De Mug, Middelburg, The Netherlands

The photo to the left was taken in August, 1998. It was taken outside De Mug at the 25th anniversary celebration of this life-enhancing Speciality Beer bar and restaurant. In the photo, John White (back to camera) is with the place's founder, the most genial Barend Midavaine, and his then fiancée, now wife, Nienke Douwstra.

Speciality/Specialty Beer Bar of the Month: September

A justly famous bar in The Netherlands

De Mug, Middelburg, Zeeland

Vlasmarkt 54-56, tel 0118 61 48 51, www.demug.nl (Bookmark)

This White Beer Travels "Pub of the Month" was selected by John White of White Beer Travels. Descriptions of places such as this are usually taken from Beer Guides that have been prepared for White Beer Travels Beer Hunts, all participants getting copies: they typically get well over 100 A4 pages of information per trip. This particular write-up is based on one of the handouts for a 1998 Three-Country Beer Hunt, based in Lille, in France, Antwerp, in Belgium, and Middelburg, the capital of the Dutch province of Zeeland (Sea Land), the original, as opposed to the New Zealand. For details of the whole trip, click on Past [Beer Hunts], in this sentence, or at the top or bottom of this page. The write-ups on other Pubs of the Month can be accessed by clicking on Archives, or by using the "Previous Month" and "Next Month" links at the top and bottom of this page.

The place's full title is De Mug Braai-Tapperij-Restaurant (De Mug Grill-Pub-Restaurant). The "Pub" part of the title is one of the finest Speciality Beer bars in the whole of The Netherlands, and those of you who have been to the likes of In de Wildeman (www.indewildeman.nl) and 't Arendsnest (www.arendsnest.nl, White Beer Travels Web page), in Amsterdam, the Zomerlust and the Biercafé Kandinsky (www.biercafe-kandinsky.nl), in Tilburg, or Jan Primus in Utrecht, to name just a few, will know that the country truly has some excellent ones. It is right up there with these. The translation of the archaic word "Braai" in De Mug's full title, by "Grill" may not be perfect, since its meaning is given as roast, fried or even casseroled in dictionaries. The word originates from Zeeland, which is the main reason why De Mug has it in its full title. In South Africa, Braai it is still in use to mean a form of barbecue, where the guests bring their own food, which they barbecue themselves.

De Mug, The Mosquito, is loosely pronounced De Muck in Dutch. "De" is the masculine and plural form of "The", the female form is "Het", often seen in its shortened form of "'t". On this bottle label of the house beer, Mug Bitter, see below, there is a fossilised mosquito, which was found near Dinant.	The place's Mosquito (Mug) logo, which appears on pens, menus, etc, etc, can be seen on this beer mat produced to celebrate Barend's 25 years in De Mug. The original mosquito was drawn by Barend.

Barend Midavaine has been with De Mug since it opened in 1973, and, as such, is a pioneer of the Specialty Beer movement in The Netherlands. De Mug's 25th anniversary was on Monday, the 17th of August, 1998. De Mug is normally closed on Sundays and Mondays, but starting at 8pm on Sunday, the 16th of August, the celebration party there was on for twenty-five hours; yours truly was there for most of it! An excellent book, 25 Jaar De Mug, that provides an illustrated history of De Mug, came out soon after this event, the latter being heavily featured in it (spot the photo of myself). It is available for purchase in the place. Barend is backed up by a marvellous and friendly team in the bar, and behind the scenes, the kitchen staff do wonders, see below. These all feature in the book.

In 2004, De Mug was declared "Het beste café van Nederland 2004-2005" (The Best Bar in The Netherlands 2004-2005) by the respected Misset Horeca magazine, the current list and the previous year's list of the top 100 being provided on the "Cafe Top 100" website, www.cafetop100.nl.

In the early 1900s the pub where De Mug is now situated was much smaller. It was a basic boozer, called the Jarmuiden (the English Yarmouth, a place that Middelburg traded with), this name still being present above one of the doors. The landlord's many children were always running around the place. They had prominent blue eyes. The customers called them mosquitoes. When Barend took over, in 1973, it was still a basic sort of place, opening at 7.30am, as was typical at the time for such pubs in Middelburg. It was not officially called De Mug, but one of the first people through the door, one of the previous landlord's oldest customers asked, or rather demanded that Barend did not mess about with "De Mug", his and other people's nickname for the Jarmuiden. Initially when he started, Barend only had one draught beer, and four bottled beers; there was more emphasis on wine. He has expanded the place, introduced excellent food, and greatly expanded the beer range to turn it into one of the most renowned Speciality Beer bars in the world. In doing this it is possible that he has not pleased the old customer, but one thing the old man said did have an influence: Barend changed the place's official name to "De Mug"!

