Two More Beer Shops

   
Drive just a little to the south of Ieper/Ypres and you’ll be in Hainaut province.  The town of Ploegsteert (Plug Street to the WWI Tommies), not far from the French border, is home to Drinks Vanuxeem

Drinks Vanuxeem
Rue d’Armentières 150,
7782 Ploegsteert

Mon - Sat: 08.00 – 18.50
Closed Sundays

Tel: (from UK) 0032 56 58 89 23
Website: www.vanuxeem.com
 

You can buy mixed crates.  We used to take our own boxes, but the deposit on the sturdy plastic crates supplied by the breweries is only around 2 Euros (Oct 09) and we find them more convenient. 

With almost all Belgian beers a small deposit (10-20 cents) is charged on the bottle - Belgian breweries actually wash and recycle them - so it's worth storing your empties and returning them on your next trip.  As well as earning a discount on your next order you will get a warm feeling from your virtuous recycling!

The name of the town actually means 'tail of the plough' and Vanuxeem commission their own brand beer (blond and bruin versions) under the name Ploegsteert (or Queue de Charrue in French).

A few tips
Best to go on a midweek day.  Saturdays it's very difficult to get into their small car park. 

Remember to look up!  The beers are in A-Z order and there is a 'washing line' strung above the crates with notices giving the names of all the beers.  If you forget to look up (as I did initially!) you'll waste a lot of time peering into crates seeking a particular beer.

Check out the stall on the right as you enter, about half-way down.  They regularly have (free) tastings from local breweries.
 
As well as the beers, they have a great range of wines and spirits, beer glasses, and beer-related items, including some smart caps and shirts!
 


It takes only a couple more hours driving to reach the south-east of Belgium, French-speaking Wallonia, where we recently discovered another wonderful beer shop/warehouse in Rochefort, in the beautiful Ardennes near the abbey of St Rémy which produces the great Trappist Rochefort beer.


Brasserie-Drink Scaillet
Parc Industriel 67
5580 Rochefort

Mon 13.30-18.00
Tue-Fri 09.00-12.30 & 13.30-18.00
Sat 09.00-17.00
Closed Sundays

Tel: (from UK) 0032 84 22 11 21

Website: www.brasseriescaillet.be

 

It takes a bit of finding as it’s on a new industrial estate, which the locals call ‘Le Zoning’, Google calls ‘Parc D'Activités Economiques’, and the shop itself thinks it’s on the ‘Parc Industriel’ - the map below should help, especially if you take a copy with you.  It’s worth the effort to get there, because it’s a high quality shop, with lots of rare beers, and the prices are very competitive.
 
View Rochefort: Beer Shop and Abbey in a larger map


A few tips
Note that Scaillet are not open Monday morning or lunch times.  We found Monday afternoon was very quiet making it easy to browse and stock up.  Prices are very competitive.

Just across the main road is the Abbaye de St Rémy, home of the wonderful Trappist Rochefort beer. You can't visit the abbey or its brewery -  but you can join monks in services if want to see inside the church and hear plainsong, as well as getting a peep at the exterior of the brewery buildings.  See their website (in French).
 

Return to Belgian Beers home page Return to John & Jeannette's home page

      Return to MCW home page   

Return to Sussex Japan Society home page