhere I walked around the city I saw Delrium signs on seedy bar windows and tourist trap restaurants. But I wanted to go to the source (so to speak) at Delirium Village. Delirium is actually brewed an hour outside Brussels at Brouwerij Huyghe in Melle. With my stay in Belgium being limited I didn’t have time to get out that way or to any of the famous monasteries unfortunately.

Delirium Village is essentially an entire block in Brussels consisting of 8 bars, all run by Delirium, and boasting over 2000 beer on tap (they hold the Guinness World Record. Yea, that’s a thing). It’s the main party spot for young tourists visiting the city. They also tell a lot of their history with their art that decorates the walls of each bar. You could honestly spend an entire day just drinking at Delirium Village nerding out on beer history. Sadly, I didn’t have an entire day so I drank my Tremens and was on my way back to my hotel for the night.

Where’s My Bike? Oh There It Is….In the Pond

I checked my Google Maps timelines while writing this post and it told me that my 2nd day in Brussels I walked 15km, biked 12km and Uber’d 1.5km. Does that count as Ironman training?

My day started with a hot coffee and croissant from OR Coffee (amazing coffee BTW) and some early morning people watching at Grand-Place de Bruxelles. This is essentially the centre of Brussels where a lot of the restaurants and shopping are in proximity of.

With caffeine rushing through my body and my camera in hand I was ready to pick up my feet and snap my shutter through the city. I wanted to go check out the Atomium (just to say I did) but moreso I wanted to walk through the little neighborhoods on the way, exploring what the outskirts of the city had to offer. One thing I quickly noticed is that Brussels has random art on buildings all over the place. I wish we had more of this in Vancouver and in more cities in North America.

The walk from Grand-Place to Atomium is a long one so about halfway there I decided to look for a Lime scooter. I opened up the app and saw there was only one in my area. I followed the map a couple blocks to where the scooter was supposed to be but it was nowhere to be found. I walked around the park looking behind bushes and tress, no dice. I rang the bell on the scooter, nuthin’. As I stood up on the edge of a fountain to get a better view of the park I saw it……in the middle of the fountain. Damn kids (insert fist shaking). Time to call an Uber and rest my feet.

You Can Call Me Eddy Merckx

After I saw the Atomium in all it’s glory I decided to head back in to the main part of the city for lunch. I downloaded the Villo app and hopped on a rental bike to Tour de Brussels my way down the hill.

Here’s a trick I’ve mentioned before, and I’m sure I will again, saying “Hey Google, show me _______ along my route” when you have Google Maps open is a handy tool for finding cool stuff on your way from point A to B. With that in mind I obviously asked my dear friend Google to show me breweries along my route. As the search results came in I turned the corner with the style and speed of Eddy Merckx and En Stoemelings popped up. I screeched to halt and parked my bike to enjoy a pint at one of the newer Belgium breweries.

It’s a cool little spot in a newer industrial area of Brussels. It’s definitely easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there. I tried their Curieuse Neus Belgian Tripel and it was pretty damn good. They call it a low ABV beer (7%) but I guess that’s true when you consider the style (and the country I was in).

My visit to En Stoemelings was followed by a stop at Pierre Marcolini, one of Belgium’s most well known chocolatiers, to buy some chocolates for my wonderful wife. Then, a lunch break at a historic spot recommended to me by my buddy Mike (@thebeerrater).

A la Mort Subite has been a staple in Brussels serving up Gueze to local workers in this exact location since the late 1920’s. Today it sees a lot more tourists than it used to but the decor remains they same and they still serve up a great beer list.

After I filled my belly with a delicious sandwich and some Trappistes Rochefort 10 on draft it was it was time to find a local beer store and go for some more people watching at Grand-Place.

Finding The Holy Grail of Belgian Beer

“Psssst, hey you. Yea you. Get ova’ here. What if I told you I had a line on a spot to buy Westvleteren 12 without having to go to the Abbey? Follow me”.