Middelburg is a town that is little heard of outside of The Netherlands, although it has some good tourist attractions and is a convenient base for others close by. In a Dutch national ranking, it is rated the sixth "monument town" of The Netherlands. Tourist information is covered in the "Tourist Shop Middelburg" website www.touristshop.nl, which is only in Dutch, as is the town's official website, www.middelburg.nl. "Tourist Shop Middelburg", which is located on the Markt, in Middelburg, has taken over most of the main services previously provided by the local Tourist information Office (The VVV). Working in close cooperation with the Municipality, the Tourist Shop handles the provision of Tourist information for Middelburg. Tourist Shop Middelburg is to be found at Markt 65c (tel 0118 67 43 00). With one bus ticket, one can get to Bruges, in Belgium, from Middelburg, a distance of thirty-eight miles (sixty-one kilometres), this being via a ferry until the Westerschelde (Western Scheldt) Tunnel opened in 2003. Bruges is a world-class tourist and Specialty Beer venue (don't miss the truly outstanding 't Brugs Beertje, www.brugsbeertje.be, White Beer Travels Web page), as is Antwerp, also in Belgium, which is fifty-seven miles (ninety-one kilometres) from Middelburg. White Beer Travels Guides to Bruges and Antwerp and elsewhere are obtainable from the Downloads page.

It is no coincidence that when I was assigned, by the oil company Total, to work in this part of The Netherlands that I chose to live in Middelburg, in a flat only about 100 yards (metres) from De Mug!

Once in Middelburg's main square, the Markt, the easiest way to get to De Mug, is to stand with one's back to the truly magnificent town hall (Stadhuis), which is based on the one in the Grand'Place (Grote Markt) in Brussels, and stick your hand out to the right. It will be pointing to the interesting street, Vlasmarkt (Flax Market) on which De Mug finds itself, on the right, at the bottom, on the T-junction corner with Krommeweele. (Well almost a T-junction: carrying on straight leads to the not immediately obvious, Schuttershofstraat, see below, which is much narrower than the map would suggest.)

And now to the place's Speciality Beer. First of all a warning. Like many splendid Specialty Beer places in The Netherlands and in Belgium, De Mug has a sign outside for an everyday Pils: Heineken. Note that the latter is pronounced "High Knicker", the final "N" of Dutch words not being pronounced.

The prime reason why De Mug sells Heineken and why pubs in England famed for well-looked-after, classic Real Ales, also, perversely, sell ghastly British lagers is simple: they must attract people with a variety of tastes, to remain financially viable. Note that Heineken, or Heineken Pilsener, to give it its full title, is unquestionably The Netherlands' most well known beer. It is an all-malt brew, unlike most of the appalling Eurofizz brought back to England from France by the bootleggers, albeit pasteurised and filtered. Nevertheless, for me, it is a bland beer, with too low a hopping level; it is not in the same league as the classic original Pilsener from Pilsen (Plzeň) in The Czech Republic (Česká republika), and a number of renowned German equivalents. Heineken is not the sort of beer this website is all about.

Thankfully, De Mug's Heineken sign is neutralised by the wonderful bird and egg sign of a classic Dutch Speciality Beer brewery, 't IJ, see below. This gives a clue to the fact that some great Dutch and other Specialty Beers are sold alongside this fizz. In most of the bars in Middelburg, Dutch Speciality Beers are not to be seen, Belgian ones being far more common. De Mug's list has some of the best Dutch Specialty Beers, as well as having some great beers from Belgium and elsewhere.

All prices quoted are from visits made between April, 1997 and April, 1998. Unless otherwise stated, beer prices are for 25cl measures of draught beer and for 33cl bottles, respectively just under and just over half an imperial pint. Any prices that were not in Euro (€) at the time of a visit have been converted into them. This has resulted in some prices that in reality would have been rounded up or down when the Euro came into circulation in January, 2002. As is the case in all bars and restaurants in The Netherlands, service and VAT are always included, whether it is declared on bill/menus or not (Dienst en BTW inbegrepen).

