First Bier Central beer tasting report, February 3rd ...

Hi there,

It's been a while since my last post here. Apparently winter is at it's end, spring is coming, and I've been suffering a nasty flew, as I seem to be having the last 10 years around this period of the year :( But I think (hope) I'm over it, and feeling better again. So the last few weeks my head wasn't really "beer-minded" to be honest, hence the lack of posts here. Now, feeling better again, it's time to get back on track :)

Two weeks ago, we had our first "open" beer tasting at Bier Central. Anyone interested could join the tasting at a very reasonable price of €12,5 per person. The tasting was lead by Hans Bombeke, president of the ABC (Antwerps Bier College). Hans is a real beer expert and has been giving workshops about beer for many years. He is also a full-time teacher in beer-science, and though he doesn't admit it: he knows about everything "beer", especially Belgian beers.

We started around 8:30 pm and took around 2 hours. During those 2 hours the approx. 25 participants got tons of information about beer/tasting beer, and eventually tasted 6 beers covering a wide range of Belgian beer-styles.

The tasting started of with a hefty intro, giving us everything needed to enjoy a good tasting. During that intro we first got a ton of information about "beer" itself. It's ingredients, it's elements and everything needed to taste beer the right way. During this intro we got to drink a "De Koninck", or "bolleke" as it called here in Antwerp.

A bolleke has never been one of my favorites, but with all the information we got and the positive atmosphere, I have to admit that for the first time I actually liked it (and I was actually feeling sick that day).

As it was the first tasting, we got served a wide variety of beer-styles. Future tastings will focus on specific beer-categories, in which we will taste different beers from a specific beer-style. Now, we got to taste 6 beers all from different categories.

After the De Koninck we got a "3 Fonteinen Oude Gueuze". Allthough I liked this one very much, I noticed that several people didn't share that same feeling, which surprised me a bit. In hindsight this is of course a bit normal. Gueuze is a special and very typical Belgian beer-style, not known to the masses. You would probably have the same when you would do a cheese-tasting and started off with a bleu Rocquefort (while having never tasted different kinds of cheese). It's too much of the good, too soon. One's taste has to grow towards more complex tastes before being able to appreciate all the aromas.

The third beer was yet again a very typical Belgian style beer: a Rodenbach, an Old Flemish Red style beer. Rodenbach is a sweet-sour dark beer, with it's roots in the West-Flanders.

The fourth beer was another typical Belgian style which is most famous around the world: a trappist beer. For the occasion we got to taste a La Trappe Quadruple, a very strong, rather sweet amber-dark trappist, which was liked by many of the participants.

The next beer was yet again of a complete different style called a "Saison". The Saison Dupont was a very nice surprise for me, as I never tasted a saison before. Bitter-sweet and very easy drinking. I can imagine that this kind of beer is super during the summer.

Our sixth and last beer was a XX Bitter. As the name already reveals, this is a very hoppy and bitter-tasting beer. I was a bit reluctant to taste this, as very bitter is not my thing. But much to my surprise I actually liked it a lot, and is certainly a beer I will drink again!

This first beer-tasting sure proved to be a success and I'm looking forward to the next tasting on March, 3rd, where we will delve further in a specific category to explore more beers. Again, this coming tasting is open to anybody interested. Just mail me, or info@biercentral.be to reserve your place. Hope I will meet you there!

Greetingz,
Koen.

Rue de la biere ...

Hi there,

one of the things that makes our interiour so unique are the numerous enamel plates which hang all over the place. I don't know how much there are, but there are a lot. And some of them are really unique (and probably collector item's for some people).

I've started to make some pictures of them, which I will definately show in later posts. For now a small selection for you to enjoy ...

Greetingz,
Koen.

Year End is coming, and it shows ...

Hi there, everyone.

Last weekend was again a very busy weekend in Bier Central. As you might know, Bier Central is a new pub (opened just a few months ago), and though it is new, the owners are already long time experienced in this location (Kelly's Irish Pub is just next door, and that pub has been around for several years).

A few weeks back, my boss told me that beginning of December would be calm and starting around December 15th, the pace would go up. And indeed, this weekend was probably the busiest we had so far. Not only was Bier Central full house, but all the other businesses too ... Kelly's, The Popcorn, Andersen restaurant, and the chip-shop Frituur Oud-Belgie, all had too work at full throttle.

Amazing actually, it's like everyone already get's in party-mode after a year of hard working, and it's time to unwind and have some fun.

In one of my first posts I mentioned that Bier Central is actually part of a concept, in which you can come and drink a couple of nice beers, and once you get in the mood to actually party and dance or enjoy live music, you just go to one of the other businesses like The PopCorn or Kelly's Irish Pub.

So far our management promoted this mainly to companies who wanted to organise a special occassion for their clients or employees, allowing them to eat, drink and party all in one venue. And with success ...

