De Biertempel

Jeffo

Netherlands

2.86/5  rDev -35.9%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 2 | $$$

Stopped in here on our trip to Bruges. It's just off the main square, and a good six iron from The Bottle Shop.

The guy was nice enough. He explained a bit about Kriek that I wasn't aware of. That's not hard to do, as I know very little about Kriek. I usually try to keep it that way, but he seemed intent on teaching me something, which I appreciated. Seems to like chatting too, so chat him up if you get the chance.

As for the shop itself, this is a tiny place with not much available. I'm not quite sure why this one gets such high scores to be honest. The back wall has a decent selection of beer, but the sides and front are filled with gift packs and kitchy swag. I guess the tourists like that kind of stuff though, so I can't really blame him. I did think it was a bit of a shame, especially since they have to put different brews from the same brewery behind each other because they have so little shelf space at the back.

Anyways, the selection was standard. The only thing I found there that I didn't find anywhere else in the city was a few bottles of Black Damnation. I picked those up because they rule the world and all of mankind. Other than that, a decent gueuze selection and all of the usual Belgian suspects were there. Nothing overly rare, and even some not-so-rare brews weren't to be found.

Prices were a little higher than they had to be. Brews were slightly more expensive than The Bottle Shop down the road, and the selection wasn't as good. The Black Damnations were €5 each, which wasn't bad compared to insane Amsterdam prices, but it was slightly higher than they needed to be. The other prices were also a touch higher than The Bottle Shop.

All in all, a decent place to check out and to see if they've got anything sitting around that you might not find elsewhere, but don't drop cash here until you've checked out the competition down the road. In general, there are better prices and selection to be found elsewhere.

07-06-2010 15:07:51 | More by Jeffo

jrallen34

Illinois

2.95/5  rDev -33.9%
quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

In Brugge this has to be one of my first stops or hopefully land some rare Belgians. On a quiet street very close to one of the squares and major churches. A very small but nice shop, clean, new, nice comfortable atmosphere. The beer is against the back wall, a rather small amount for the size of the shop. The rest of the shop was just trinkets and way to expensive beer gifts. The selection was big but boring. Mostly all Belgian staples, hardly anything that you cannot find at your local neighborhood grocery store. A few De Struise was the only highlight. Nothing remotely rare at all. A WEAK selection of Cantillon and lambics that can be find at ANY decent store in Chicago. This place is all hype and totally sucks. NOTHING rare, save your money and just buy from any of the local markets. So DISAPPOINTING.

11-25-2010 21:36:53 | More by jrallen34

jgasparine

Maryland

3.95/5  rDev -11.4%
quality: 5 | service: 2 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Visited this place a couple of times on our last trip to Bruges. The selection of beer is quite good here. Virtually all beer in the shop was high-quality Belgian craft brew, and it was all displayed cleanly. Plenty of breweriana here too.

The service was virtually non-existent. They could have had a robot handling the transactions at the cash register, with pre-programmed responses to standard questions. But hey, you're here for good beer, not 1st class service, right?

While the selection here was excellent, I found that it lacked a number of rare Belgian brews, and tended to focus more on a solid range of staple offerings from the breweries.

I only saw one variety of Fantome, only a couple Cantillons, and no Westvleteren this time. The Christmas beers were virtually all gone by the time of our visit as well (Mid March). Don't get me wrong, the selection is incredible, but I wanted to explain what kept me from giving it a perfect '5' in the Selection department.

03-23-2010 01:38:12 | More by jgasparine

bobsy

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev -8.1%
quality: 5 | service: 2 | selection: 5 | $$$

Neat beer store just down the road from Cambrinus, with a damn fine selection of Belgians. If you're after a Belgian beer you'd be unlucky not to find it here. There was even some Westy 8 in the cooler, though I decided not to partake. Prices seemed reasonable for a tourist area, although I'm sure some of these bottles could be found cheaper elsewhere.

My one complaint is that the service was actually pretty crap. The guy was slow and distracted, looking off into the distance. This was in stark contrast to the friendly lady at Bier Tempel in Brussels. Nonetheless, this is probably the place to go in Brugges.