Fittingly available on draught in De Mug is Mug Bitter (5%), at €1.70 for a glass (glas), and €2.84 for a heavy earthenware jug or stein (Pul), of volume a metric pint (0.5 litres, an imperial pint being 0.57 litres, a US one 0.47 litres). Mug Bitter was for many years (well from the beer's inception in 1988) brewed by that marvellous brewery housed in a former bathhouse alongside a windmill, in Amsterdam, 't IJ (www.brouwerijhetij.nl and the unofficial site brouwerij-t-ij.tmfweb.nl); its adjoining bar should not be missed on a visit to Amsterdam; see the Past Beer Hunts page for a photo taken in 2003 of the former shower block which is now used to store beer. However, Mug Bitter is now brewed only a few miles from Middelburg, in the Scheldebrouwerij, a Zeeland brewery on a small industrial estate in 's-Gravenpolder (www.scheldebrouwerij.nl). Despite its location, it is well worth a visit, either to one of its open brewing days (on the third Saturday of the month from April until September), or to its adjoining bar, which is open from 2pm until 8pm on Saturdays, from Easter until the end of August, and from 7.30pm until 10pm on Wednesdays throughout the year. The 't IJ Mug Bitter was decidedly hoppy, but the excellent Scheldt Brewery version, is less bitter, and significantly sweeter, although it is in no way cloying.

In addition to Mug Bitter and the changing ABT beer, for other beers on draught, study the "Bier Van 't Vat" blackboard just to the left of the main bar. The following are usually permanent features: De Koninck (5%), the pride of Antwerp (www.dekoninck.be), at €1.82 for its classic bowl-shaped Bolleke (33cl); at the same price, De Ridder's (Heineken's) Wieckse Witte (5%), the Dutch rival, formerly from Maastricht, of Hoegaarden Wit, the ubiquitous, now moderate (after gross recipe meddling from that load of Bankers, InBev) Belgian Wheat Beer, brewed in Jupille-sur-Meuse; La Trappe d'Or (7%), see later, for €2.72; Us Heit Frysk Bier (5.8%), a beer faintly reminiscent of the mighty Trappist Orval (www.orval.be, White Beer Travels Web page), at the same price from the Friesche Bierbrouwerij, clearly in the Friesland part of The Netherlands, see its fluttering flag on the place's website www.bierbrouwerij-usheit.nl; and, for €2.70, Westmalle Trappist Monastery (www.trappistwestmalle.be)'s Dubbel (6.5%). For reasons described above, Heineken (who cares what percent alcohol it is), and Murphy's (ditto), are also permanently available on draught.

Above the bar is a list of bottled beers available; Dutch beers are to be found under the heading "Nederlandse Bieren Op Fles". In this category Mug Bitter is €1.70; 't IJ's Zatte (8%), Natte (6.5%) and Columbus (9%) are respectively €2.50, €2.04 and €2.27; La Trappe Dubbel (6.5%), Tripel (8%), and Quadrupel (10%), beers from the only Dutch Trappist Monastery which brews (the large Dutch brewery, Bavaria, is involved in the running of this monastic brewery), the Schaapskooi/Koningshoeven, near Tilburg (www.koningshoeven.nl (Abdij Koningshoeven), www.latrappe.nl and White Beer Travels Web page (brewery)) are respectively €2.27, €2.72 and €3.18. Belgian Beers on the list include: Orval (6.2%) at €2.50; Gulden Draak (11.5%) from Bios/Van Steenberge (www.vansteenberge.com) at €2.27; 75cl bottles of Achouffe (www.achouffe.be)'s La Chouffe (8.5%) (also available old, see later); and, most unusually, the rarest of the Belgian Trappists, which the owner has to personally pick up from the St.-Sixtus Monastery (www.sintsixtus.be), or its tap, In de Vrede (www.indevrede.be, White Beer Travels Web page), the three Westvleterens, Blond (5.8%), 8^o (8%), and the magnificent 12^o (Abt) (10.2%), for respectively €2.50, €3.18 and €4.08. Note that in the cupboard behind the bar lurk some unusual Dutch beers, which may not be on the list. Just ask what is available on your visit. There is almost certain to be something from the Scheldebrouwerij, such as: Merck toch hoe Sterck (8.5%), at €2.50; and a beer or two brewed by Ryke Gewoonte, in nearby Oostkapelle, such as their rather nice wheat beer, Ryke Gewoonte Wit Bier (4.5%).

There is a separate blackboard in De Mug with the title "Oude Tot Zeer Oude Bieren", "Old to Very Old Beers". All are in 75cl corked bottles. Train spotters/beer label collectors may wish to try Zeeuwse (Zeeland) Kriek (7%), from the Hopbloem (Hop Flower) brewery in Middelburg for €9.98. This brewery cannot be visited, since after opening in 1990, it shut in 1993!

