Author: Carien

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Beer shops in Brussels: de Biertempel

de Biertempel

Next stop in my quest to visit all the independent craft beer shops in Brussels and put them in the spotlight: de Biertempel in Brussels 1000.

About de Biertempel

De Biertempel is a stone throw away from the Grand Place of Brussels and has been there for decades. In November 2024 the shop got a new owner: Axel. Axel worked in beer most of his life, he was brought up by his godparents who were in the beer trade business and he started young, doing the same. After a break of several years due to personal circumstances, he wanted to get back in the beer business and when he heard about the possibility to take over this shop, he did not hesitate. Hoppiness spoke with Axel in his beautiful shop in the heart of Brussels.

What is your specialisation?

Our specialisation is that we have everything that has anything to do with Belgian beer. Sadly that is not possible, we don’t work with all beer suppliers, but we are quite close. We have a huge amount of different beers, but also beer signs, t-shirts, beer gadgets and a huge wall of beer glasses. I really want to have everything and when clients are looking for something specific I will try to get it. For instance, Kwak has stopped producing their iconic wooden glass, but many of my customers come here for that, so I have bought up the remainder of their stock, to ensure I will have it in the coming years.

How do you choose the beers and other products that you stock?

I have a lot of contacts and experience in the beer business thanks to my previous work in the beer trade and I know what my customers like. I stock only Belgian products and really want to have everything in stock. Most breweries deliver their beers to the shop themselves. We also have a large selection of local beers, especially gueze and lambic, and when possible I go there myself to collect them.

What else can be expected at de Biertempel?

We don’t have events or tastings here and are not planning to do that. We do have special deals with certain breweries for gift packs and other nice beer gadgets, especially at this time of the year, so you can find many unique beer gifts in our shop. Our customers love the gift packs with beers and a beer glass, but we also have many beer gadgets. Our best selling items are anything with the pink elephant from Delirium, it’s incredible how many people love that. But there are also more special items, like the boxes with old and new metal beer signs.

And now a personal question: what is your favourite beer?

I’ll be honest, my best beer is a simple pleasure: a freshly tapped boerke* Stella. As for special ales I prefer Belgian blonde beers, so a Cornet or Gouden Carolus Tripel will definitely make me happy.

* 25cl glass

De Biertempel

Rue du Marché aux Herbes 56

1000 Bruxelles

https://www.facebook.com/debiertempel

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Visit to Mouterij Dingemans Malting Factory

Last week I had the privilege to get an extended guided tour at Malting Factory Dingemans in Stabroek, Antwerpen. Since 1875, the Dingemans family has been producing an extensive range of quality ingredients for the demanding Belgian and European brewers. Currently the fifth generation of the Dingemans family, Jan and Karl, are running the company.

Malts are one of the main ingredients of beer and no beer brewer can work without them. Long ago malting grains was part of the farmers’ activities, but through the ages malting became a specialized business. This year is the 150th anniversary for Dingemans and they are one of the main suppliers of malts to our beloved Belgian brewers.

Malting factories buy in the grains (like barley and wheat, but many other grains will work too) and make them ready for brewing. This process involves the germination of the grains in order to bring out the enzymes and starches inside. Those starches will later change in the sugars needed for fermentation. After the germination the malts will be kilned and/ or roasted to make different varieties. Anyone that has ever done a good brewery tour will have heard about malting and how important this is.

The tour at Dingemans was extensive and as brewery guides we got to ask a lot of questions and learned many things about malting. What really surprised me is how extensive the research and preparation before the malting are. Dingemans, for instance, monitors the weather patterns during the growing season in the grain regions all over Europe. If a region has had a lot of rain just before harvesting they already know the grain is not suitable for malting. Wet grain may easily get fungi and mold causes gushing in beers. So they will switch to grains from other regions. Another dazzling fact was that samples of all the grains that come in, are tested to be sure they will actually respond to the malting process, but also to check they have the right parameters to ensure a good quality beer, like viscosity, filtration speed, protein levels and gushing risks.

Good quality beers don’t just happen. First of all brewers need to know their job well, but it also is every step on the way to the brewery that matters , including the road the main ingredients have taken.

