The Bottle Shop

drewbage

California

4.2/5  rDev -0.7%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

Concurring with the previous review, this modern and open space is right off the town square and just before the Hotel Erasamus (my hq in Brugge).

Bottles are a bit dearer here and if you've got the chance to go elsewhere I would, but as I didn't I could still find most everything that I needed for my return home. The counter girl was pleasant and helpful to me and double wrapped my purchases after being told they had to make it back across the world to my home.

A good place to stop while in Brugge. If you're elsewhere I wouldn't make a special trip for it.

01-01-2007 10:12:12 | More by drewbage

geedub11

United Kingdom (England)

3.86/5  rDev -8.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.25 | selection: 4.25 | $$$

In the heart of Brugges, so one would expect a little bit higher price per bottle. The bottle selection is pretty good if you are visiting Belgium and would like to take a variety of the common Belgium beer styles home.

I actually like to buy most of my beer from the Carrefour supermarket chain because the price per bottle for the more common stuff is about €1 cheaper.

05-18-2013 18:32:19 | More by geedub11

adamlr23

Belgium

2.75/5  rDev -35%
vibe: 1 | quality: 3 | service: 1 | selection: 5 | $$$$

I shopped in several local beer stores on my trip and the attitude here is is the worst!! The only bad encounter I had in Bruges at all was in this shop! Other than that the people are delightful and they have a great city.

This store was the second place I visited, and being that I intended to buy several beers and make a large purchase I asked for some advice. The woman rude to begin with, which I was going to let pass (I just came from Paris). However when I asked about the Westvleteren 12 she had displayed (with a very reasonable price) she refused to sell it to me and said it was for display only. I picked it up and showed her there was a price on all of the bottles and she literally snatched it from my hand and put it back (and muttered something dirty about Americans under her breath). Needless to say I was totally dumbfounded by this put down the basket I had collected and left. If she doesn't want the business of Americans, I say don't give it to her! The Bier Temple down the block was very friendly and sold me the exact same beer, no fuss. What that woman's deal is I will never know, but there are too many good beer stores in the area with great selections for me to recommend a fellow American shop here where we are obviously not wanted. and it's too bad, looked like a cool store, and easily could have been. But if your American do me and yourself a favor and go somewhere else.

04-21-2013 16:14:17 | More by adamlr23

willseph

Illinois

4.8/5  rDev +13.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

One of my main destinations for my weekend in Brugge, this place was the best bottle shop I visited in my three weeks touring Belgium. The ladies who worked there were more than willing to walk me through the shop and answer all of the dumb questions I had as well as make recommendations on what I should buy to drink now vs. age. They were also able to help me find the de Garre pub, which was a huge help as it's not easy to find. Prices are comparable to the Beer Temple and other shops in the area.

12-12-2011 17:56:01 | More by willseph

ccorbett0

Maryland

5/5  rDev +18.2%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$$

We recently took a Eurotrip over the Thanksgiving holiday. A welcome change eating mussels and fries vs. the traditional turkey and mashed potatoes. Anyways, the main purpose of going to Belgium was to enjoy their wonderful brews (every other country we went to also had great selections of Belgium brew). We went to every bottle shop in Brugge and the very last one we went to, the Bottle Shop, had exactly what we were looking for, Westy 12. I was very excited as all the other stores told us we could only get it from the brewery/monastery itself. Bought one bottle for 10 euros and they packaged it ready to be packed and brought back to the US. The guy behind the counter also made a good suggestion for a nice saison. Overall, this is the place to go to get some nice Belgium brew when in Brugge. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

01-04-2011 23:04:11 | More by ccorbett0

Jeffo

Netherlands

4.15/5  rDev -1.9%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Went here last weekend on our trip to Brugge. It's just off the main square, and very close to the Bier Temple. The Bottle Shop was definitely the best beer store in the city center, no question.