	This photo, by Barend Midavaine, shows John White and the irrepressible Lorenzo Dabove (Kuaska), "Prince of the Payottenland" (prins van het Pajottenland), at a chance meeting in De Mug, in 1998. They are drinking Zeeuwse Kriek, from the defunct Hopbloem brewery, see above. Lorenzo is a mainstay of the "Bieres sans Frontières" (Beer Without Frontiers) (www.b-s-f.org.uk), the International Beer Bar at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF), run by CAMRA (www.camra.org.uk) each August. Lorenzo has his own website, www.kuaska.be (English-language version), www.kuaska.it (Italian version). Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page dedicated to Lorenzo.
Another beer that is very often seen on draught in De Mug, and is always available in bottle is, Middelburgs Witheer Abdijbier (6.2%), see its label reproduction to the right. One of the most prominent set of buildings in Middelburg is the former Abbey complex. Within its main courtyard there is a restaurant, which sold, until June the 17th, 1998, a well-known Belgian abbey beer on draught, Grimbergen. However, on this date, its own abbey beer was launched, to complement the Grimbergen. The launch was in the abbey courtyard, the first pint being drunk by the Dutch Queen's representative for Zeeland, who arrived in great style in a horse drawn cart.

Witheer is brewed by the Scheldebrouwerij. From its name it might be thought that it is a wheat beer, but in fact, although malted wheat is used in its recipe, Witheer means White Man, a reference to the white habits of the Norbertine (Premonstratensian) monks who were formerly in residence. Note that the well known Leffe Norbertine Monastery (www.abbaye-de-leffe.be) is still active, its beers being manufactured by that load of bankers, InBev, in Leuven. For me they are not special. This is not the case with the Middelburg abbey beer. It is described as Amber-Blond. Despite its relatively low strength, it is very full bodied; it is in a different plain to the likes of the Grimbergen beer that it complements at Middelburg's abbey restaurant.

Its label above features the abbey's courtyard, in the direction of the entrance to the Zeeland Museum (Zeeuwse Museum, www.zeeuwsmuseum.nl). This is no coincidence, since the beer has been commissioned by the Abbey and the local branch of Horeca (www.horeca.nl), the organisation that promotes Dutch restaurants and bars. The beer generates publicity for the abbey, and encourages people to visit the attractions within the Abbey complex, including the museum, and the climb to the top of the Abbey's prominent tower, Lange Jan. The ingredients enclosure declares two barley malts, malted wheat (tarwemout), oats (haver), candy sugar, and two types of hops. Where did the recipe for this great beer come from? Answer: Barend!

This November, 1998 photo by Joyce White was taken at De Mug beer tasting event. It shows that age is no barrier to Beer Hunting! Nearest the camera is Bob Rowledge, who was ninety-one at the time. On his far right is his son-in-law, Derek Graville, the one with Simon van Tromp's Dutch book in front of him, see John's Beer CV. Next to Bob is Sjors Kuyt, who is describing one of the featured beers of the evening. This is one of the marvellous range of Sint Jans beers that he and Bernhard Vercouteren conjure up.

De Mug's kitchen provides some excellent dishes. The following have really pleased: Franse Gegratineerde Uiensoep (French Onion Soup with cheese on top) for €3.86; Spare Ribs (Spare Ribs) for €11.57; Tournedos Peper (Pepper Fillet Steak, the meat being of the highest quality) for €16.56; Kabeljauw op Portugese Wijze (Cod Portuguese Style for €13.39; Visschotel "De Mug", a marvellous Fish Stew, which it must be stated, for those who eat fish but not meat, contains bacon, for €15.66; Sorbet met Vers Fruit (Sorbet with Fresh Fruit (it includes some unusual ones)) for €5.67. The Cod dish is in a tomato-based sauce, which, in season, is served on a bed of Lamsoren or Zeekraal. Lamsoren is literally "Lambs' Ears" (they are this shape) (Aster Tripolium, which is Sea Aster, in English); Zeekraal is literally "Sea Corral" (Crithmum Maritimum, which is Samphire or Sea Fennel, in English). These both grow on the local shoreline. That they are used in the cooking is not a gimmick because of the area's obvious maritime associations, they truly are excellent. Some vegetarian options, such as stuffed crêpes (pancakes) are also available for €11.12.

