Next door, the "Maison du Pigeon " (De duif in Dutch), formerly the "maison de la corporation des peintres" inhabited in 1852 by the genius writer (romantic figure par excellence), French poet, Victor Hugo during his exile in Brussels, is located at number 24.
Grand Place 24
Open from 11am - 11pm
This brewery is located in the "Maison de la Chaloupe d'Or" (De gulden boot in Dutch) or "Maison des Tailleurs" (Kleermakershuis)
Under the gaze of the bust of Saint Barbe, patron saint of the tailors' guild (work of the Belgian sculptor Godefroid Van den Kerckhoven - 1841/1913), the bishop Saint Boniface (born in Ixelles, 1181-1260) has been "blessing" the customers since 1698.
Observe the chronogram on the pediment.
Chronogram = Name given to an inscription of which certain letters, which are also Roman numerals, indicate the date of the event to which this inscription alludes
The brasserie on two levels (terrace very coveted in summer) offers its menu "Belgian Brasserie" including the famous "boulets à la liégeoise".
And its menu of Belgian beers (Duvel, Orval, Grimbergen, Affligem, Rochefort, la Chouffe, ...)
• DUVEL:
Duvel beer is a fruity Belgian beer that will also be nicknamed "the Devil in a bottle".
Beer without additives or preservatives. A "strong" beer.
The word "Duvel" means "devil" in Flemish dialect! Produced since 1918 by the Belgian brewery Moortgat (based in the province of Antwerp, founded in 1871 by Jan-Leonard Moortgat).
One of the most popular beers in Belgium.
Possibility to discover all the history of this brewery, to visit it and the bottling workshop.
Duvel Moortgat (family business) is strongly focused on specialty beers, which includes the brands Duvel, Vedett, 't IJ, La Chouffe, De Koninck, Liefmans and Maredsous.
What is your preference among these variants :
Duvel 6.66% ? It has several awards to its credit, including the gold medal at the Lyon International Competition.
This beer refers to the alcohol content, the six hops that are used and the devil's number.
It is also available in pressure.
Duvel Tripel Hop Citra ? Brewed with the aromatic hop "Citra" (American hop variety from the Yakima Valley near Washington). Fresh notes of grapefruit and tropical fruits.
There are also labels with its 3-headed dragon. Reference to the 3 varieties of hops.
The Duvel Tripel Hop Cashmere?
Cashmere is an American hop variety that develops aromas of melon, peach, citrus and coconut.
A whirlwind of flavors.
The Duvel Tripel Hop is a perfect match for semi-sweet goat cheese.
The Duvel Collection ?
Every year (as part of the Duvel Collection) various internationally renowned artists give free rein to their creativity on the theme of Duvel glass.
The Duvel Collection 2022 glass was created by Brussels' Felix De Laet (internationally renowned DJ and producer better known as « Lost Frequencies »).
With the Duvel, the concept of the tulip glass was born, with a D engraved on the bottom. This iconic glass has been adopted by many brands.
Duvel is sold in 33 cl and 75 cl glass bottles. Strong, brown and rounded bottle.
Easy to get it on the world market. And in the supermarkets near the Arbany hotels (see épisode 2 and épisode 15)
• VEDETT
A Pilsner-type blonde beer brewed since 1945, it is also distinguished by its retro appearance (small, round bottle) and its totally modern taste. Easy to drink, refreshing, light.
A lager is called as such by the use of light or pale malt that has not been roasted.
To boost the popularity of this drink, the brewery sometimes uses photos of Vedett consumers for its communication.
These pictures, taken in bars or during events, are printed on the labels of the bottles.
Frédéric Nicolay, considered the king of the capital's trendy cafés and restaurants (see blog episode 13), developed the marketing of this beer and sold it in its cafés.
The beer was quickly adopted in the city's fashionable establishments and throughout the country.
In the range of Vedett we find the classics and the variants:
The Vedett IPAV (The soft cheese with washed rind goes very well with it),
Vedett Extra Blond, Vedett Extra White, Vedett Extra Pilsner, Vedett Extra Pilsner,
Vedett Extra Playa Tropical Lager : vacation flavors ... « Vamos à la playa »? « A mí me gusta bailar » .
This variant has a label decorated with animals of the pack ice: the penguin, the polar bear and the walrus...
This iconic beer is best enjoyed at a temperature of 3°C. And like all beers, always in moderation.
The Vedett Extra beer glass is a faceted glass, "Straight" type.
