Beer Hunting in Essen,
Antwerp Province, Belgium

Introduction

Essen (postcode 2910) is in Antwerp Province, right on the Dutch border. It is most famous in the Speciality Beer world for being the home of a celebrated Christmas Beer Festival, which is organised by the O.B.E.R. branch of Zythos. Zythos is the Belgian equivalent of CAMRA (www.camra.org.uk), the UK 's premier beer consumers' organisation. O.B.E.R. means "Objectieve Bierproevers Essense Regio" (Essen Area Objective Beer Tasters). On this Web page featuring Essen, two visits to the festival are described and information is provided below on other aspects of Essen, both from a beer and from a general point of view. Note that Essen should not be confused with the large industrial city, in Germany, that it shares its name with, or with Esen, near Diksmuide, in the Belgian Province of West Flanders, this being the home of the justly famous De Dolle Brouwers Brewery (www.dedollebrouwers.be). Of course, there would be no confusion if The Essen covered in this Web page had kept the old spelling of its name: Esschen.

The O.B.E.R. Christmas Beer Festival (Kerstbierfestival)

Next Festival:

Saturday, the 15th, and Sunday, the 16th of December, 2007

Click here to see the beer list for the Festival

The above is a photo taken by John White, in December, 2004, of the entrance to the main hall of this beer festival. It is not a particularly good photo, but I give it pride of place at the head of this section, since above the entrance to the main hall there is a notice, with appropriate logo, declaring that there is no smoking in the main hall. For me, this greatly enhances this wonderful festival. Oh, if all Belgian Beer festivals could not follow this superb initiative of O.B.E.R.'s! This was followed through for subsequent festivals, when the whole of the venue from 2005 onwards is no smoking. If only all beer festivals could be so civilised!

The festival typically takes place on the second or the third Saturday and Sunday of December each year, i.e. in 2007, it takes place on the dates given at the top of this section. Doors open at 2pm on the Saturday, and at Noon on the Sunday.

From 2005, the festival has been held in the Heuvelhal, Kapelstraat 7 (GPS: 51.464225o N, 4.472510o E); with its prominent sign, it can't be missed, see the photo to the left, which was taken by John White, in December, 2005. The Heuvelhal is about 1,850 metres (just over a mile) from Essen Railway Station. A nice feature of the venue is the natural light that it gets during day time, and when it goes dark outside, its powerful lights that are used for sports functions in the hall keep it bright.

Special seven-seater taxis are available for €1 per person, provided that seven travel. These make continuous journeys to and from the festival. There is a De Lijn (www.delijn.be) bus (number 670, with the direction indicator Kapellen Dorp) from Essen Railway Station, the required stop being named "Essen Gemeentehuis", this coming after the stop named "Essen Molenstraat". (The 679 bus from this stop to Essen is a school bus.) The Heuvelhal is next door to the Gemeentehuis (Community Hall). On both the Saturday and the Sunday of the festival, there is a bus every hour, at five minutes past the hour; the journey time is only four minutes. The return buses to the station run at fifty-one minutes past the hour, the last one being at 23.51. Getting these times is the example used in the White Beer Travels Web page giving details of how to use the Dutch-language De Lijn website; click here to reach it. The journey time is five minutes. It is also possible to get a Belbus, see below for the phone number needed to book one. There is a map locating the venue and the route from the station on the Kerstbierfestival website; click here to see the map.

Essen is readily reached by train from Antwerp, its station being the most northerly in Belgium. In 2007, on both the Saturday and the Sunday there are hourly trains from Antwerpen-Centraal, at forty-one minutes past the hour, these arriving in Essen at eighteen minutes past the next hour; the stop before Essen is called Wildert. These are stopping trains with the final destination of Roosendaal (NL), i.e. a town just across the border from Essen, in The Netherlands (NL). Return trains to Antwerpen-Centraal run at forty-two minutes past the hour, arriving in Antwerpen-Centraal at nineteen minutes past the next hour; the last train is at 22.42, getting into Antwerp at 23.19. These times were obtained from the Belgian Railways website, www.b-rail.be. This is extremely easy to use and has English pages. If, for example, you enter, in English, "Antwerp" as a destination or starting point, as there is more than one railway station in Antwerp, you will be provided with a pull-down menu, from which you would select the station required, in this case, the offered Antwerpen-Centraal, the city's main railway station. Tickets can be booked on the Belgian Railways website, these being issued as e-mail attachments in Adobe pdf format.

