Leuven brewer Bart from brewery De Coureur showed Jonas from Germany around Leuven. Naturally, brewing stories quickly came to the table, and plenty of local beers were tasted. A true match made in the brewery. Jonas Anders Moll spent two nights in Leuven and discovered that, in addition to being a beer city, Leuven has so much more to offer.
Leuven local Ine took Eke, the snack expert from the Netherlands, to her favorite spots, including her own neighborhood brewery, De Coureur, where Ine and her partner Bart (yes, the one mentioned above) brew bold, energetic, and powerful beers. Two of Eke's favorites from his trip: Frituur Bim Bam, ‘a genius owner with great fries and snacks,’ and Pepas Frituur, which Eke called ‘apparently the best VEGAN frituur in Belgium.’
After a 2.5-hour train ride from Paris, Frenchman Alexis Thiebaut arrived in Leuven, a city off the beaten path. Alexis calls Leuven the beer city of Belgium, and we couldn’t agree more. Local Thijs, a musician and bartender at neighborhood bar Bar Stan, took Alexis to two local favorites: Restaurant Alfalfa, tucked just outside Leuven’s city center, and Café Commerce, a pub loved by all ages. Alexis’ favorite restaurants after his city trip? The Italian spot Baracca, the brand-new brunch bar Eclèktic, and MALZ, crowned Belgium’s best beer bar in 2022.
Pien Born went on a beer adventure with local Joren Monnens of craftbeer bar MALZ on behalf of Dutch blog Bartsboekje. Naturally, they went for a beer (or two...) tasting at MALZ. Pien liked the beer boards, a kind of cheese board with three different beers. Pien immersed herself in the culinary side of Leuven and found out why Leuven is known for those beers, ´On every corner of the street you can find a modern or classic beer pub. On your way to the church from the Grote Markt? You'll end up at Leuven Central, an authentic pub with an extensive menu full of specialty beers. But there was more to discover than just beer. She wrote on the Bartsboekje website, ´This city has everything you are looking for during a weekend away. Besides taking a look at the (many) breweries you can walk around Leuven, the city on its own is the perfect place to stroll.´
Joren from craft beer bar MALZ told us a secret: “Did you know that some places in Leuven will make you feel like you’re in southern Spain? Indeed, many palm trees adorn the streets and squares in summer.” Soon, Joren will go out with someone else who doesn’t know the city yet… Who knows? Maybe they’ll start counting palm trees after those beers. 😉
In short, toasting with a ‘pintje’, we proudly tout Leuven as the destination yet to be discovered. This city, steeped in authentic character, offers a wealth of unknown and remarkable stories about beer and its rich brewing tradition.
Read more delicious beer stories on social media via #UntoldStoriesLeuven.