There are also seasonal dishes available, listed under the heading Muggesties, a variant of the more usually seen Suggesties. If available, try the local Yerseke Oysters (oesteren) in a green sauce (best I have ever had, and the best way I have had them presented when sampled in November, 1997), and Mussels (mosselen). They are truly excellent. With appropriate main courses one gets a large amount of chips, roast potatoes, vegetables and salad in separate bowls, so one will not go hungry eating at De Mug. The Muggesties are listed in De Mug's excellent website, along with: the Beer of the Month; and forthcoming events taking place within the building or outside, such as the marvellous, annual Mussel and Sea Banquet Festival (Mossel- en Zeebanketfestival), held in July each year. In 2003, it was held from Thursday, the 24th to Saturday, the 26th of July, with Saturday being the big day. Not to be missed; I was there, see below!

The rather rustic restaurant is most pleasant, but some may prefer to eat in the bar, to better study the beer lists: they are not written down, so one needs to be in the bar to see what is on offer. There is a blackboard in the restaurant, which gives wines not listed in the main wine list. If eating in the restaurant it is quite acceptable to order beer. Although not declared in the normal way, De Mug takes credit cards, even just for drinks.

This photo was taken in De Mug by Joyce White at the time of Middelburg's Mussel Festival, in July, 2003, see above. In his hands, husband John has a glass of draught Mug Bitter (note the mosquito on the glass), see above, and a copy of Bob Hendrickx's 295 Originele Cafés in Vlaanderen (ISBN 90-75463-44-8) (www.bloggen.be/originelecafes), which, despite its title, contains one or two cross-border gems such as De Mug, the book being open on its entry page. Note that this book provides one with a second free drink in most of its entries, the one here being Mug Bitter. Barend is holding a picture of a leaf from a Dutchman's Pipe. Why has John presented this to Barend? Firstly, because he deserves it; he is quite simply one of the best landlords in the world. Secondly, because Barend is a Dutchman who is a keen pipe smoker; De Mug's back room is used for monthly meetings of the local Pipe Smokers' Guild. De Mug is also featured in the 2005-6 edition of Bob's book, 332 Originele Cafés in Vlaanderen. Further details of this essential book can be found on another White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here.

As already stated, De Mug is not open on Sundays and Mondays. On other days it opens from 4pm until late. Food is available between 5.30pm and 11pm. It is shut from the 22nd to the 25th of December, 2002 inclusive, and from the 29th of December, 2002 to the 1st of January, 2003, inclusive. This is a typical pattern each year.

In 2004, a shop was installed in De Mug, details of which can be found by clicking on "Onze Winkel" (Our Shop) on the place's website. Also introduced in the same year was accommodation, further details of which can be found by clicking on Hotelaccomodatie.

Very close to De Mug is another bar with a good selection of Specialty Beers, the Café 't Schuttershof (Schuttershofstraat 1, tel 0118 62 62 65). It is reached via the foyer of a cinema of the same name, see www.schuttershoftheater.nl, or phone 0118 61 34 82, for its schedules. Most films shown are in English with Dutch subtitles, the normal practice in The Netherlands. In the photo at the top of this Web page, Barend's wife, Nienke, is standing directly in front of 't Schuttershof.

The oldest bar in Middelburg, the Café Kanaalzicht (De Reutel) (Stationsstraat 32, tel 0118 61 27 01), only has a handful of Speciality Beers, but is a wonderfully atmospheric, don't-miss gem, just across the canal from the railway station. It opens at 6am from Monday until Friday. It closes at 1am (2am weekends). On Saturday and Sunday it only opens at 7am. The early morning customers tend to be on their way to work, and usually have a coffee, or having just finished a shift, a High Knicker or two. Nearby, is a family-run hotel that is suitable for groups of Beer Hunters, De Nieuwe Doelen (Loskade 3-7, tel 118 61 21 21).

In Middelburg, there is eating to suit all taste and pockets, in restaurants or on the hoof. Food is often a disappointment in The Netherlands, but Middelburg is an exception. Note that there are a number of Indonesisch (Indonesian) and Chinees-Indisch restaurants, as in most Dutch towns. The latter are not Chinese-Indian restaurants, but Indonesian restaurants, which also offer some Chinese-style dishes. Indonesia was a former Dutch colony, the Dutch East Indies. The best restaurant in Middelburg is the Michelin-starred Het Groot Paradys, (Damplein 13, tel 0118 65 12 00). Diagonally opposite Het Groot Paradys, is food at the other end of the price spectrum, typical Dutch and Indonesian snacks served from an unusually shaped outside stall. What I have sampled has always been very good.

John White (1945-), , November, 1999, updated in June, 2007.

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