The above two photos were taken at the December, 2005 festival by John White. The one on the left shows the servery for bottled beers. The beers are numbered in the programme, beers being ordered by number. The photo on the right is a general view of the drinking area. In the bottom left, with the yellow top is the place in the middle of the hal where one gets tokens and glasses. In the foreground on a table directly in front of the bottled beer servery is a group that consists mainly of White Beer Travels Beer Hunters, with one Burgundian Babble Belt Babbler (see the next paragraph), i.e. on the near side of the table are David Mummery and Cheryl Eckhardt, and on the far side, Mary Jane Lewis, Paulette Aikman (BBB Babbler), and Jim Denier. Others in the group were on the next table, circulating, or getting a beer! Jim and Cherly are from Denver, Colorado, the epicentre of Craft/Speciality/Specialty Beer in the USA. Jim is a member of a Home Brew Club called Foam On The Range, www.foamontherange.org.

The main contact/information provider for the festival is Gunter Mertens, O.B.E.R.'s Webmaster, who is also a great Ambassador, on the the two principal mesage boards covering Belgian Beer, the Burgundian Babble Belt (www.babblebelt.com) and the Belgian Beer Board (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/belgianbeer), for this excellent festival. Gunter very kindly provided a good deal of the background material and historical information for this Web page.

The following is an example beer description taken from the programme for the 2004 festival; it is for one of that year's highlights, i.e. De Dolle Brouwers' Special Oerbier Reserva 2002 (11.75% ABV):

Dolle, or "Mad", brewer Kris Herteleer seems to come up with a surprise every year. Following last year's SPECIAL OERBIER RESERVA and the previous year's "Stille Nacht Reserva 2000", which were both mature in old Bordeaux wine storage tuns, we now have the classic "Oerbier" which has been allowed to age for two years in an oak Châteauneuf-du-Pape tun! This beer was really intended as an experiment for "personal use" only but caring Kris has taken pity on us and our festival and provided a few crates. In the bottom of the tuns was 7 or 8 litres of wine; to this the regular "Oerbier" was added and allowed to oxidise. The brew was then seeded with special slow-working and alcohol tolerant strains of Brettanomyces ale yeasts along with a little bit of normal yeast to take care of any remaining fermentable sugars. After two years of maturation this SPECIAL OERBIER RESERVA has a gravity of 20.75 degrees Plato and the attenuation is 83%. It is fairly dry. Wood tannins can be found on the nose while the palate is rather wine-like. The next experiment will be "Dulle Teve Reserva" similarly matured in oak tuns. We will do our very best to offer you that beer in 2005!

In fact for this special beer, the tuns are from a producer of Calvados in the Pays d'Auge, in Normandy, in France, the inner circle of the Calvados Département, the best Appellation Contrôlée production area of this spirit, which is produced by distilling cider: Etienne Dupont (www.calvados-dupont.com). The beer has been commissioned by US importer B.United International, www.bunitedint.com, Click here to see a photo of the 2000 Reserva maturing at De Dolle Brouwers.

As can already be guessed, beer is purchased using tokens (Bon, plural Bonnen) costing €1.25. Most beers are just one token for a 15cl measure, but some beers cost more; the rare and very strong Bush Prestige (13%), which is only readily available at the brewery itself and the Bush Brew Pubs in Louvain-la-Neuve and Mons, was four tokens in 2004; on the O.B.E.R. website, if a beer has two stars against it, it costs two tokens, etc. There is a deposit of €3 on the glasses, which, of course, you can keep as a souvenir should you wish. Note that there is a recommended method of purchasing your beer at the festival, i.e. in the programme there is a section headed Tafeltips, (Table Tips), recommending that one write the number of the beer required on the back of the token, this also being in notes in English in the Glossary following the beer descriptions. Not many actually put numbers on the tokens, although the unpaid staff cope admirably with the many English-speaking visitors. The Table Tips also request that one make an entry in the "Gastenboek" (Visitors' Book).

