Poperinge

Poperinge is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the city of Poperinge proper and surrounding villages. The area is famous for its hops and lace. A quintessential Flanders town. It's got the churches. It's got the quirky legends. It's got a strong literary tradition. And it's even got the obligatory bizarre nickname for its inhabitants. 'Keikoppen', or cobble-heads, they're called, especially by their arch-rivals, the towns-people of Ypres.

Brouwerij De Plukker, Elverdingseweg 16

Open: Sat 14.00 - 17.00

Brouwerij De Plukker was founded in 2011 by Joris Cambie and Kris Langouche. Both organic hop farmers they decided to join forces. The Cambie family had been growing hops in the Poperinge fields for several generations by then and switched over to organic farming in 1997. Ample justification for Joris and Kris to launch a traditional-style brewery together on the basis of Joris’ hopmaking business. This signalled the start of De Plukker and its unique story. This is the only hop company in Belgium with its own brewery, one where all the beers are made using only the farm’s hops. All the beverages are therefore organically certified. The brewery is installed inside the premises of the hop farm, in a hangar that was previously used for the picking and drying of the hops. The old kilns were taken down and replaced with brewing kettles and stainless steels fermenters. The inside of the hangar was completely rebuild to meet the food safety regulations. In the beginning the capacity of the brewhouse was 450 liters. Step by step this volume was increased to 750 liters per brew with the same kettles. Meanwhile new kettles have been added and the current capacity is now 1000 liters per batch. In 2016 we acquired an automatic bottling line. Bottling was done by hand up till then. This is a big step forward in our development as it allows us to bottle bigger volumes faster. It also increases the shelf-life of our beers as there is no longer contact between beer and oxygen while bottling. The tours on Saturday afternoon, are very good and well worth spending time to visit and support them.

Café de la Paix, Grote Markt 20

Open: Thurs - Mon 12.00 - 14.30 & 18.00 - 21.00

A great location in the centre of town with a terrace overlooking the main square. The staff are very friendly and service is good. Inside there are lots of brass framed mirrors and small tables. There is a small tap list with local beers and decent bottle list. You can pick up a few ticks here.

Oud Vlaenderen, Grote Markt 14

Open: Tues - Sun 09.30 - 23.00

Located in the Grote Markt, this cafe has a small draft list with a half decent selection of bottles. This is a multi floor cafe bar there is a nice harmony downstairs and an old cinema upstairs that has live music plus also shows sporting events etc... The staff can be very slow, but the food is not bad. But not worth going out of your way for, but the easy access makes it worth a quick visit while making the rounds in Poperinge.

’t Sparhof, Wulvestraat 1

Open: Mon, Tues, Fri 12.00 - 15.00 & 18.00 - 22.30 Wed - Thurs 06.00 - 10.30 Sat - Sun 12.00 23.00

A beautifully situated restaurant in the countryside in the witch’s wood, on the edge of the Helleketelbos territory of Poperinge and a few kilometres away from Westvleteren Abbey. Once you have the address, the GPS will find it without any problems. Quite an upscale modern inertia, with a great patio area for summer evenings. Not extensive beer list, but still a nice selection of many beers from the Region and at acceptable prices. The emphasise is on gourmet food, that is locally sourced. Otto's top tip it's best to make a reservation if you want to eat here.

Het Mysterie, Abeelseweg 29

Open: Wed - Sun 10.30 - 21.00

Located about 20 minutes out of town but easy to find. Volksspelen cafe (Popular games) Het Mysterie (ook verhuur volksspelen) is a nice little witch-themed cafe on the Abele road out of town. A very friendly and chatty landlady, who speaks very good English. This is a great little cafe bar, with loads of old style pub and parlour games, that you can play for free either with friends or with the locals, lots of witch figures adorn the ceilings and wall's that help to create a great atmosphere. Plus there are games outside in the beer garden. Only a small beer list with no surprises, but hey don't pass this place it's great.

De Helleketel, Vuileseulestraat 6

Open: Mon - Fri 14.00 - 21.00 Sat - Sun 10.00 - 00.00

A strange rough and ready country cafe located in remote farmland between Watou and Poperinge. It has a certain rustic charm and is popular with the local farmers. Think’ Wicker Man’ meets the ’Blair Witch Project ’ and you’ll get the feel of the place. After saying that, the locals and staff alike are quite friendly, but the beer selection is rather small, and limited to bottles. An experience not to be missed.

Cafe L’esperance, Grote Markt 17

Open: Mon Tues & Thurs Sat 16.00 - 02.00 Fri 09.30 - 02.00 Sun 16.00 - 21.00

A decent small pub to be included in any crawl round the Grote Markt. A limited beer selection but has St Bernard and Malheur. They have bar games and outdoor seating. Friendly staff, but cash-only.

De Legen Doorn, St Sixtusstaat 1

Open: Thurs - Tues 10:00-12:00 & 15.00 - 01.00. Closed: Wed

A nice little local’s pub about 10 mins walk from the Grote Markt. It's a "people's" café where you can play Boltra, a fun group activity. Plus of course enjoy the local Nunnebier, and a small bottled beers election with enough from St Bernard and Van Eecke to pass away an evening. Friendly service and good value.

D'n Hommelzak, Paardenmarkt 10b 8970

Open: Fri - Wed 10.00 - 21.00

Not the most atmospheric of places, but it has a decent beer list including most from Van Eecke and St Bernard all at excellent prices.The food is very good and also reasonably priced. Popular with families and can get very busy.

The Old Fiddler Bar & Restaurant, Veurnestraat 9

Open: Wed - Sun 11.00 - 23.00

A vaguely "Irish" style pub, lots of dark wood, and hop vines over the bar and tall tables and chairs in the bar area, and then a more restaurant style area for eating, the menu is very European. There is also a large beer garden for the warm sunny days. Nothing special beer wise here, but worth a look in if passing.

Hotel Palace (Palace), 34 Ieperstraat

Open: Daily ???

This "used" to be a great place for beers and meeting fellow beer geeks. But sadly no more now its just a standard hotel bar, that you might as well check out if you are staying there otherwise not worth the effort!