I started a new project. I will visit all the independent craft beer shops in Brussels and put them in the spotlight. Here is the next one: BeerMania in Ixelles/ Elsene.
About Beer Mania
Beer Mania is both a beer shop and a cozy bar. It’s run by Michael, who started the shop in 1981 and was the first one in the whole world to open a shop specialising in beer. In 1997 he opened the bar and private tasting room in the back of the shop and started with the online beer shop as well. Hoppiness spoke with Michael in his beautiful shop and bar in Ixelles, about ten minutes walk from metro station Porte de Namur.
What is your specialisation?
When I started the shop, beer did not travel. In those years everybody drank local beer. When I was in Oostende and asked for an Orval, they literally threw me out. When I asked for a Duvel in Wallonia, they laughed in my face. This made me sad. So I decided to become a pioneer, and bring beers from all the regions together. My shop is the place to find all the good beers from Belgium. So we specialise in Belgian beers and have a very large selection. People come here to enjoy a beer in our bar, to get good advise and to take beers home. I also ship worldwide. We also sell beer glasses, some Italian wines that I’ve hand-picked, beer gifts and spirits.
How do you choose the beers and other products that you stock?
What matters to me is that the beers are good and that I have a good relationship with the breweries. So the main thing is passion and quality. But of course I can’t sell only what I like. For instance I don’t particularly appreciate it that many good beers nowadays come in a can, instead of in a bottle. But my customers like this and a lot of what I sell is canned beer. I do have to pay the bills, so for this I go with the flow but I do hope all beers go back to bottles again.
What else can be expected at Beer Mania? Do you often have events?
We have a nice bar and many people come to have a drink here. Many people find us in the guidebooks or online travel guides. We did many events here in the past, I think we tried out every concept, many of them with success. At the moment we don’t have any events planned, but we regularly host beer tastings for private groups in the upstairs room.
Something else that is quite special is that we have our own beer. For nearly 27 years I have been brewing this beer, the recipe has changed quite a few times over the past decades. It’s an amber ale of 6.5% called Mea Culpa and I brew it once a year at Brouwerij De Ranke. We serve it here in a handmade glass at the perfect temperature, which is something we do with all the beers, to make sure you get the best experience.
And now a personal question: what is your favourite beer?
I’m a big fan of Orval and of the XX-bitter from De Ranke, which can be seen as well as my inspiration for the Mea Culpa. I also am a big fan of Girardin lambic and gueze, of everything they make actually.
Beer Mania
Chausse de Wavre 174-176,
1050 Ixelles, Brussels