There is a free beer token for EBCU (European Beer Consumers' Union) (www.ebcu.org) members (this includes the Dutch PINT (www.pint.nl), the Italian Unionbirrai (www.unionbirrai.com), and Zythos members), so don't forget to bring your membership card. To speed up the main token issuing process, the "EBCU" tokens are not issued at the main token/glasses/programmes sales area in the middle of the hall, but at the shop (beer labels, bottles to take out, T-Shirts, etc) at the back of the hall. This shop is alongside the stall with "Exclusieve Bieren" (those beers costing more than one token) and the "Ketel Glühkriek" (Hot Glühkriek (Cherry Beer), including the well-know Liefmans one, but also a new one from Van Honsebrouck). On the immediate left as you enter, there is another shop, the "Boekenstand" ([Beer] Book Stall). Towards the back of the hall on the left is the Flessenschab (Bottle Shelf) behind the main bar (Toog), before which are the Vatbieren (Draught Beers); food is also available in this area. In a number of places in the hall, there are glass washing facilities, these being clearly labelled Glazenspoeler. Click here for the floor layout of the Heuvelhal, when it is the venue for the Christmas Beer Festival.

The food available at the festival includes "Gerechten met Kerstbier", i.e. dishes cooked with Christmas Beer, for example Stoofvlees (Stew) at 3 tokens, which comes with Bread baked with Christmas Beer (Brood met Kerstbier gebakken). Bread with Cheese or Ham (Broodje kaas of hesp) is 1 token, as are Croque Monsieurs. A Portie kaasblokjes (Cheese Cubes) are 2 tokens. For Soup cooked with Christmas Beer, see above. A couple of eating options outside the festival are given below.

A feature of most Belgian Beer festivals is that they attract visitors from around the world, the O.B.E.R. Christmas Beer one being a particularly strong magnet. Many are members of the Burgundian Babble Belt (www.babblebelt.com). When members of the Babble Belt gather "officially" it is known as a Babblefest, one such being organised for the first day of the December, 2004 Christmas Beer festival, and at subsequent festivals. There were forty-five attendance at the 2004 one , around thirty-five of whom can be seen in the photo above, which was taken by Joyce White. The highest person in the photo, to the left of centre, is White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regular, Jez (rauchbier, Smoke Beer) Blake.

Further details of this don't-miss festival are available on O.B.E.R.'s excellent website, and the special website dedicated to the festival. The O.B.E.R. site covers more than just its activities, i.e. there is much information on Belgian Beer and a very good list of Bierlinks.

A Visit to the 2004 O.B.E.R. Christmas Beer Festival

In 2004, something special was promised by O.B.E.R., as the festival was their 10th anniversary one, although it was hard to surpass the last one, in 2003, which was recced in preparation for this 2004 Beer Hunt, see below. Thus, for 2004, the festival had a special 10x10 theme, i.e. the original plan was to have ten draught beers around the 10% ABV, ten exclusive beers (scoops) and 10x10 (a hundred) different beers. In fact these goals were easily exceeded, so what a festival it turned out to be! The following is substantially what was on offer.

In fact, there were more than ten strong draught beers, the following actually being available: Abbaye Des Rocs Spéciale Noël (10%); Avec les Bons Voux (9%); De Ryck Christmas Ale; Noël (3 Brasseurs, Athus); Bon Secours de Noël Caulier (10%); Brigand Christmas (9%); Christmas Mortal's (10%); Gouden Carolus Christmas (10%); La Binchoise Spéciale Noël (9%); La Rulles Noël du Coeur (8.7%); Stille Nacht (12%); 't Smisje Kerst (11%); Bush/Scaldis de Noël (13%); Barbãr Winter Bok; and Affligem Patersvat Blond (6.8%), which strictly speaking should only be available in The Netherlands. All these cost just one token. Click here to see the 2004 list.

As there were "only" twelve taps, two of these beers were only available on the Sunday, the second day of the festival, for example, the Barbar Winter Bok.

At the 2004 and the 2005 festival there was a choice of glasses: the normal O.B.E.R. glass and one that was specially produced for the Grensbierfestival (Border Beer Festival) that O.B.E.R. ran in July, 2004, to celebrate 150 years of rail travel through Essen. Click here to see Chuck Cook's report on the 2004 festival; Chuck is a correspondent with Celebrator Beer News (www.celebrator.com).