Lady behind the counter was nice enough, and took some time to explain the different lables on the Drie Fontein Oude Geuze Vintage '05 that I was looking at. She advised me to buy the cheaper one, as they were the same beer inside. She also wrapped everything for me so they wouldn't get broken. I love the Flemish accent too, so gotta give her points for that :-)

The selection is the best in the city center. It pales in comparison to Dranken Gers in the outskirts of Gent, but is much more impressive than the other two options in the city center: De Biertemple and Baccus Cornelius. For what it is and the location, it's pretty good. Lots of Belgians are on display here of course, with a decent selection of geuze and lambic, but nothing overly rare. No Westvleteren, but the other trapists are all here. Some nice larger format bottles as well. No imports.

Prices are reasonable for the city center of Bruges. I ended up buying a few Black Albert at €4 each and a Boon Kriek Mariage Parfait at €5 and walked away feeling decent about it.

If you're in Brugge and only have 5 minutes to spare (how retarted would that be), make this your stop.

07-06-2010 14:50:17 | More by Jeffo

jgasparine

Maryland

3.8/5  rDev -10.2%
quality: 5 | service: 1 | selection: 5 | $$$

I went in here with my wife for a purchase of "souveniers". My wife had a camera in her hand, and snapped a photo of store's interior. The woman behind the counter immediately began waving her finger at my wife with a scowl on her face.

My wife apologized and immediately put the camera away, yet from that moment-on this woman made my wife feel very uncomfortable in the shop. The woman seemed to be waiting for us to exit, which we promptly did without any purchase.

The quality of beer here is incredible, and the selection is as well. Lots of rare beers here, and an entire wall of special Christmas beers still available. Westvleteren was available for 10Euro.

Perhaps the camera was a faux-pax, but we made every effort to apologize and show respect. The attendant was a big turn-off. Perhaps on another visit we will have a different experience (and actually purchase some beer as a result).

03-23-2010 01:54:22 | More by jgasparine

bernardus

Virginia

4.85/5  rDev +14.7%
quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

We went to this place on our day in Bruges, 14JUL09, following a stop at 't Brugs Beertje. This place didn't look big from the outside, but you walk in and it extends pretty far back, with shelves and shelves of bottles in all sizes filling the walls. Much like de Biertempel, there are variety packs of different beer assembled in wooden crates. The glass, if available, is next to the matching beer on the shelf.

I grabbed a basket and started tracking down de Struise, where I found Pannepot and Rosse, but not the Black Albert I had just had at 't Brugs Beertje. The shopkeeper informed they were out of it. I also picked up some de la Senne beers, a blonde ale called Omer from Bockor (on the shopkeeper's reccomendation), and very surprisingly a bottle of Rodenbach Vin de Cereale. As a huge fan of Rodenbach and the Grand Cru, I was especially happy to track this one down.

Overall, a truly great store with helpful staff and certain beers I didn't see anywhere else up to that point or afterward for the rest of our trip.

07-31-2009 20:00:28 | More by bernardus

yesferro

Mississippi

4.7/5  rDev +11.1%
quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Went there July 27th on a daytrip to Brugge, to me this was the nicest beer store in Brugge, the Biertempel had nothing on them service and selection wise. Most of all the beers in stock were found with the corresponding glass, beers were reasonable in price as long as they weren't available in the supermarket, if you want a simple Faro, St Bernardus or Orval, skip this place. If you want to find your cantillons, la chouffe's, 3 fonteinen and very hard to find local brews, this is the place to be. Due to luggage restrictions we only walked out with a Vlaamsche leeuw beer and glass but I will be back!

07-29-2009 03:49:07 | More by yesferro

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

4.5/5  rDev +6.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Impressive one roomed (big room though) beer selection. You are left alone to wander around, help is available if required,two females on duty when I visited, the young one spoke English, the elder not so well versed. Each bottle I bought was wrapped and placed in a bag for me, only beershop to do that in Brugges.

Just as expensive as De Bier Tempel and 2be, with about the same number of beers to choose from. I got my Vicaris 'Generaal' and 'Tripel' as well as three 'St Idesbald' beers from the Huyghe brewery here.

06-30-2009 22:22:23 | More by BlackHaddock