09-16-2009 18:33:10 | More by bobsy

SHIG

Alaska

4.2/5  rDev -5.8%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

I was able to stop off on my way home from the Brugge Bier Fest here. This place is located pretty close to the city center, which is nice when visiting that historic part of town. The downside of this location is that it's hard to find parking very close. Plenty of parking garages within a few blocks though. The selection was outstanding with plenty of Westvleteren 12s, Struisse beers, and a decent selection of Christmas seasonal beers. They supplement their selection with decent variety of lambics, fruit beers, and locals not found elsewhere in Belgium. There was also a nice selection of packaged beers and glassware. The down side I believed is that some beers that really are not that interesting are way over priced. I really don't see many people paying high prices for common beers, which can be found at normal drink store or supermarket. The service was exceptional and he seemed very knowledgeable of what they had to offer patrons. I would recommend this place for the advide beer hunter.

11-16-2008 20:25:54 | More by SHIG

ggaughan

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev -2.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

We visited the location in Brussels and heard this location had a better selection and better prices so we gave this a try as well.

De Bier Tempel has an incredible selection of glasses, books and other brewery items. The bottle selection is excellent as well and with it being near the Christmas holiday, they had a nice selection of beer gift sets.

While roaming the shelves I saw a few different Fantomes, a decent selection of lambics including a few from Cantillon, Liefmans and others. I picked up a Pannepot or 2 and also noticed a couple bottles each of Westvleteren 12, 8 and Blonde at decent prices, all below €7.

Based on the few bottle shops I visited in Brugge, this was the best and the service was pretty helpful with our requests.

01-08-2008 21:27:41 | More by ggaughan

ATPete

New Jersey

4.35/5  rDev -2.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I could throw a rock from De Bier Tempel to my hotel during my stay in Bruges, safe to say that this was frequented.

My first visit to De Bier Tempel, Bruges was great. Right away the man behind the counter and I got to talking about beer. We made a few bottle purchases and he hooked us up with free beer slips for Gambrinus, right down the street.

The store is pretty much the same as the one in Brussels, with a smaller space and a better overall selection. Lots of glass ware and better T Shirts than in Brussels too. Although they were pretty limited on sizes...

We were in this store pretty often in Bruges, good prices, friendly very knowledgeable service and a hell of a selection!

05-05-2008 14:36:10 | More by ATPete

Hornet2003

British Columbia (Canada)

4.35/5  rDev -2.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Review from July 2007.

Service was cordial but not warming. The girl at the counter was pounding a red bull-not unfriendly but definitely not welcoming.

Selection: What can you say. Amazing variety of European beers. Belgian beers were obviously very well represented here. All of the Westvleteren's were out of stock, however. I picked up a Westy 8 in Brussels in Grand Place instead. I've been informed that this is irregular at best and that Westvleteren is usually very accessible. The rest of the selection was second to none.

Value: €5 was about the maximum price for any of the 33cL bottles. Most expensive beer was maybe €12. Great value for travelers who would otherwise have to trade for these beers.

05-20-2009 01:42:18 | More by Hornet2003

kingcrowing

Vermont

4.35/5  rDev -2.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I came in here looking for a Westy blonde and sadly didn't find it however they did have Westy 8 which I love so I picked up a bottle for only 8 or 9 euro. If you want a specific westy I'd say go to 400 beers because they mark up their westy beers so much that they always have some of each.

Other than that this was a pretty decent place, they had all your standard Cantillon and 3 Fonteinen beers, not too much out of the ordinary though but it seems like the place that you could stumble upon some great stuff while you're there.

Pricing seemed pretty fair for everything that I got, and their selection was one of the largest I saw in Belgium outside of the Delirium Cafe.

06-17-2010 12:35:28 | More by kingcrowing

BlastBeats

Illinois

4.41/5  rDev -1.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

After an unsuccessful attempt to enjoy some Westvleteren beers at the abbey (it was closed), we decided to check out Brugge on the way back.. De Bier Temple is located within less than a five minutes walk from the city center. It isn't a big store in terms of square footage, yet if you're looking for fine Belgian beer and glassware, the selection is impressive.. they have a lot of beers that I wouldn't be able to find in Chicago, including Westvleteren.

The staff was extremely professional and friendly. We chatted with the cashier and browsed the selection for about ten minutes after the store had closed.. we had purchased six bottles of Westy 12, a Westvleteren chalice, and a bottle of Cantillon Gueuze 100% Lambic Bio.. all of these items were carefully wrapped and packaged for us.

All in all, I'm glad I stopped in De Bier Temple.. it's definitely worth stopping in if you're in the area.

10-27-2011 06:14:25 | More by BlastBeats