2003: Trip featuring the O.B.E.R. Christmas Beer Festival

I went to this top-class beer festival for the first time, in 2003, this being a recce trip for the 2004 group Beer Hunt, see above. In the photo, to the left, which was taken, in December, 2003, by JezzaP, John White is with Gunter Mertens, O.B.E.R.'s Webmaster and Secretary, see above. As can be seen, the photo was taken in the festival's No Smoking Room, hence the Niet-Rokers sign. Note that, as already stated, from 2004, the main hall of the festival became no smoking, see above.

In 2003, beers included: Abbaye des Rocs Spéciale Noël (10%); Brigand Christmas (9%); Fantôme de Noël (8.7%); Hiver Fantôme (7.5%) Stille Nacht (12%); 't Smisje Kerst (11%); Triple de Noël (9.5%); Brouwerij The Musketeers (De Musketiers) Troubadour Obscura (8.5%) (www.troubadour.com.be, brewed by De "Proef" Brouwerij); and Ecaussinnes Ultradélice Blonde (8.5%). Note that the Triple from the Brasserie des Fagnes (www.brasseriedesfagnes.be or www.fagnes.be) is a real rarity that is normally only available at the brewery tap, but when O.B.E.R.'s President, Gerard Peeters, went to collect their bottled Christmas beer for the festival, this was kegged for them straight from the conditioning tanks! Click here to see the 2003 list.

I am glad that I had my festival glass with me on the train journey back to Antwerp, since a stranger opposite me opened a bottle of a rare beer from Mortal's Beer (www.mortalsbeers.be) and filled my glass!

For other places visited on the same trip as this 2003 recce visit to O.B.E.R.'s Christmas Beer Festival, click here.

Other Beer and Miscellaneous Information on Essen

Pubs in Essen and Roosendaal (NL)

Pubs in Essen worth a visit include: Rex, a strong recommendation of Gunter's, at Spoorwegstraat 11 (tel 03 667 21 45), a place, with good ground music (mainly Rock), regular live music (Rock and Blues), and games such as pool, table football and electronic darts, that is popular with a young, alternative crowd, that is housed in a former cinema, just opposite the station, on the street parallel to the railway tracks (it is thought to be open on Thursday to Sunday, plus, in the Summer, Wednesday, but these days should be checked if you are planning a visit); and 't Volkshuis, (Stationsstraat/Statiestraat 136, tel 03 667 59 27), this Bob Hendrickx entry, which is open from 1pm (10am on Sundays), but is closed on Wednesdays. It is also being near the station, "Station Street" being the main street that leads away from it. For more information on 't Volkshuis, see the next paragraph. 't Volkshuis is in the 2005-6 edition of Bob Hendrickx's 332 Originele Cafés in Vlaanderen (www.bloggen.be/originelecafes). With the latest version of this book in hand, one typically gets a second beer free in the bars featured in it, including this one. Further details of this essential book can be found on another White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here.

Note that the venue for O.B.E.R.'s Xmas Beer Festival up to 2004 was the Parochie Zaal (Hall) or Centrum (Centre), or PC. Such places are owned by the local church community and they typically have the aim of getting local people together, to organize local theatrical events, card game championships, "restaurant days", etc, etc. Each town or village often has a secular equivalent of them, its "Volkshuis" (People's House), these being the headquarters of the local socialist party, combined with a hall or bar, in which similar activities to those in the PC take place; Essen's Volkhuis has some decent beers, so is covered in the previous paragraph. The Catholic emphasis of PCs is not as strong today, so groups of any kind can organize events in them, hence Essen-Statie's PC was a former venue for the beer festival.

Should you fail to get off the train at Essen, and end up in Roosendaal, in The Netherlands, one good option for a beer is De Drie Weesgegroetjes, Molenstraat 42, tel 0165 568 187, www.welcome.to/3w. This very atmospheric bar is housed in a former pharmacy; it is run by three (drie) sisters. There is a small selection of Belgian and Dutch Beers. It is not open on Mondays. Another bar in Roosendaal worth checking out is Café De Sjoes (Markt 16 (the town's main square), tel 0165 564 345, www.sjoes.nl), which has a bigger selection of beers than the first one mentioned and is much nearer to the railway station, see the map on the place's website. De Sjoes is home to "Het Roosendaals Biergilde" (Roosendaal Beer Guild). It is open every day of the week from 2pm to 1am (2am on Friday and Saturday).