View my photos and videos of the visit here

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DSQajPEDPNI/?img_index=11

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoppinessBrussels

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Beer Shops in Brussels: Beer Mania

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

www.beermania.be

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Beer shops in Brussels: Le Comptoir Belge

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: Le Comptoir Belge in Sint-Gillis

About Le Comptoir Belge

Le Comptoir Belge is a cozy shop that sells only Belgian products, like local craft beer, but also things like coffee, tea, speculoos, vinegar, mayonnaise and even cuberdon sauce. It’s run by Gilles, a true multilingual Brusseleir, who took over the business in 2021. He wanted a different direction to his life and chose to combine two of his favourite things: daily contact with people and sharing and enjoying good food and drinks. Hoppiness spoke with Gilles about his beautiful shop in Sint-Gilles, close to metro Porte de Hal.

What is your specialisation?

When I took over the shop I changed the concept from Belgian products to as locally sourced as possible. So for all products I stock, I try to find a producer from the Brussels region first and then look to the rest of Belgium. I have a big selection of Brussels beers, but also many other produce. Our prices are very democratic, you can always find a good beer for 2 euro in my shop. Most of our wines come from the region between Namur and Liege but we also stock two Brussels winemakers.

How do you choose the beers and other products that you will stock?

Everything is done through personal connections. I keep up to date with all the things that happen in the artisanal beer -, wine – and food world in Belgium through the news, trade fairs and festivals. My clients also often tell me about their new discoveries. I try to meet at least once a year with all my suppliers, but many of them I see more often. With a lot of them I’ve become friends and for me the main thing is that it needs to feel good.

What else can be expected at Le Comptoir Belge? Do you often have events?

We host about five tastings per year and when the weather is nice we’ll have some tables outside. We announce these events on our website and on Facebook. We offer a wide variety of apero gift baskets, with or without alcohol, and with a nice selection of local delicacies.

And now a personal question: what is your favourite beer?

I like gueze beers a lot, especially from 3 Fonteinen. If I have to choose one beer I’ll go with Wilde Terf, a collaboration between Brasserie de la Senne and Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, a delicious blend of a locally sourced wheat beer and lambic.

Le comptoir Belge

Av. Jean Volders 72

1060 Saint-Gilles

Website: www.lecomptoirbelge.be

More photos on our Instagram

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Beer shops in Brussels: Malt Attacks

I started a new project. I will visit all the independent craft beer shops in Brussels and put them in the spotlight. Here is my first article: Malt Attacks

About Malt Attacks

Beer shop Malt Attacks was founded in 2014 by Antoine. He is very passionate about craft beer and decided to make his love for beer, his work. At that time there were not many beer specialised shops in Brussels yet, but over the past decade things have changed a lot, especially consumers interests. Hoppiness spoke with Antoine about his beautiful shop in Sint-Gilles, close to metro Porte de Hal.

What is your specialisation?

Antoine: ‘We have a very big selection of craft beers, not just from Belgium but from many different countries, mainly European (like France, Estonia and the UK) but also from America and Canada. We don’t have industrial beer, we only stock independent breweries. We have a lot of different beer styles, a huge gueze selection and a big alcohol-free craft beer section. Besides beers we also have natural wines, ciders, spirits and beer glassware. And we have our own beer advent calendar on sale at the moment’

How do you choose the breweries & beers that you will stock?

‘I am in contact with most breweries myself, through the years I discovered a lot. I often go to beer festivals to discover new beers and breweries. I also have a partnership with Dynamo Bar and Hops ‘n More in Leuven, we often order beers together to save costs. ‘

What else can be expected at Malt Attacks? Do you often have events?

‘This coming weekend we have a ‘meet the brewer’ event with the brewer of Babeleir. He will talk about the brewery and their beers will be for sale. I plan to do more of these kind of events in the near future. It’s always so nice! I am also working on a web shop for easy ordering and I can deliver in Brussels. I’m also hoping to repair our growler machine soon so that my customers can come here again for special beer from a fresh keg..’

And now a personal question: what is your favourite beer?

‘I love drinking gueze beer so there are many favourites there. If I have to name one brewery I will actually go with a brewery from the UK, Track Brewing in Manchester. They make a lot of hop forward ales and everything is so good!

Malt Attacks
Av. Jean Volders 18
1060 Saint-Gilles
Brussels

Website: https://www.maltattacks.com/

More photos on our Instagram.

