Latest reviews from Abele

“A bit of a gem of a place set in a barn of a old farm, with around 300 different bottled beers from the region as well as local cheeses, chocolate & seasonal vegetables. I came late morning & filled my trolley up with over 50 bottles which were priced cheaply, found out they were shutting for lunch, checked out & then came back for many more bottles after lunch!“

Jerseyislandbeer 1797 days ago

“Quite a dingy place off the beaten track, but with a lot of rural charm. When we visited the shop was dimly lit, the shelves were stacked full but most bottles were covered in dust and, when we checked some best-before dates, a lot of them were well over their sell-by dates. That's saying something, considering a lot of Belgian beers keep for 3 or 4 years. Many bottles didn't have price tags either and it seemed the owner made them up at the till. It's worth a visit if you are in the area just to see it, but do check the dates before you buy.“

BeerSensei139 2068 days ago

“Best selection in the area, as far as I can tell, though I have seen bottle shops in other parts of Belgium with much more. Ownber communicated with us, tellling jokes and stoeis and was very friendly. Lots of beer, not a lot to blow your mind, but there should be many you want to try.“

KyotoLefty 2081 days ago

“If in the Calais/Lille/Dunkerque area, it's worth popping over the border from A25 junction 13 towards Poperinge to find the little shop marked by the blink-and-you-miss sign. CLOSED MONDAY AND TUESDAY and lunchtimes. Lots to choose from in the farm shop or ask to look around the warehouse if you want to buy big. Not too far from St Bernardus, Westvleteren, Deca and Struise if you have a day to waste...“

Hippetheth 2082 days ago

“While driving out of Poperinge to the French border, we spotted a little "Bier shop" wood sign by the road, and we couldn´t resist to stop by. A rustic farm shop, a bit of supermarket as well, stocked with an amazing number of belgian bottles. Most of them usual suspects, but you may find some good lambics at unbeatable prices. A couple of own beers also, brewed by some brewery nearby. Credit cards taken.“

Lowenbrau 2458 days ago

“Blackhaddock is on the money with his rating from 2012, and nothing much has changed. It’s a quaint old farm building full to the (low) rafters with beer, identifiable from the ’BEER’ arrow pointing to it from the main road. Lots to choose from, mostly the usual suspects, nothing too specialist, although I found prices a little better at Tiffany’s on the French side of the official border a couple of miles down the road. Worth stopping to admire a characterful old farm shop that has been around and served the local community for many years.“

minutemat 2572 days ago

“Bit unorganized, not every beer has pricetags and the selection is pretty basic, except for a few odd exceptions. Service is not that good,unless you manage to run into the son. If you are close by definitely worth a visit, but not that exciting for a beer fan.“

mumares 2724 days ago

“Saw this while driving to the St Bernardus brewery, decided to pop in. Typical middle-of-nowhere beer store, love it. Surprisingly large collection of beers, although 80% is usual (Belgian) suspects. Also some harder to find specimen such as Struise (at least, for me: Struise Brouwers is only a 25 minute drive from this place of course). Prices are very fair.“

rdb84 3221 days ago

“Likely the largest selection of bottled beer within 30 km. The manager understood us well enough and enthusiastically dug up unopened boxes of De Ranke bottles which proved to be in fine shape. Belgian beer is well represented, France’s larger BdG names are on the shelves as well, and there were two bottles unique to the shop, contract-brewed by/for the owner. Without a doubt it’s a place worth visiting if you’re in the West Flanders / Cassel region for beer.“

3fourths 3502 days ago

“Beershop on a farm in the countryside not to far from Poperinge. Look for a small sign along the roadside saying "Bier Shop". We visisted midday, and had to wait a short time after the lunch closening for the shop to open. After the owner opened the shop, and right away turned to talk to a flamish talking customer, it took a good 5 minuttes before he cared to turn on the light in the room where the racks with the beer where. A good selection of mostly standard belgium beers. Selection at first looks bigger than it actuallly is, size a good number of the beers are placed 2 or more places on the racks. Still plenty of beers to choose from, nothing extraordanary tho. Dirt cheap prices.“

Camons 3547 days ago

“Big farm house near the French border. Lots of Belgian beers for extremely low prices. Recommended if you’re in the area.“

