Hidden in plain sight, Heverlee beer will bring an authentic Belgian café bar to the centre of Glasgow.
An unassuming loading bay in the Merchant City’s mysterious, neon lit Tontine Lane has been transformed into an authentic Belgian Café Bar - transporting beer lovers to Leuven, the world’s beer capital. Heverlee at Tontine will be open for just 16 nights from 17th July – 2nd August 2015.
The pop-up café bar will open the lane to the public for the first time, offering visitors a taste of Heverlee’s hometown, with a fully operational Café Bar bringing a selection of authentically Belgian beers and bar food to the city.
Home to the Turner Prize winning Douglas Gordon’s ‘Empire’ artwork, Tontine Lane has long been intriguing to those passing by, but until now only the city’s art students and surrounding residents have had access to the space.
As well as Heverlee’s original Pils lager, guests can sample the limited edition Heverlee Witte (a wheat beer for summer) and brand new varieties of Heverlee, which will be revealed upon opening. In true Belgian style, the bar will serve ‘beer flights’, serving a taster glass of each type of Heverlee.
A range of lesser known brews are also being imported specially for the bar, giving customers the opportunity to explore Belgian beer culture in more depth.
A full entertainment schedule will be announced at launch, including celebrations on the 21st July to mark Belgian National Day, Belgian beer workshops, DJ sets and live mural painting from Belgian street artist DZIA. Esteemed Leuven chef Wim Dejonghe will help curate the menu and make an appearance at the café bar to host beer pairing sessions.
Leuven-born brewer, Joris Brams, used descriptions of a historic lager brewed by pioneer monks at the 1129 Abbey of the Order of Premontre to recreate the original Heverlee, after learning it was a pilsner-style beer, lighter, and fresher tasting than other Belgian Abbey beers of its time.
Since launching the beer in Scotland in October 2013, Joris has been overwhelmed by the reaction in the country.
“Go into any typical bar in Leuven and you’ll find a huge selection of world-class beer and a couple of great, but simple, dishes to enjoy alongside them” said Joris. “After Heverlee was so well received in Scotland, I wanted to bring more authentic Belgian experiences to the country and Heverlee at Tontine will do just that.”