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Hoppiness Gift vouchers & Gift Baskets

New options at Hoppiness Brussels!

Order a custom made gift basket or a gift voucher for our tastings.

Option 1: 

Gift voucher. choose your own amount, starting from 20 euro

All gift vouchers are valid for 1 year after purchase

Option 2:

Hoppiness Gift Basket including a 25 euro gift voucher 

Included are at least 5 craft beers & several tasty extra’s and a 25 euro voucher that can be used for our tastings

Option 3:

Hoppiness Gift Basket for 2persons, including a 50 euro gift voucher 

Included are at least 5 craft beers & several tasty extra’s and a 50 euro voucher that can be used for our tastings

Option 4:

Gift basket made by Hoppiness Brussels
Craft beers plus several tasty extra’s. 
25 euro (6 beers)
35 euro (8 beers)
45 euro (10 beers)

More information and quick orders are possible on Billetweb. Of course you can also email us and (custom) order like that!

Gift baskets have to be picked up by appointment at our tasting room. 

For larger orders / company deliveries, please contact us by email.

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BLACK FRIDAY DEAL

BLACK FRIDAY DEAL – book a beer tastings on Friday November 28!

Book this beer tasting experience for only 15 euro per person!

Instead of shopping that day, you can just relax and enjoy some tasty beers!

Want to learn more about Belgian beers, Belgian breweries and Belgian beer culture? Join our classic beer tasting for a tasty introduction! 

You will taste four different beers in four different beer styles. With each beer you’ll get a delicious food pairing (think cheese/ chocolate etc.)

During the tasting experienced local beer sommelier Carien will tell you more about the Belgian beer scene. 

Book here: https://www.billetweb.fr/beer-tasting-brussels

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The Hoppiness Winter Beer Tastings are back!

The Hoppiness Winter Beer Tastings are back!

Bring your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues and join Carien for a cozy *Winter Beer* tasting. When the cold, dark weather starts, specialty winter beers will lift your spirit.

Enjoy a special afternoon or evening in a the cozy Hoppiness tasting room. You’ll get four winter beers with a delicious food pairing each. 

As always, local beer sommelier Carien will tell you stories about the beers, the brewers and many other beer related fun facts.

Our dates are quite flexible, so please contact us if you want to join this tasting on a different date.  It’s also available for private groups, just email me with your preferred date and time. And… we can also come to your Brussels office and host this tasting in your meeting room!

https://www.billetweb.fr/winter-beer-tasting

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Open Brewery days at Westmalle Trappist

Last week I visited the open brewery days at Westmalle Trappist. It was a well organised event with a parcourse throughout the whole place. Lots of info on the history, but also on the brewing method and the ingredients. For instance:

Did you know their beers are brewed with the whole hopflower and not with pellets?

The Art Deco copper brewing system from the twenties was amazing to see, as well as the huge new brewing room.

I also spotted some barrels of fresh yeast, ready to be picked up by the Trappist brothers of West-Vleteren. Did you know they pick up fresh yeast at Westmalle before every brew?

It was great to look around and see how it all works for them. At the end there was an enjoyable tasting with their homemade cheeses. Yum!

More pics and video on Insta or Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPMj6m3jA_b/?img_index=1

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Heritage Days at Hoppiness

Wow! What a weekend it was at Hoppiness Brussels!🤩

Last weekend the Heritage Days were taking place and especially for this year’s theme Hoppiness hosted eight workshops about the influence of the interwar years and Art Deco on Belgian Beer Culture. I prepared this workshop together with my colleague Helene from Hoppyz. She did the same workshop in French and English at her house, while I hosted in Dutch and English.

What a pleasure it was to dive into our history and taste three beer styles from those years with so many visitors on both Saturday and Sunday.

We tasted:

– Fresh 20 month old lambic straight from the barrel from Brasserie Cantillon, Brussels oldest brewery.

– Silly Scotch brewed for the first time in 1918 from Brasserie de Silly, who celebrated their 175th anniversary the same weekend.

– Palm Speciale brewed first in 1929 by Brouwerij Palm, in the speciale belge style that was brought to live by Belgian brewers at the beginning of the 20th century to compete with foreign ales.

A big thank you to Urban Brussels for organising this beautiful weekend and to all those lovely people that joined!