That quote above wasn’t actually said to me by a sketchy dude in an overcoat like you’re picturing it in your head but it got you excited didn’t it? If you aren’t familiar with Westvleteren 12 then allow me to drop a bit of knowledge. This Belgian Quadrupel brewed exclusively by the monks at Saint-Sixtus Abbey is considered by some to be the best beer in the world. Legally the beer is only to be sold at the abbey. Their reasoning is that they “want to give everyone as much as possible a fair chance to buy our beers at the correct price”. The only problem with this is it doesn’t make the purchase of the “best beer in the world” very accessible to anyone that lives outside of the area. 1) You have to register at least 2 months in advance to buy. 2) There are only certain days of the week that you can pick up your allocation. 3) The brewery is almost a 2 hour drive outside of Brussels and not accessible by train. The situation is crazier than having to buy Eventbrite tickets for a Bottle Logic release. Enter the dark, delinquent world of unauthorized resellers.

I won’t tag the beer store I found Westvleteren 12 at but if you’re curious just hit me up and I’ll give you the low down. The rest of the selection they had at this shop was great as well. 3 Font, Rochefort, all the Belgian staples. This place had everything. She even gave me samples of beer as I shopped around. After grabbing my sinful, overpriced bottle of West 12 and a couple other goodies I was on my way back to Grand-Place to discretely sip on beer in my Drinktanks mug. (I realized later when I saw a group of dudes with open beer that I didn’t need to be so discrete).

Creepy Dolls and Torrential Downpour

My final night in Brussels ended with what nightmares are made of!!

Okay, that’s a little over dramatic but bare with me. I went for dinner at a great little spot called Poechenellekelder that was recommended to me by one of the servers at Cantillon. The charcuterie platter I ordered was fantastic and they had a great beer menu full of classics but I decided to try something different. I went for the Jambe-de-Bois by Brasserie de la Senne. It was good but I kind of regret not splurging a bit on my last night in the city and ordering something more vintage from one of the historic Belgian breweries.

Anyway, here’s the scary part. Please read this in a low voice with extra emphasis on the power words.

There was a storm brewing outside and the lights were flickering in the dimly lit restaurant. The walls were adorned with dusty old photos of straight faced people from another life. Heads of animals staring back at you from the high ceilings above. There were nigthmarish dolls all over the place. Seated at empty tables where customers once sat. Nailed in to the walls. Hanging from the ceiling from what looked like nooses. Then outside the wind started howling. Knocking down signs on the street and blowing tourist maps up in to the air. The thunder rumbled and the lightning lit up the dark sky above as women and children (and me) screamed in terror. The rain poured down hard like is was trying to wash everything clean. As I paid my bill and left the restaurant to get in my Uber one of the dolls gave me a wink and an evil grin.

As I ran across the cobblestone street toward my ride I was soaked like a stray dog from the storm. The driver said nothing as I opened the door and got in. A waft of Febreeze and cigarettes enveloped the car. Honking horns and profanities echoed off the walls through the back alleys we took. I arrived at my hotel and was greeted by a lobby man who was missing an arm and had a face that told a thousand stories. “Have a *cough cough* great sleep, sir” he said in a deep, crackled voice as I brushed by him trying not to make eye contact. In my room I stripped off my wet clothes and hid under the covers. I was kept awake terrorized by every noise I heard in the night. I knew that winking marionette was coming for me. I just hoped I’d see the light of the morning sun.

See Ya Later Brussels

Alright, alright. I got a little carried away with my Pulitzer short story entry up there. But those dolls really were creepy.

The next morning I woke up bright and early contemplating if I should try and change my train tickets around to make a quick stop to 3 Fonteinen before heading to Paris. I think I made the wise decision to stick to schedule and continue on route to Gare du Nord with my suitcase full of beer and chocolates. I hope to make it back to Belgium one day with more time to venture outside Brussels. I’d love to make it to Ghent and Bruges and also check out some of the abbey breweries. Until then, it’s onward to the next destination!

Keep a look out for later posts from my trip to Paris. In the meantime, here are some more of my photos from Brussels…..