the sudden death

Our favorite place in Brussels

 Only in the screwy town of Brussels can a joint called The Sudden Death be charming. Of course, in French it sounds more delightful: A La Mort Subite.  According to their website the ominous name of this bar comes from the last throw in a dice game played by customers who spent their lunch break there. The loser was labeled the sudden death. When the owner of the tavern opened the current place in 1928 he named it A La Mort Subite. But, this warm, inviting, traditional Belgian brasserie, located near the Grand Place and just across the street from the glass covered Galarie du Roi, a destination in itself, with it's long wooden tables and Art Nouveau decor is charming and offers an array of Lambics and Gueuze as well as kriek (or cherry) and pêche (or peach) flavored lambics. That's just the house beers, or the Mort Subite line. They also offer a good selection of Belgian, Trappists and Abbey beers, some on tap. The waiters are dressed in a traditional vest and were helpful with questions over the beers. (They told us playfully we could not steal the Mort Subite glass my Gueuze sur lie came in.) The entire experience was pleasant, especially when compared with the commotion that was the Cafe Delirium. At A la Mort Subite we felt like we had stepped back in time 100 years. We lingered over a few beers there and then returned the next day Sunday to sit at one of the outdoor tables before we had to catch our flight to Liverpool later that evening.  http://alamortsubite.com/ 

we did not try to steal these glasses



Galarie du Roi

That was the extent of our

abbreviated 11/2 day beer stay in Brussels. We spent the remainder of Saturday evening walking through the Grand Place and Galarie du Roi. These two heavily touristed destinations were beautiful. Dodging elbows at both we marveled at the ornate Guild houses, the Hotel de Ville and the Maison du Roi of the Grand Place, some of the buildings dating back to the 1600's and we oohed over the chocolatiers that filled every other shop window in the Galarie. I was surprised to learn this Galarie du Roi is older than the Galleria in Milan, Italy. Both are glass covered shopping arcades. At one shop we purchased confections to munch on as we strolled. Typical of us old folk we retired early to our fancy hotel.

The VFH team

I awakened several times during the night to the revelry on the streets of this city. Shouts and hoots kept going until 6 am and as I struggled to sleep I resolved to drink more beer the next I visited Brussels just so I could be knocked out.

Sunday, was not a beer day. Apart from our final visit to A la Mort Subite our day was disappointing. We had other beer joints on the official VFH Brussels Beer map, but sadly they were not open. One place that looked particularly inviting was Le Bier Circus, but it was shuttered. We pressed our faces against the glass hoping to make eye contact with someone, but to no avail. We gave another place, Le Cerceuil, the Coffin, a wide berth. Evidently it has glass topped coffins for tables and skull shaped mugs for the beer, but we had enough edgy fun in Brussels. Instead, we strolled through the Parc de Bruxelles and sat for awhile to listen to a Jazz band play in a Belle Epoque styled gazebo. It was free. We got some Greek takeaway food for a light lunch and strolled through the Grand Place once more before packing up our bags and heading out to the airport via the train system. We had asked the hotel for a late check out and they obliged us for an extra hour.

I know this is very late. Hope you're still reading though!

Gueuze and Delirium

Beer is the reason the VFH crew decided on Belgium as a travel destination. Bellying up to a bar has proven to be a time-tested way of experiencing destinations cheaply. There’s nothing comparable to chatting with locals at a wayward gin mill, and when you factor in the Belgium beer angle then you can't go wrong. Belgian beer is considered by many as the best in the world and we like our Belgian beer. Now, a bar with silly characters is a plus whatever the choices available, but , but if you add the selection of beers at some of the places we have been at in Belgium, well traveling has never been so fun.

At home we have sought out places because of their beer lists, or what they may brew at a craft brewpub and Belgium has been the same. We scoured the internet and read about the various types of Belgian beer and we sampled as much of the product back home in the States. We then made “beer maps” with places of beer interest for both Brugge and Brussels. Taverns made the list either for their intrinsic value, charm or the amount of beers offered.

