Gent & Antwerp: draught beers

Can I have your job? :)

Apologies in advance for the mistakes here: I'm sure I'll be corrected (and will welcome the corrections). We were in Gent recently. I particularly enjoyed Orval and something called Roedenback or somethnig - it's a "red" beer, and the driest thing (apart from the "vinho seco" you get in bars in Portugal) that I've ever tasted. Bit of an acquired taste, but delicious after the first couple.

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Thanks Cliff, I'll keep an eye open for those.

Where are the main drinking areas in Gent -- I assume there are lots of tourist bars around the Cathedral/Town Square/Gravensteen. Anywhere else to consider for bars frequented by the locals? My hotel is on Vlaanderenstraat.

Bruce

In message , bruce snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com writes

By and large away from speciality bars you'll be stuck with various poor Pils c Don't rely on DeKoninck outside Antwerp, few places keep it well. La Chouffe beers are pretty reliable and getting easier to find. Roedenback is a sour red beer worth trying though not the beer it was.

Otherwise just keep your eyes peeled and bear in mind there's often little detectable difference between draught and bottled versions of beers in Belgium (and the bottled is usually better).

Just a few starter suggestions - we've been too busy drinking at Belgian beer festivals to get much search time in ;) They're all in various guides you can check.

Gent: Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant usually have an interesting 'vat beer on (Smisje Kerst last visit) and an interesting dry hopped housebeer. Handy for a jenever a few doors down as well.

Dulle Griet used to serve 'vat Delerium Tremens/La Guilottine, pricy but worth visiting once.

For Roedenback and a few others try the row of commuter bars behind the train station. The one with railway murals (no idea of bar name) seemed to have the best choice and prices - but beware the limited opening times.

Brussels: Delerium has about a dozen 'vat beers on though most of them are dodgy fruit beers I wouldn't touch with a bargepole. Worth a visit just to handle the massive beer menu.

Just about every half decent bar will have a 'vat lambic or gueuze, invariably anonymous though it usually seems to be fruity mild beginners version. If near Brussel Midi try Au Labourer for a jug of gueuze and perhaps a bottle of Malheur 10 or 12 - one of the few truly hoppy Belgian beers.

Antwerp: The Oud Arsenaal have a rapidly changing couple of more unusual 'vat beers and its a great brown bar.

Paters Vaetje is our favourite bar for De Koninck and general bar propping. We always seem to end up in De Vagant after...

De Pakhuis is a brewpub with 3 interesting 'vat beers.

Finally: a 7-Dagenpas Net (€10) gets you 7 days unlimited travel on buses, trams and metro in the whole of Belgium - useful for getting around all three places, its a long walk into Gent from the station or to de Pakhuis in Antwerp from anywhere.

I've got a map of Gent here but it hasn't got an index so I can find qwhere you're staying Bruce, but I'm afraid that we were rather lazy. We discovered (after a recommendation on this ng) Dulle Griet on Grootkanonplein and tended to stay in there. Although it attracts some tourists, it's obviously a place for the locals as well. The beer range is just unbelievable.

However, for the places you're interested in you could have a look round the Patershol quarter, which (if you've got a map there) is the little network of streets immediately to the northwest of Kraanlei. Although really, I think you could just wander around and you wouldn't have to go far to find nice local-y places.

If you are arriving by train in Gent, you'll probably arrive at Sint-Pietersplein a little to the south of the city centre. That's a completely untouristy area which is nonetheless a bit studenty and scruffy/bohemian, so if you don't want to head into town straight away, there are loads of good bars on the main road there.

In message , bruce snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com writes

No, just De Lijn services (bus,trams,metro). Do the arithmetic - €1/trip (€1.40 in Brussels) - if you're staying close to the pubs it may make no sense, we tend to stay near the stations and it works for us.

The rail rover ticket was withdrawn and you aren't really there for long enough for the alternatives. But the train fares aren't bad and there's no discount for returns (except at weekends...) so a 3 city round trip is pretty cheap anyway. About €5.60 Antwerp-Brussel. Or you could try the long distance buses.

for bus/tram/metro for trains - hope you can read Dutch or French ;)

Another tip: you won't easily get bulky luggage onto the Brussels metro and some of the street trams, the doors are too narrow.

Why ? In Belgium, bottled beer is better, and many more varieties are available. Only Konninck is better on draught.

"Palm" (pronounced "pollom") is a nice session-ish beer.

The Hop Duvel, possibly the best Beer Cafe in town, is in the back streets between the station and town centrre. May I recoomend Tim Webb's beer guide ?

You certainly may - and thanks for the tip about teh Hop Duvel.

In message , Uncle Dunkel writes

Not sure I'd agree its 'between' the station and centre but it is conveniently close to a 21/22 tram stop between Sint-Pieters and the town centre, just keep an eye on the street names and its easy to find.

This was the first year we got there when it was actually open, unlike the UK Belgian bar owners tend to close the bar for their holidays or open late/close early on slow days. You should be OK this time of year though.