MarcoDL 3932 days ago

“Great prices and good selection of belgians... very interesting shop, nothing rare or hard to find but the prices are unbeatable“

timmckee03 4006 days ago

“Visited on Saturday 20th October after De Vrede and the Struise old school house (about a 20 minute drive from the latter) Rambling old shop with a good bottled selection encompassing all Belgian styles. No rareties here but a good spread of the basics at decent prices. Service was fast and efficient and a really friendly cat helped us out at the till :) Food and a shelf full of glasses are on offer in a room to the rear of the shop.“

Theydon_Bois 4216 days ago

“This shop is set amongst a rambling set of farm buildings just to the north of Abele village. South from Poperinge, this place is on your right, 400 metres from the main road and before the village signs. From Watou and the St Bernadus brewery, head into Abele and turn left onto the main road, you’ll see the flags and buildings quiet clearly on your left once you leave the village. Well known to Brits for years (because of its inclusion in Tim Webbs books) this uneven floored farmshop stocks over 300 beers, some commissioned and only sold here, there is also a host of glassware too. It is very close to the French border, so chocolates and cheeses are also sold, along with fruit, veg and other foodstuffs. You are left alone to push your trolley round, or at least we were. Took our time and filled the said trolley with some goodies. Very little English spoken (or needed), they understood credit card easily enough though! If you are in this part of Belgium it is well worth finding, I’ll be using it again that is for sure. “

BlackHaddock 4420 days ago

“Hard to find (panel "bier shop" with red paint on a wood plank on the left side of the road between steenvoorde & poperinge). Looks dusty inside. Choice of beers a little narrow & classical.“

loys 4476 days ago

“Go-to retail destination for Belgian beers Typically €1 - €1.5 per bottle (330ml) Huge range, they (nearly) got it all.“

wisepete 4526 days ago

“November 2011 Just back from Belgium and thought this would be worth looking up. What a gem of a place! Excellent range of beers etc and a really jovial owner to chat to. Beers still mostly in the 1 to 1.5 euro price range. I will be back for more next time. A word of advice though. From next January 2012, the shop will be closed on both Mondays and Tuesdays as the owner "is getting on" in years. Also he does close for lunch from about 12:00 to 13:00. Merry Miller“

MerryMiller 4545 days ago

“Been using this charming place for over 15 years. Good selection - most of the local beers and others from elsewhere with an apparent emphasis on west Hainant (Dupont, Vapeur, Abbaye de Roc, Binchoise). You can purchase bottles from the shop or crates from the barn. Pricewise, a crate of 12 75cl St Bernardus Abt is 40 euros and Van Eecke Abt/Prior is 35 euros.Just down the road towards Abele is an excellent chocolate shop called ’Praline Palais’“

baxterfish 4744 days ago

“Hit up this little shop after a day of visiting a few shops and picking up some other beer. Must say I was looking forward to getting here and seeing all they had to offer. But was a little disappointed as the selection was about the same as a few other grocery stores, and not as good as Devo’s - the beer store in a hardware store. The selection is much better than what is in Germany though. But I can go across the border and go to any grocery store in Belgium to get most of the same stuff they had here. They did have a few things I haven’t seen elsewhere, but the beer wasn’t intriguing at all so it did not make up for it. The lady behind the counter was very friendly, the gentleman collecting bottles and moving stuff around seemed busy. The beer area is small and crowded, with selections repeated a few times throughout making it look like there is more than there was. But the prices are perhaps some of the best I have seen. There were a couple of things marked up a little higher than other places, but for the most part it is way cheaper. Although the cheap prices does not make up for the lack of selection over other stores within a 10 minute drive.“

suprchunk 4822 days ago

“An out of the way down a track farm shop which actually is a beer shop. Walk inside the shop and gaze and the beers. A lot of great Belgian beers and very popular beers and a few harder to find beers Spent 100 Euros and that was about 2 Euros a bottle or less. Lacking the rarity stuff true beer hunters seek but if you want to pick up some generic great Belgian beer without going to the supermarket and cutting a great value deal then go here. I went in 2008.“

