The Bruges Beer Guide: Best Bars, Breweries and Everything You Need to Know

Hunting out the best beer bars in Bruges? Don’t miss this Bruges beer guide — complete with the best bars, brewery tours and some handy background on navigating the complex and rewarding world of Belgian beer.

Beer is synonymous with Bruges. Turn every corner in this fairytale city and you’re confronted with the evidence — a beer bar here, a brewery there, an annual beer festival each February that sees Bruges showing off the very best of its beer culture.

The first time I visited, I didn’t quite expect the vast amount of choice when it came to beer tastings, tours and bars. That’s not to say I didn’t embrace it with gusto: I set out to discover as much as I could about Bruges’ beer scene, a passion that has lasted through every subsequent visit.

Setting out to explore the beer in Bruges is a pleasure any way you go about it — but this is also a place where a little bit of knowledge goes a long way.

PS: Also looking for more Bruges inspiration? Check out my Bruges City Guide — the best things to do and places to see.

Belgian Beer 101: What to Know Before You Start

Behind the Bar at ‘t Brugs Beertje

Before setting off to drink all the ridiculously good beer Bruges has to offer, here’s a quick rundown of the terms you’ll encounter and what they actually mean.

Trappist Ales

Trappist ales are tightly regulated. To use the name, the beer must be brewed within the walls of a monastery by, or under the supervision of, the monks — and the brewery cannot be run for profit, only to support the monastery and its charitable work.

Abbey Beers

Abbey beers are brewed in the style of traditional Trappist ales but don’t fulfil the strict requirements to label themselves as such. Often excellent; just not the real thing.

Dubbel, Tripel and Quadrupel

Common sense suggests these terms refer purely to strength. Common sense is mostly wrong.

A Dubbel is a dark, malty, toasted style, generally 6–8.5% ABV — complex, yeasty, and an acquired taste for some. A Tripel is its opposite: lighter, golden in colour, hoppier, and often reaching 8.5–10% ABV. Despite being stronger, the Pilsner malt used gives it a smoother, more citrusy character. A Quadrupel — despite the name — isn’t even Belgian in origin. It’s a relatively recent style that attempts to combine the flavours of both Dubbel and Tripel, usually clocking in above 10% ABV.

Witbier

White beers are meant to be refreshing: served chilled, with notes of Christmas spice and citrus peel. A good entry point if you’re new to Belgian beer.

Lambic Beers

A tripel beer

Lambic beers use spontaneous fermentation, left in open vats to develop their character from the unique microorganisms found in Belgium’s Senne Valley. Sharp and sour, they’re matured for extended periods and frequently blended with fruit — cherries most commonly — giving them an unmistakable tang. Styles include Flanders Red, Geuze, and Brown ales. Not for everyone, but like nothing brewed anywhere else in the world.

Brewery Tours in Bruges

De Halve Maan

De Halve Maan (The Half Moon) is the most famous brewery tour in Bruges — and deservedly so. Guides lead you through the warren of rooms and passages that make up the brewery, covering its history and the brewing process with genuine knowledge and good humour. Tours run in multiple languages, last around 45 minutes and include a beer tasting at the end.

It’s a popular visit, so go either on the first tour of the day or as late as possible to avoid the day-tripper crowds. And when people say beer flows through Bruges’ streets, they’re not exaggerating — De Halve Maan famously installed an underground beer pipeline connecting the brewery to its bottling plant on the outskirts of the city.

Bourgogne des Flandres

The historic beer of Bourgogne des Flandres has returned to the city centre in a new microbrewery, and with it a compact brewery tour covering the hops, process and history behind their traditional rounded, dark and fruity beer. You can even try your hand at digitally tapping beer during the tour, and a free glass rounds things off at the end. The beer is genuinely good — service at the bar, in my experience, less so.

Want more? Book a private Bruges beer brewery tour with a local expert.

The Best Beer Bars in Bruges

‘t Brugs Beertje

Is ‘t Brugs Beertje the best bar in Bruges? A great many people say yes, and it’s easy to see why. On the face of it, nothing special — a small pub on a quiet cobbled street. Step inside and you start to understand: every wall and surface is covered in beer-related paraphernalia, scribbled on by thousands of visitors over the years. Then there’s the beer list — over 300 Belgian beers, with five on draft. Rated by RateBeer as one of the best beer destinations in the world. A genuine highlight of any Bruges visit.

