Shop Joy: Au Nom de la Bière

(© Saskia Vanderstichele)

The idea for this beer shop came from Patrick, who owns Le Marseillais, a convivial French bar on the Vossenplein/place du Jeu de Balle that has an extensive selection of pastis. As there was no room in his establishment for a beer section, he went looking for a retail premises nearby where he could offer bottles of Belgian brews.
Together with his business partner, Alexandre, he opened the new shop last October. Over their years in the trade, they have both built up an impressive knowledge of beer. Patrick spent a long time working in La Porte Noir and you may possibly know Alexandre from Moeder Lambic in Sint-Gillis/Saint-Gilles. They are proud of that knowledge of beer and keen to use it to distinguish theirs from other beer shops around Brussels. In their tiny premises the emphasis is very much on the 250 different bottles rather than on the glasses, bottle-openers, and T-shirts associated with them. Patrick and Alexandre have a soft spot for small breweries and for top-fermented and spontaneously fermenting beers. Brussels lambik/lambic beers naturally get a lot of attention. Their own favourite brews come from Brasserie de la Senne, Cantillon, De Ranke, and Dupont; for the novice beer explorer they also have a number of accessible beers, such as a sweet kriek or a simple Pils. Connoisseurs looking for a more exclusive beer will be tempted by a grey Westmalle or a Westvleteren, among others. On-the-spot tasting is not (yet) possible, but soon the shop will start turning the spotlight on a particular brewery each month and the wee tasting glasses will surface for that.
Au Nom de la Bière tries to be a little cheaper than the competition. But don’t forget to bring cash with you – queuing at the only working ATM in the neighbourhood is no fun.

AU NOM DE LA BIÈRE •••
Vossenplein 12 place du Jeu de Balle, Brussel/Bruxelles
do/je/Th > zo/di/Su 10 > 17.00