Description: To go to Bruges and not sample a hearty amount of the truly incredible beer there would be practically a sin. I wasn't even that much of a beer drinker before I arrived (I enjoyed it - but would hardly have called myself a connoisseur) but after just a couple of days in the city of sampling a really stunning array of beer flavours and styles I have to say that beer as a concept has gone up immeasurably in my estimation.
I tried the beer in various settings (they have it on offer everywhere) I tried to order a different beer each time (there are over 800 to get through, after all) with dinner and in shops and cafes and even at the brewery. But for simply sitting in a Belgian bar and sampling beer - my favourite place was Bierbrasserie Cambrinus.
Just a couple of minutes from the main market square on Philipstockstraat - this is a really great little bar. They serve food here, too - both lunch and dinner and the prices are pretty reasonable for Bruges. We came just for the beer - but the plates of food going past us did smell absolutely amazing.
It was a nice change of pace from the British pub I've grown accustomed to (which have their charms, don't get me wrong) where the drinking really was secondary to socializing and enjoying the beer. There were all age groups enjoying the place - a few families having dinner at tables at the back, some older Belgian men kicked back with the paper and their hats on the table next to a large mug of beer, young groups laughing and socializing and the obvious tourist dotted about either looking very smug at the experience they were having - or vaguely uncertain if they were in the right place.
We took a seat right by the bar where we could people watch and see the street as the light lowered in the afternoon. We'd just had a sausage in the market square and a large beer was the perfect way to follow that.
We got that in the form of a kwak - the most elaborate beer you're likely to have in Bruges. I was actually told by my friend who'd visited earlier in the year that we'd have to sample one of the beers 'in the big crazy glass' and new pretty soon after arriving in Bruges he must be referring to a kwak (you'll know it the moment you see it.) And I have to say - strange drinking style included - it was an awfully nice beer.
This was a great little place - and the one that I returned to more than once and had my last beer in a bar in Bruges there. The service was good - the beer selection is really staggering (I seem to remember they have 400 beers on offer) It's a great little building and a cozy and interesting place to sit inside. Very highly recommended - it would actually be a great place to both kick off and/or end your beer tasting in Bruges.
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