Now they're going a step further and organise such an event for anyone who's interested. I've already posted something about it, and as you may have guessed I'm talking about the coming New Year's Eve Party.

On December 31st, there are a range of packages available for everyone who want's to enjoy the best New Year's Eve Party in Antwerp.

Most people like to start the last night of the year with a nice dinner, and after that the party can get started. The Andersen restaurant offers a couple of choices, where you can choose between the Andersen-menu or a World buffet. Or you can opt to enjoy a Fondue in Frituur Oud Belgie. Which ever package you choose, after your dinner you get access to the main event of the evening: the 123Party!

The party is spread accross the 3 pub's: Kelly's, Bier Central and PopCorn. Tickets for this party cost 10 euro (presales) or 15 euro the evening itself. This ticket includes one free drink. As you see, entrance won't be free that night, mainly to ensure there won't be too much people and preserve a pleasant atmosphere.

In Kelly's there will be live performance of Olly de Quartz, the best cover band in the Benelux. After the show, there will be DJ's playing the best pop & rock hits of 2010.

In Bier Central and The PopCorn there will be Steve Keane's 70s & 80s show, and DJ's playing the best disco and party music, making sure the night will be a party you won't forget!!

Make sure you reserve your tickets as soon as possible, as places are limited. And if you want something special ... reserve a VIP table in the PopCorn!

More information about all activities and packages can be found on a special site set up for the occassion: www.123party.be.

Unfortunately I won't be able to enjoy all of this as you can, since I'll be on duty and will be working, helping you to have the night of the year!

Hope to see you at the party!

Greetingz,
Koen.

Pictures, 3 dec 2010 ...

One of the advantages of this being a personal blog, is that I can also write about the times that aren't so good ... right now is such a moment ... after a day of work, I got myself a couple of Tripel Karmeliet's too many ... it was fun, but too much is too much ... Tripel Karmeliet goes in soooo easy, but eventually the "guy with the hammer" always comes around ... beware!!!! Worked till around 18h, drank untill around 22h, got home, slept a couple of hours, and now wished I was a little wiser 6 hours ago :)

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of today ...

Greetingz,
Koen.

Some pictures ...

Hey beerlovers,

So far I haven't showed you any pictures ... so, here are there a few, taken with my phone (so quality could be better).

Enjoy ...

Greetingz,
Koen.

Some pictures of the pub:



Some pictures of our cellar:

Welcome to the BierCentral Blog

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the BierCentral Bier Blog. Don't know exactly where to begin with this blog, and actually I'm even not certain which language I should use for this blog.

Since most people understand English, I'll go for that for the moment.

For those who don't know yet, BierCentral is THE new beer-pub in Antwerp. Check out their website, or come and check it out yourself, it is truly an amazing place. Who am I? I'm a guy who works over there, and I love it every day. So much I have to write about it.

What will this blog be about? I actually don't know precisely, since there is so much going on over there. One thing for sure, it's gonna be a lot about beer :).

Ok, so what is BierCentral? BierCentral is a pub on the de Keyserlei in Antwerp, very near to the central station. With 20 beers on tap, and around 300 different bottled beers, it is for sure a beer-lovers paradise.

But to just say it's a pub with a lot of beers, is quite an understatement, it is so much more. BierCentral is actually a part of a much bigger concept. BierCentral is only one pub of a group of cafes which are all linked together and actually make one big place where you can spend a whole night in different atmospheres.

Next to BierCentral is "Kelly's Irish Pub" (which you can enter through a door in BierCentral), and above BierCentral there is "The Popcorn", a 70's disco bar/club. Next to Kelly's Irish Pub, you can have a nice dinner in the "HC Andersen" restaurant, or if you prefer authentic French fries, you can visit "Frituur Oud België" below Kelly's Irish Pub.

So whether you're in for a nice special beer, watch some live sports on big screen televisions, enjoy live performances, have a nice dinner or dance into the early hours on some disco-tunes, it's all possible, and you don't have to worry about transportation, it's just a door away!

Now, I hear you thinking: this guy is giving us a marketing-talk to lure us into those businesses. And agreed, it may sound that way, but it is actually a great experience. In one night, you have the freedom to go to different places while actually stay in one place. It's just so much fun to be able to move to a completely different pub, just by going through a door, or go up a stair, and get in a completely different atmosphere.

In the past few weeks (we're only open since beginning of September) I've seen countless groups who come into BierCentral, enjoying a couple of specialty beers for a couple of hours, and then move on to The Popcorn to enjoy the rest of the evening dancing like it's 1979 :).

BierCentral is not just a pub with a lot of beers, BierCentral is part of an experience!

Now you know a bit more about the place itself. In my next blog-post I'll go a little deeper into the real stuff ... the BEER :)

Greetingz,

Koen.