Beetlejuice

We are an irreverent crew here at Vacations From Home. We find humor in many things and we joke about absurdities. We don’t even attempt to pronounce the Flemish names of places and streets. For instance, Vlamingstraat quickly became Vegitmite Street and our favorite place in Bruges, Café ‘t Brugs Beertje, will forever be known to us as Beetlejuice.


Cafe 't Brugs Beertje logo

‘t Brugs Beertje somehow translates to Little Bear. The bear is the mascot of Bruges. This wonderful tavern, in operation since 1983, is found on a little side street in the shopping area of this tourist town of medieval buildings and canals.  They offer over 250 Belgian beers as well as several on tap. The building itself dates back to 1632! Of all the pubs we visited in Bruges, this was our favorite. Our experience at Beetlejuice was so different than Cambrinus. Here at the Little Bear, amid many “American” accents, we were treated as patrons and not tourists. The apple-cheeked owner of ‘t Brugs Beertje, Daisy, takes great pride in her knowledge of beer. Ask her a question or for a suggestion and you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the result! Her staff is knowledgeable as well and the entire experience, from the pouring to the presentation; with the labels of both the bottle and glass turned so you can read them; is wonderful. There are still a lot of beers available, but the intimidation was short lived and they came to our rescue. The décor is older. Beer advertisements cover the walls and the entire place has a warm, easy feel to it. Your VFH crew are bar sitters. We would rather be at the bar than at a table. We meet more people that way, and we chatted with several other patrons, who not surprisingly, were mainly American. Bruges is a major destination and with craft brewing taking off in the United States and interest in Belgian beers growing, it’s not surprising that we were not alone in this find.



interior view of 't Bruge Beertje

We went twice to the Little Bear. That first night after our lengthy beer induced nap in the afternoon Janet drank an Achel Trappist and I had a Gueze Giradin, The Achel was an obvious choice, but the Gueze Giradin was different. It was recommended to me by the Bier Tempel owner. A type of lambic beer, gueze is a blend of several lambics and then a second fermentation is allowed, producing a sour but refreshing beer. Bier Tempel man said Gueze Giradin was the best, though he cautioned it is an acquired taste; slightly tart but refreshing. Gueze is called the “Belgian Champagne” and indeed my Giradin was served in a champagne bottle, complete with cork. I enjoyed it and looked forward to drinking more Gueze when we hit places in Brussels that are renowned for these lambics, like Moeder Lambic and A La Mort Subite… but those places are for another VFH entry.

The first round at The Little Bear



Hof ten Dormaal Wit Goud

The second night on our Bruges Pub crawl had us swing by Daisy’s place again. We asked her to recommend a couple of beers to us. Janet got a St. Feuillien and Daisy was impressed with my accent as I pronounced it. I did take French for two years in High School I’ll have you know, but I think my accent was influenced by my drinking. I asked her to recommend a Farmhouse Ale and she was aglow about this selection. Evidently it’s a new brew and ‘t Brugs Beertje offers a lot of Flemish beers. Daisy was emphatic about her selection for me. Hof ten Dormaal Wit Goud Witloofbier is brewed in Tildonk-Haaght, and she waved her hands and said several times that this was new and very good. Wit Goud is the name for the beer that is made with home-grown chicory (or witloof in Dutch) at André Janssens farm-brewery. It’s arrival on the market has been highly anticipated, and ‘t Brugs Beertje was proud to serve it. I have to admit chicory is not the first ingredient I’d put in a beer, but I enjoyed it, if only for the attention we received from Daisy and her brew crew. Book your tickets to Bruges, now!, and give Daisy a hug for us.

http://www.brugsbeertje.be/