Pubs/Eating Options on the 1,850 Metre (just over a mile) Walk from Essen Station to the Beer Festival Venue

These are all in the "Statie" part of Essen, this being a dialect or archaic word for Station, i.e. they are on the same side of the railway lines as the Heuvelhal, the Beer Festival venue from 2005. Those with some beers are mentioned on O.B.E.R.'s website; click here to see the list. A particularly good eating and drinking option in the Heikant area of Essen is covered later. Heikant is on the other side of the railway tracks to the main part of the town, so going to it means that you have to go in the opposite direction to the beer festival.

The direct walking route to the beer festival venue is straight forward, i.e. head away from the railway station down Stationsstraat (Station Street), and at the Tee-junction reached (there is a prominent church at this point), turn right onto Nieuwstraat. This has a name change to the required Kapelstraat, the Heuvelhal being on the left after passing a square called Heuvelplein; just before the venue, on the same side of the road, is the bus stop for the number 670 bus back to Essen Railway Station. Note that if you turn left, instead of right, at the church, you will soon reach the village of Nispen, which is across the border, in The Netherlands.

Almost immediately on entering Stationsstraat, there is an atmospheric, locals' pub on the right, the Wapen van Essen, at Stationsstraat 235 (tel 03 677 06 95); it has occasional, scheduled live music. This is a good bet, if you arrive back at the station and you have half an hour or so to kill before your train. The beer list is not large, but beers such as Orval and Westmalle Tripel are available in bottle.

De Chalet is a Friterie (Chip Shop), on the left hand side of Stationsstraat, on the far corner of Hemelrijklaan, at Stationsstraat 168b (tel 03 677 18 38). It has a limited amount of stools alongside a shelf for putting your Frites and Mayonnaise and Saté on, or whatever. The portions of Frites are enormous. On Saturdays, De Chalet is open from 11.30am to 2pm and from 4.30pm to 10pm; On Sundays, it is open from 11.30am to 10pm. A little further down from this is a bar recommendation of Gunter's, given above, 't Volkshuis, at Stationsstraat 136.

Beyond De Chalet, on the other side of the road (i.e. on the right) is a nice Bread Shop, in which one can sit down and eat, the Bakkerij van Wesel, Stationsstraat 135, (tel 03 667 25 15). There are hot and cold Sandwiches (in the range €1.30 to €2.50), various Pasta dishes, and Baguettes (in the range €1 to €2.25). There are also Omelettes (in the range €3 to €4) and Salads, such as a Griekse (Greek) one at €6. This has Lettuce, Tomatoes, Carrots, Cucumber, Feta Cheese, Olives, Hot Sautéed Bacon Pieces, and Apple. This is described by White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regulars, David Mummery and Mary Jane Lewis, from who I got this information, as "nicer than it sounds"; the prices are December, 2005 ones. Hot and cold drinks are available, and glasses of wine. There are old photos on the wall with scenes such as bread being delivered by cycle. It is open every day except Tuesday from 7am to 5pm (1pm on Sunday).

Just before the corner, near the church, on the left, is a bar/restaurant called Essenhof, at Stationsstraat 8 (tel 03 667 20 92), and just up from it, on the corner is the appropriately named 't Hoekske (The Little Corner) (Nieuwstraat 47, tel 03 667 24 11), which is also called or integrated with Onder den Toren (Under the Tower [of the Church]).

Soon after turning right onto Nieuwstraat, on the right, two pubs, De Voerman and Heuvelhof are passed. Opposite the latter is the Heuvelplein square, that is close to the beer festival venue. Pubs in this square include: De Linden, Heuvelplein 26 (tel 03 667 23 20); Den Block, Heuvelplein 13 (tel 03 667 21 14); and Heuvelzicht, Heuvelplein 9 (tel 03 667 51 99).

