Le Grand Café - La Vieille Forge

Was very lucky to get two of their beers (blond & brune) as I was just passing by and they were actually closed. The owner was very cool to let me in inside his bar and have his beers which were real good. Totally loved this very small but incredibly inviting & comfy place - those who are staying at B&B here are lucky guys!

Stayed at Pol and Tine’s B&B in june 2012 as a base for some brewery visits in this region so an evening at their ironically entitled ’Grand’ Café was self-evident. Great atmosphere there, some interesting beers including his own. Loved it and be sure to have a peek at his Interpol brewery while you have the chance: it is the smallest micro brewery I have ever seen. Recommended to anyone looking for a relaxing beer weekend in a picturesque setting. Pol is a great guy and Tine a fine cook, so I take their beer menu at La Vieille Forge into account for rating this. It included salmon made with Houblon Chouffe, slowly cooked rabbit with La Chouffe and - delightfully - sabayon with Orval, unforgettable...

This was a very good place to stay before. Now it’s a very good place to stay, plus a nanobrewery and tiny pub, out in that stone shed by the driveway. Café is only open from 5 on weekends; besides inn guests there will be a few devoted locals, including brewers from that place down the hill at times. Rooms at the inn and very clean and well decorated. Tine is a hell of a cook. Achouffe is a 15-minute walk down the hill, between woods and cow pastures. Very beautiful part of the country. To get here without a car: Take a train to Gouvy, then the bus to Houffalize-Aux Cheras. From there it’s a 20-minute walk.

Something special, the smallest bar i found.

The total experience in this marvelous place is greater than it’s parts. The beer selection in the tiny bar is small but extremely well chosen. The house beers are excellent...Pol makes two. One is a milk stout ...a rare find in Belgium and the other is perhaps the best white beer I drank for the entire extent of the trip. You are likely to run into people in the brewing industry either staying at this truly charming establishment or visiting with the owners for a beer or two. your host are hostess are charming...the view of their garden and drinking an exceptionally well made beer under the rural Belgium sky can not be beat by the best beer bars in the country.

Owner-brewer Pol Ghekiere has converted the old smithy (=forge) into a nice B&B, with a marvelous dining table. In the adjacent shed, there’s a supercondensed, superb microbrewery, as well as "Le Grand Café" - the smallest going by that name, where the beers from the brewery (bottled only!) can be had, as well as the Achouffe range, and most of Duvel-Moortgat brews. The selection is apt to vary, but many foreign visitor brought his own! The ambiance - especially when other brewers are present - is without comparison. The area, walking par excellence, is amongst the most scenic in Belgium, even when also amongst the most pluvial.