Where to drink Belgian beer in York

A real Belgian pub in Bruges.

Belgian monks are amongst my favourite types of monk. Whilst they don't have the trendy orange garments sported by their Buddhist brethren, and despite having to get up umpteen times a night to praise God, they manage to find time to brew one of my favourite beverages, Beer.

Belgian beer is, of course, nothing like British beer: it is nearly solid, small quantities make you want to lie down, and it is rarely named after ferets, randy old men, or famous British victories. Nevertheless, it is well worth drinking and, to my mind, it is important to know where to acquire it at short notice. As such, here is a list of places in York that will happily fill you with the dark brown chewy stuff.

La Place Verte is a tiny Belgian cafe located in the bridge tower of Skeldergate Bridge. It is Belgian-owned and sells a range of 30 Belgian beers in addition to other Belgian specialities, such as Belgian waffles and Belgian chocolates. All in all, a very Belgian place. It has a nice riverside garden, making it a good place to drink Belgian beer on a summer's day. However, they only sell beer from a single Trappist brewery, Westmalle, and the rest of their range is pretty standard stuff. Fine if you're not a big fussy head like me. EDIT: Sadly this place is no more, although its replacement does have a couple of Belgian beers, should you be in the mood to sit by the river.

The bar at Pivni

The York Brewery pubs all sell Belgian bottled beers, with the Three-Legged Mare having the largest range. Like most York brewery pubs, its name is an execution reference: in this case, a device for hanging three people at once. In case you find it hard to imagine such a device, there's a replica out back in the tiny beer garden - how thoughtful! The Belgian beer range features a couple of Trappists, though nothing too exciting. They have Kwak glasses, if you like a challenge whilst you're drinking your Belgian beer.

In terms of beer range, Pivni is undoubtedly the best place to drink Belgian beers in York. In addition to a selection of nearly 50 bottled beers, they also have one or two on tap, including McChouffe from the Achouffe Brewery. The bottled range includes examples from most of the Trappist monasteries. However, like everywhere else, they don't sell beer from the Westvleteren monastery: a group of monks who spend far too much time praying and far too little time making their highly sought-after beer.

Other places that sell Belgian beer are the Rook and Gaskill, the Maltings, and the York Beer and Wine Shop. The latter also sells cheese, the perfect accompaniment to Belgian beer (and everything else in life). If you like sour beer that makes you squirm, you might also be interested in my guide to Belgian lambic beers available in York.

EDIT: The new York Tap, situated in York station's old first class lounge, also serves a range of Belgian beers, along with almost every other kind of strong beer known to mankind. Highly recommended, but busy at peak times.