Using the "right" beer glasses guarantees an optimal taste.
• LIEFMANS
The Liefmans brewery is located in Audenarde (in dutch Oudenaarde). Province of East Flanders.
It was the first, and for many years, directed by the only woman brewmaster: Rosa Merckx.
Who says feminine touch, generally says delicacy.
Beer? Women (too) know why!
The brewery buildings (built on the banks of the Scheldt) can be visited. Tasting of beers ...
Tchin tchin.
Which Liefmans beer will you choose?
Liefmans Kriek Brut Xtra, Liefmans Oud Bruin, Liefmans Craft Blends, Liefmans Cuvée Brut, Liefmans Glühkriek (winter beer)…
Or « Liefmans fruity On the Rocks » : an aperitif beer with a refreshing red color. Beer to drink on the rocks.
Its glass is rounded, not very high.
The Liefmans Goudenband : each bottle is closed with a champagne cork!
Do you want to enjoy your beer in style? Choose the Liefmans stemmed glass.
Amsterdam brewery ''t IJ'. It is named after the river along which it is located "IJ".
The brewery's logo (located in front of the Gooyer Mill - one of the six original windmills still standing in Amsterdam, the tallest wooden windmill in the country!) depicts an ostrich with an egg, and a windmill in the background.
Belgian beer with amber color, blond style, produced by the brewery De Koninck (in Dutch: Brouwerij De Koninck) which is in activity since 1912.
Local beer, the most popular in the city of Antwerp.
Visit this brewery if you want a brewing escapade.
Varied range :
The Tripel d'Anvers : strong blond beer with 8% alcohol.
Bolleke Keuning : emblematic beer of Antwerp.
To be tasted in its spherical glass which earned it the nickname of Bolleke.
The famous Antwerp cheesemaker Van Tricht developed the so-called 'Vanillien' for bolleke De Koninck, a fresh and slightly sour goat cheese.
Wild Jo : rock and roll in a bottle. « Jo » in homage to Joseph Van Den Bogaert and "Wild" comes from the wild yeast.
The Koninck Winter, the Bolleke Hop, the Lost In Spice are among the "specialties".
For the amateurs, four beers of Maredsous are proposed to you:
the Blonde : the very first beer of the Maredsous Abbey, and still today, it is consumed by the monks for lunch.
the Brune: originally brewed only for Christmas, but which has become over time, a value impossible to circumvent.
Ambrée forte : the triple with an alcohol content of 10%,
the extra Maredsous with less alcohol.
Beer brewed according to a religious tradition.
The Maredsou Abbey (built at the end of the 19th century) of neo-gothic architectural style, is nestled in the hills surrounding Namur.
It is first of all a place of prayer. It is also a school, English style, open to all. It is also a beer and a cheese.
3rd most visited attraction in Wallonia.
Today, the Benedictine monks welcome about 400.000 visitors a year.
You can visit the church, the cloister, the ceramics workshop, the house of the writings.
Its library has more than 400,000 titles, some of which date back more than a thousand years.
Did you know that it is the largest private library in Belgium?
Maredsous beers are not made on site.
However, it is in the abbey of Maredsous that the cheeses bearing this name are made.
The maturing is done in the humid cellars of the abbey where all the manipulations are manual.
Smooth paste of yellowish color.
They are sold mainly in supermarkets, very successful with consumers.
Recently, the new Small Cheese Museum was opened.
The cheese comes in the form of :
- slices : to embellish your pistols spreads. You have the choice between tradition, Lightning, character, sensation...
The pistol is a round, fluffy Brussels roll with a slit on top that has inherited a name worthy of the greatest westerns.
The gourmet weapon of Belgians.
A classic black-yellow-red treat.
The French have the baguette and we have the pistols !
Want to know more? Check out the book by Valérie Lepla « (passionate about good food) entitled « Pistolet Original. Histoires belges à cuisiner » (original, classic, creative recipes, with a Belgian sauce or concocted by a chef ...)- 2020.
- blocks : from 390 grams to 2,5 kgs
- Logs: the "fagotins". To share during the aperitif (Fagotin tradition, double cream, 3 peppers)
- without forgetting the numerous melts (with ham, goat cheese, Emmental cheese…)
Mythical Trappist beer born at the time of the reconstruction of the abbey because destroyed during the French Revolution.
Like great wines, it improves with age.
Orval's beer is one of the 11 beers in the world (including 5 in Belgium) that can claim to be a trappist beer, because it is still brewed by hand in the abbey under the control of the monks.