Possibly the best option for a beer and a meal, that is essentially on the route from the station is the Taverne Torenhof, Nieuwstraat 52, tel 03 677 00 58, www.torenhof.net. This is on the far side of Nieuwstraat, and is reached by turning left at the church, but is very quickly reached, so is not too far off the route. Also close to the Beer Festival venue, Pitaverne (tel 03 677 27 77) is a Restaurant/Pitta/Pizza place with beers from Bavik; it is opposite the bus stop that takes you back to Essen railway station.

A Good Restaurant with Some Decent Beers in Essen
De Kiekenhoeve
Moerkantsebaan 54, tel 03 667 35 64, www.kiekenhoeve.be

This is a recommendation of Gunter's that proved to be well worth visiting for lunch before the 2pm opening of the December, 2004 festival. Moerkantsebaan is on the opposite (West) side of the railway tracks to the beer festival venue, in Essen-Heikant; it is the coloured street leading off the bottom left corner of the map on the O.B.E.R. website; walk beyond the bridge to the right outside the station and take the underpass below the railway tracks and keep going straight, the road soon leading into the required Moerkantsebaan, the N125 National road. Note that the road going over the tracks does the same, but it is quite intimidating to walk on its narrow pavement/sidewalk. De Kiekenhoeve is on the right, approximately 500 metres/yards after the underpass. Note that if one turns left by the underpass, away from the tracks, one is on the start of Kerkstraat, the beer festival venue's street.

Just outside the entrance to the off-road area where De Kiekenhoeve is situated is a Belbus stop named "Heemhuis", the latter being home to an organisation that researches Essen's Heemkunde (Local History). The Belbus telephone number in this area, indeed, the whole of Antwerp Province, is 03 218 14 94. Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page giving details of the Belbus system, and here to get the Belbus telephone numbers for the rest of Belgian Flanders. The maximum number that can be booked on a Belbus is fourteen. Note that Essen has one scheduled De Lijn service, the number 670 that runs from Essen Railway Station to Antwerp (Franklin Rooseveltplaats), via Kapellen (it only runs between Essen and Kapellen at weekends. i.e Essen to Antwerp is only possible on Monday to Friday, although such a journey is far quicker by train).

De Kiekenhoeve was formerly one of the first Abbey Farms in Essen. In 1338, the Essen-Kalmthout "wilderness" was donated to Norbertine (Premonstratensian) monks from the Tongerlo Abbey, which is in another part of present-day Antwerp Province, who then developed the whole area of Essen, including Kalmthout, a neighbouring community in the South, and Nispen, which is just across the border in The Netherlands. At the time, the whole area was part of the Duchy of Brabant, which comprised of the present day Province of North Brabant in The Netherlands, and the Belgian Provinces of Antwerp, and Flemish and Wallonian Brabant.

There are four draughts beers and around eighteen in bottle. Draught beers include: Palm at €1.55; Witbier at €1.75; and "Abdijbier Tongerlo" (Haacht's Tongerlo Dubbel Bruin) at €2.30 (33cl). Bottles include: Lefèbvre's Moeder Overste and Barbãr, both at €2.95; Rochefort 8^o and Sixtus 12^o (St Bernardus ABT 12^o), both at €3.10; and Poperings Hommelbier at €1.75 (25cl). These are December, 2004 prices as are the others quoted for this place.

The extension at the front of the light and airy at the front of the building, see the photo above left, which was taken by John White, in December, 2004, is the place's restaurant. There is a very interesting specials board, which had a number of game dishes at the time of our visit. This is the sort of place where one could spend quite a few hours over a meal, but as we had a tight schedule we ordered one of the house specialities, which, fittingly, is a beer cuisine dish: Kippetje in Biersaus "Moeder Overste" met Witloof (Half a Chicken in a Moeder Overste Sauce with Chicory/Endive) at €13.50. This proved to be very good; it came with ample Frites. Other food options include: Verse Dagsoep (Fresh Soup of the Day) at €3.40; Omelet in the range €4.45-7.80; Spaghetti Klein/Gross (Small/Big) at €5.10/7.50; Croque Monsieurs at €4.80; Paling in 't Groen (Eel in a Green Sauce) at €19.80, this being one of a number of dishes listed under Visgerechten (Fish Dishes); Vleesgerechten (Meat Dishes) such as Tournedos Rossini at €27; Half "Kieken" van 't Spit (Half a Spit-Roasted Chicken) at €8.60; and Kempische Hoeveschotel (a Cold Meat Platter) at €7.30. The latter was listed in a section headed Onze Kempische Specialiteiten (Our Kempen Specialities, Kempen being the name of the heathland area in the North and East of Antwerp Province). There were also some very well known Belgian snacks, such as Uitsmijter (Ham and Cheese between Toasted Bread, with a Fried Egg on top), listed in this section, so maybe there is a Kempen twist to them! There are also menus for groups.