tdtm82 5206 days ago

“I had trouble finding this place but it was very worth it. First thing you see when you arrive in the farm is the beer storage and it is huge. Then inside the shop and it was not very big, actually it is a little country side grocery store, but the back has a big room just filled with thousands of bottle of beers. Over 300 different beers, and the price is very good, the glass selection is also very good and very cheap. I endded up buy about 60 bottles. The only problem is that beer is very heavy, but its worth it. The owners are very nice and helpfull. If you have the time to go there, do it. Not far from St Sixtus Westvleteren.“

eManu 5307 days ago

“Set on a farm. I like the unhurriedness of this place. Good for value for money for some of the Belgian mainstay beers. Lambic selection is a little limited and they won’t take foreign credit cards, but still a solid little place for a quick dash south of Watou/Poperinge.“

harrisoni 5313 days ago

“Good little store, very conveniently located near to Calais. Parking can be difficult at busy times, and the checkout can also get busy but again if you arent in a rush for the ferry its a great place to pore around and pick up beers for stocks at home. Cheap, but not the cheapest !“

MagnumPI 5413 days ago

“Closed 12-1 weekdays. good selection, just load your trolley up! av EUR1.20 a bottle, 3.50+ for 750ml. The store next to the garage 5mins up the road right on the border has a fair selection, but a little more expensive.“

sc0ttyd0g 5623 days ago

“Big shop, not a lot of surprises. Lot’s of Belgian standard brews.“

NoiZe 5731 days ago

“This place is very difficult to find, a long way from the beaten track but only around 20 minutes drive from the St Sixtus monastery so it is easy to do both in a day. Look out for the tiny sign saying Bier Shop near the floor wich is not easy to spot. The shop is a small convenience store with a HUGE (400+) beer selection including pretty much all the belgian beer you could want with a few exceptions. The only things I found missing on my wanted list were Chouffe N’Ice and anything by Struise. The prices are a huge bargain, from 1-2euro. Large 750ml bottles are 2-3euro“

gary07734 5810 days ago

“Holy smokes, this is the place I would return to in the Poperinge / Ieper area if I could only visit one place. The beer selection was HUGE and they had CASES in stock in the barn out back. It was overwhelming standing there looking at all the stuff you could buy and wondering how in the heck to get it all in the suit case. The prices were staggering to an American, with Rochefort 10 running 1.35 Euros and others between 0.50 to 2 Euros. The glasswear selection was almost as equally impressive. Located just before the French border as you head south from Poperinge on Abelestationsplein (it is set back from the highway on the right in a barn on a farm).“

User37895 5958 days ago

“This was a great place to shop, thanks to Ian Harrisoni for the recommendation. Went here back in July 2007 cycled from Ypres via Westvleteren, Watou, Poperinge. Not too difficult to find, great prices and good choice on beers.“

Fin 5996 days ago

“Absolutely, a pleasure to shop at this store. From the aging dog sleeping on the counter top to the hospitality shown by the workers and Noel himself. An amazing amount of beers all greatly priced. I will have to continue coming back to this place until I have tried them all.“

amazinglopedo 6141 days ago

“A must stop if your in the Poperinge or Westvleteren area. Great, great selection of beers, just no Westy’s of course, but that’s to be expected. Lots of singles as well as cases. The service was great. Will stop here several more times before I head back to the states.“

auderale 6370 days ago

“Let me start off with oh my gawd! This place has it all when you’re talking about Belgium beer (except Westy products). I think they are up to about 430+ bottled beer now . You can also buy racks there or singles. I have been all over Belgium and this was truley one stop shopping. The service was also outstanding, since we needed to find means to get all the beer we purchased in a small vehicle they assisted with giving fruit crates to make space more available, instead of the bulky beer racks. I could spend hours just look around here and I plan to on my next trip. Looks sorta like a run down farm, but places like this are a once in a lifetime find. Thanks for my buddy auderale doing his homework on the area we were staying on this trip.“

SHIG 6376 days ago

“Shop on a farm just over the border from France. 300+ beers with a good variety and lots of rarities, some closed producers etc. Lambic selection is the only thing lacking, but they do have Girardin, Cantillon etc so it’s still pretty good. Cheap prices. Large selection of glasses.“

Joeh 7199 days ago