Delirium Tap House, Brussels- Beers & Bars of the 2013 Europe Trip

The Delirium Cafe is probably the most famous bar in Brussels. It has an extensive beer list, over 2,000, which led to it making the Guinness Book of World Records for Most Varieties of Beer Commercially Available.

The original cafe is located on the Impasse de la Fidélité, a small dead-end alley a short walk from the Grand Place. The alley is now advertised as Delirium Village, with a total of eight related bars appealing to all manor of different drinkers.

I’d headed over intending to sit in the original cafe for a drink, but found it too crowded to even get close to the bar or find a place to sit. Instead, I wandered upstairs to the Delirium Tap House, a stylish bar that offered 27 different beers on tap.

The Tap House was also crowded when I showed up, but as the crowd began to thin, I realized that many of the people who were there were drinking at the Tap House until some space became available in the cafe below. I sat at the bar, hoping to talk with the knowledgeable staff, as I do at almost all of the beer bars I visit. Unfortunately, the bar was way to busy for any of the staff to have time to talk with me.

The cafe’s fame was one of the draws for me. The other reason I really wanted to visit was that I am a huge fan of the Delirium beers, particularly the Tremens, a Belgian tripel which was one of the first Belgian beers I tried. I almost always have a bottle of Tremens in my refrigerator at home, and my home restaurant/bar, Ashley’s of Westland, has it on a dedicated tap.

At 8.5% ABV, Tremens is a strong beer, so I was shocked upon looking at the menu board to see that they offered a 2 Liter of it. I saw some people order the 2L mug, but didn’t stick around long enough to see if they were able to walk out on their own.

A visit to Delirium Village is a must for any beer lover visiting Brussels. My visit was shorter than expected due to the crowds, but I could still recognize what a fun place this would be to spend a night.

Here’s a link to a more thorough post on the Delirium Cafe from my friend Brett of the excellent blog, Our Tasty Travels.

Beers & Bars of the Europe 2013 Trip Series:

• Microbar- Reykjavik, Iceland
• Cafe Gollem- Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Moeder Lambic- Brussels, Belgium
• Beer Mania- Brussels, Belgium

 

 

 

One Response to “Delirium Tap House, Brussels- Beers & Bars of the 2013 Europe Trip”

1. Brett Domue says:

   June 30, 2013 at 3:28 am

   I pretty much gave up on trying to hit Delirium on a weekend night…will usually stop in during the day when it is much less crowded and sample a couple beers from their bible when it’s still possible to even look at a copy.

   Reply