"The Chicken Farm" is open every day from 11am (10am on Tuesday to Saturday in Summer). Food is available from Noon until 3pm and from 5pm until 10pm.

On our visit, in December, 2004, we bumped into a group from the Belgian Tourist Office (www.visitbelgium.com) in New York, who were having a meal in De Kiekenhoeve with American beer writer, Chuck Cook, a correspondent with Celebrator Beer News (www.celebrator.com). In the photo, above right, which was taken by Joyce White, John is in De Kiekenhoeve with Liliane Opsomer of the Belgian Tourist Office party. Note that the Belgian Tourist Office website has an excellent page covering Belgian Beer; click here to see it. On the previous evening, Chuck and the Belgian Tourist Office party had been to the 2,000+ beer Delirium Café (www.deliriumcafe.be), in Brussels; as can be seen, Liliane has the T-Shirt to prove it. White Beer Travels Beer Hunters made their second visit of the year there, a couple of days later; click here for details of one of these visits.

Places on the Walk from Essen Station to the Beer Festival Venue
De Chalet
Stationsstraat 168b, tel 03 677 18 38

On the left, on the far corner of HemelrijklaanI have not been to this place, but it comes highly recommended by a Frites aficionado. it is in the "Statie" part of Essen, this being a dialect or archaic word for Station. It is thus on the same side of the railway lines as the Beer Festival, i.e the new venue from 2005.

Tourist Information

In the same complex as De Kiekenhoeve, at Moerkantsebaan 50, is Essen's Tourist Office (VVV) (www.vvvessen.be), which is housed in a remarkable building, called De Tasberg, a "Tasberg" being a building for which the roof can be lowered, to store hay. This can be seen in the photo to the left, which was taken by John White, in December, 2004. The Tourist Office does not open on Saturday and Sunday, although in December, it does open on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. Very close to the Tourist Office, at number 48, is the Karrenmuseum (Cart Museum); in the photo, above left, can be seen one of its carts. Cycling is popular in the area; one can get guides and route maps in the office for exploring the countryside around Essen.

Beer Warehouses in Essen

On the same road as De Kiekenhoeve, on the left, at Moerkantsebaan 47a, just after the road leading from the bridge over the railway lines (twenty metres/yards), is Dranken Van Oevelen (www.vanoevelen.be), this being a drinks shop with a good selection of beers, which are listed in its website. On Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, it is open from 9.30am to 12.30pm and from 1.30pm to 6.30pm. On Saturdays, it is open from 9am to 6pm, and on Sunday from 9.30am to 12.30pm. It does not open on Tuesdays. Another drinks place in Essen, away from the town centre, is Dranken De Caigny, Spijker 79 (the N117 National road to Kalmthout), tel 03 667 71 71. It has a bigger selection than Van Oevelen; there is an Essen-Kalmthout Belbus stop, see above, called Essen-Brantano (Shoe Shop), or, on the opposite side of the road, Essen-Unicom (Computer Shop), both shops, which are on the same side of the road, being 500 metres/yards North of De Caigny. Having said all this, the N117 here is not very suitable for walking on, having no pavement/sidewalk.

Accommodation in Essen

Bed and Breakfast accommodation within walking distance of the beer festival venue is provided by Sjokomoes www.sjokomoes.be) De Kerselaer (http://dekerselaer.be). There is also the Hotel Moerkantheide (Moerkantsebaan 139, tel 03 667 32 53, www.moerkantheide.tk). More accommodation options are to be found on the town's website, www.essen.be, this Dutch-language site having tons of information on Essen, including some excellent maps.