Café Vlissinghe

Founded in 1515, Café Vlissinghe is the oldest pub in Bruges — and quite possibly the oldest in Belgium. It sits down a quiet side street in the Sint-Anna district, well away from the main tourist circuit, and it looks exactly as it should: heavy wooden beams overhead, old portraits and engravings on the walls, a black marble fireplace, antique furniture and the kind of unhurried atmosphere that takes centuries to accumulate.

The interior was largely shaped in the 19th century by the local brewer who acquired it, who deliberately cultivated a meeting place for artists, sculptors and musicians — and a painting on the wall still purports to show where Van Dyck used to sit. The beer is good; the draught house beer is the one to order. In summer, the garden opens up for pétanque. Cash preferred. Address: Blekerstraat 2.

The Beer Wall at 2Be

The Beer Wall at 2Be has become something of a Bruges institution. Enter through the cavernous doorway and you’re confronted with over 1,250 Belgian beer bottles and their corresponding glasses, stacked row by row along one long wall — an impressive and slightly surreal display. The bar’s real selling point, though, is its canalside beer garden, which is about as pleasant a spot to drink as you’ll find in the city. Great beer, gorgeous views.

Duvelorium

Located on the first floor of the Historium museum on the Grote Markt, the Duvelorium is free to enter without a museum ticket — just walk straight up. It’s the world’s only Duvel-themed café, with a wide range of Belgian speciality beers and a panoramic terrace looking directly out over the entire Market Square. On a clear day, with a cold glass in hand and Bruges’ medieval skyline arranged in front of you, it’s hard to argue with. Open daily from 11am; the terrace stays open until 10pm on Saturdays.

Le Trappiste

Another Bruges favourite, Le Trappiste occupies a genuinely remarkable space — a candlelit cellar inside an 800-year-old building in the heart of the city. The catacomb-style ceilings and brick archways create an atmosphere that suits Belgian beer drinking very well. The selection is extensive, with several rare finds alongside the classics, and the atmosphere is unlike anywhere else in Bruges. Their five-beer tasting flight is one of the best ways to work through the range. Prices are surprisingly reasonable given the quality and setting.

Bierbrasserie Cambrinus

Bierbrasserie Cambrinus draws in the crowds for the simplest of reasons: it serves very good beer alongside very good food, in an unpretentious setting with a large and occasionally daunting beer list. The staff are knowledgeable and willing to make recommendations if you need a steer. Good value, reliably excellent.

De Garre

Genuinely tricky to find — you’ll need to follow your map carefully down the alley between Grote Markt and Burg Square — but De Garre is worth the navigation. The house beer, Tripel De Garre, weighs in at 11% ABV and is both the biggest draw and the reason drinkers are limited to three per visit. It’s sweet and strong and memorable. Each beer comes with a small complimentary cheese snack, which is the right move.

Browhuis Corsendonk

A small, completely off-the-tourist-track gem. The décor runs to eccentric kitsch — puppet-style witches were scattered about on my last visit — but the beer is stellar. This is the place to drink Corsendonk: try the Pater, a dark brown ale with a creamy head and notes of dried fruit, or the Angus, a light golden ale with a cidery aroma and a crisp finish. Langestraat 104.

‘t Poatersgat

A bar with slightly too-cool-for-school energy, but get past that and you’ll find a large range of speciality beers in a pleasant space. Worth knowing about for a late-evening drink when some of the smaller bars have filled up.

Must-Try Bruges Beer Experiences

Bruges Beer Experience

The Bruges Beer Experience is a well-designed interactive museum spread over multiple floors. The first floor is dense with history — you could easily spend an hour here alone. The second focuses on equipment, ingredients and process. At the end, your knowledge is rewarded with a selection of draft beers, some available only in the museum itself. It also doubles as a laid-back drinking spot if you’d rather skip the tour and go straight to the taps — 16 beers on draft, bar open regardless of whether you’ve paid museum entry.

The Bottle Shop

With all this drinking, you’ll want to bring some home. The Bottle Shop stocks over 600 Belgian beers alongside their corresponding glassware — essential browsing before you leave.

Where to Drink Beer in Bruges: Map

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The Bruges Beer Guide: The City’s Best Beers, Bars and Breweries