It remains a safe bet for any beer lover.
The name « Orval » comes from a legend linked to Countess Mathilde de Toscane (1045/1046-1115) in the 11th century. Buried in the Vatican !
Following the death of her husband, Godfrey the Hunchback (Godfrey III of the Ardennes or Godfrey IV of Lower Lotharingia, who died in 1076), She stopped in Orval to meditate and lost her precious wedding ring in a fountain (this ring was the only souvenir she had left of her deceased husband).
But following his prayers, a trout sprang from the fountain, ring in mouth to give him. The countess would then have exclaimed: «This truly is a golden valley (Or-val) (yes, in the Middle Ages, people were already using slang!).
"Orval" therefore means "Val d'Or" (golden valley).
The logo of Orval Abbey is a trout holding a ring in its mouth. It can be found everywhere: on the stained glass windows, on the doors, in the brewery, and even on the label of the Orval beer!
In memory of this episode, the water source (with which Orval beer is brewed) was renamed "Mathilde". Quite simply!
The shape of the Orval bottle is unique in the world. The keel shape allows the bottle to withstand the high pressure of the beer.
It is not possible to enjoy your Orval without the appropriate glass. Chalice glass.
The Notre-Dame d'Orval Abbey is a major tourist attraction in the Province of Luxembourg.
This imposing Cistercian abbey is famous for its Trappist beer but also for its cheese made from cow's milk harvested in the surrounding farms (only located in Gaume). They are all certified "Filière Lait" quality.
The cheese of Orval is classified in the category of cheeses called "Plateau".
If you wish, visit Orval with "la promenade bd" ( 2009 - Éditions Dupuis) of the cartoonist Jean-Claude Servais, the most Gaumais of the comic authors. Also known under the pseudonym Jicé.
A board game on the theme of Belgian beers has just appeared on the market : « The Belgian Beers Race". Discover forty breweries of the country with 2 or 4 players?
The teams of "Belgian Beer Race" and its creator Michaël Boutriaux worked three years on the project.
The illustrator is well known in the beer world: Ammo.
Drinking a beer offered by ARBANY HOTELS with our romance package that will make you "foam"? Here's to our health. In moderation.
At the Chaloupe d'Or, you can privatize one of their rooms.
Like the French singer Francis Lalanne and his wife for a Valentine's Day party?
By eating their Boulets à la liégeoise?
The "boulets à la liégeoise" are a belgian culinary speciality that dates back to at least the 13th century.
The pride of the Liège gastronomy.
They are big meatballs of minced meat well browned and put in a sweet and sour sauce based on syrup of Liege.
The term "boulet" originally meant the cannonball. Still used in Liege to designate the meatball.
This syrup gives it the taste and the syrupy aspect so particular to the sauce of the balls. This sauce is also called "Sauce Lapin".
The "sauce lapin" would take its name from Mrs. Géraldine Lapin who would have created this sauce. Cfr Wikipedia.
But this is a myth because Madame Lapin never existed.
In reality, it is simply the sauce of the "lapin aux pruneaux" that has been poured over the meatballs.
It contains a lot of caramelized onion with brown (sugar).
In Belgium, two emblematic brands are the Cassonade Graeffe (from beet), and the Cassonade Candico (from candi sugar sirup).
Both produced and marketed by Raffinerie Tirlemontoise (Flemish Brabant).
Boulets liégeois (much larger than meatballs) are traditionally served with French fries. They are then called « boulets-frites ».
There are many variations of meatballs.
This dish is even better reheated the next day.
Liege syrup is a molasses of apples, pears and dates.
The syrup of Liège is used as a spread, in accompaniment of cheeses like the cheese of Herve or the maquée (white cheese). The mixture of maquée and syrup is called "stron d'poye" in Walloon which means chicken poop...
The family recipe of the LIEGE SYRUP has been revisited in liquid form, to coat pancakes, waffles, pancakes...
You will find in supermarkets also the Liege syrup with apricot. Also with prunes
The "real Liege syrup" does not exactly come from Liege. La Meurens syrup factory is based in Aubel, where the apples and pears are harvested
The syrup of Liege is today torn between the industrial productions like the Meurens syrup factory and the more traditional productions.
Created in 1996, the “Confrérie du Gay Boulet" awarded the trophy named “Boulet de Cristal” 2021 to the Brasserie « Côté cour Côté jardin » located in the Cité ardente.