So far in our travels this past summer to Belgium we were fortunate enough to drink some very good and in some cases very rare beer. Often we were confronted by lengthy beer lists that were difficult for to navigate because we were unsure what to sample next, but advice was usually offered by the bartenders or wait staff. Although, it was best to know at least the style of beer we were interested in drinking. We did seek out the Westvletern 12 because we had read that it is considered by many as the best beer brewed in the world and the rarest. We had great luck in drinking the Westy 12 and the 8.

Through our research we had learned that the Lambic and more specifically the Gueuze beers are very highly regarded in some circles. We had dismissed them out of hand as fruity beers, but with each glowing review we read or were offered to us by people like Bier Tempel guy; our helpful guide at the store in Brugge; these beers become more and more alluring.


My first Gueuze was Girardin. Served in a champagne type bottle, it came very highly recommended by Bier Tempel dude. Research culled from the websites by Danny Van Tricht  http://www.trappistbier.be/ and Chuck Cook http://belgianbeerspecialist.blogspot.com/, both beer writers, opened the world further to the Gueuze style of brewing. There is a good read for the brewing process: http://www.detroch.be/brewing.html so I'll not belabor you with the details, but the slightly sour taste is pleasant and refreshing and the opposite from the heavier, sweeter beers like the Westys or the hoppy American IPAs that are so prevalent back at home. Each of these beers are an acquired taste, but the Gueuze was something new and after drinking Girardin, team VFH decided it had to have more. We consider it very important when visiting a new region or foreign country to delve into that culture and cuisine. It is a "when in Rome" mentality. One should not immediately seek out a Corona in Belgium or a Jack Daniels in a whisky bar in Edinburgh. Why leave home if that’s all that you are comfortable with tasting or experiencing?

Our first stop....after viewing the Manneken Pis statue was Chez Moeder Lambic Fontainas situated in a busy little square not far away. The name translates to Mother's Lambic House. It is the second of two Moeder Lambics in Brussels, but the other one was too far away in the in the St. Gilles section. So, we opted to walk lesiurely to the newest version of Chez Moeder Lambic and sat at one of the outdoor tables under umbrellas and lingered over a few beers. I had a Gueuze Tilquin after having read about this newest blend of lambics in a Chuck Cook article. It was refreshing as we sat in the shade and watched Brussels amble past. Inside, the bar was modern and neat, but sitting outdoors amid the bustle and sunshine was more appealing. My second beer was a Cantillon Lambic, brewed in Brussels. We could have lingered over the lenghty beer list, but our time in Brussels was relatively short and we had more beer joints to visit. http://www.moederlambic.eu/

Jeanneken Pis

Next stop on our Brussels pub crawl was a bar we've heard quite a lot about, for it seems that quite a bit of the world has visited the Delirium Cafe, and for good reason. Located on a little dead end alley named appropriately Impasse de la Fidelite the Delirium Cafe is a serious party place. It boasts 2000 beers! three floors of mayhem and drunken debauchery and across the alley that is littered with drunken souls there is the female version of the Manneken Pis, the Jeanneken Pis. It's a statue of a little girl squatting and peeing.

Despite the incredible selection and the fantastic array of beer advertisments adorning the walls and taps everywhere, there was a decidedly edgy feel to the Delirium Cafe and we suspected the rowdiness racheted up as the day advanced, after all the place closed at 4 or was that 6 am ...As a couple of old folks we at team VFH prefer our mayhem on the silver screen and our beer epiphanies gentle and our thirsts slaked by wondrous brews in calmer locations. Delirium was indeed a great location, but it was readily apparent that this was a party place. We hightailed it after watching a fellow order a beer so large he had difficulty carrying it with two hands and weaved through the warren of extremely streets and alleys brimming with revelers and tourists to seek out the next place on our beer map. 

I know.. I know... there has been quite a delay between entries. It's football season now and I've been working a lot! Thanks for your patience...