Cafe Kulminator - Antwerpen — Restaurant in Antwerp

Kulminator has a reputation amongst beer nerds as a must-visit but unfortunately despite wanting to visit for many years, my experience was nipped in the bud through an incomprehensibly rude interrogation at the door.

I was told by friends you had to ring the bell and wait for him to arrive. He then asks you if you want to 'drink' or to 'taste' a beer, and if you don’t answer this question correctly he won’t let you in.

I couldn’t work out which was the bad one. In English if you want a taste of a beer, it's suggests you want a quick sip. So my guess was that ‘drink’ was the correct answer.

So I ring the bell, I can see there are a small number of people inside. After a few minutes he opens the door, stumbles out, eyes squinting on a wrinkled old miserly face, seemingly irritated by us already, and with an alcoholic’s breath. Starts speaking flemish.

I say, “sorry in English?” My partner interjects “or in French”. He turns and slowly looks my partner up and down, head to toe, staring at her as if she was the first female he’d seen in a month.

Turns to me and clears his throat. ‘Ok, my wife and I… we, erm… we came here 51 years ago… and…’ his voice trails off as if he can’t quite find his words for a story he tells to potential customers at the door every day. He gives up and cuts to the chase:

‘What do you want in here?’ What do I want? ‘Yes what do you want to do in here’? Drink a beer. ‘There is no drinking in here’ There’s no drinking in here? ‘No, there’s no drinking in here. There are a thousand other cafes you can drink a beer, we don’t do that in here'. So what do you do then (I say with a smile, attempting to run with this farcical questioning) ‘No drinking, not in here’, he says brushing me away with the back of his hand.

And shuts the door, shaking his head in disapproval as he returns back inside.

And that’s that. That’s our experience of a beer cafe I’ve sent countless people to over the years and which was near the top of historic Belgian beer bars to visit.

We went to Billies down the road and I asked the barman what the deal is with Kulminator. I didn’t need to say any more. “Ah. Yes, he didn’t let you in. Well for a start you’re English. You didn’t speak Dutch. And also, most of the time he only lets in people he knows. He doesn’t know you, and you’re speaking English, so he won’t let you in. Don’t worry, we have people every day who say the same thing.”

The day before, I had a beer in L’Ecole Buissonierre, Godewaerswalde. Seeing me outside with my bike, the owner opened up 10 minutes early, was jovial, talkative, friendly, welcoming. This for me is a place that typifies the spirit of the beer community. Not the curmudgeonly elitist feel of...

We had a great stop at Kulminator during our visit to Antwerp in 2016 This is a pilgrimage spot for beer drinkers visiting Belgium.

The Kulminator is cluttered, stuffy, and has very limited seating space. The bar and tables are lined with bottles, posters, coasters and other items sort of piling up in front and all around you.... but in a good way. This is beer and tradition stacking up at the Kulminator and the atmosphere is great! Visiting Kulminator is like you have stepped into a beer time capsule or curiosity shop.

Beer menu is as extensive as it comes with over 800 types of Belgium beers available, some brand labels going back many years. In this regard, think wine drinking where you seek labels by the year. The difference being, this time your doing the same with favourite beer brands and labels instead.

Best to do a bit of homework before arriving as the menu is a thick book with long lists of beer labels and years. If you don't know what you want to try before arriving and are unfamiliar with Belgium beers, you will be quite lost very quickly. Luckily, the friendly lady serving customers can make suggestions.

During our visit, we enjoyed the Westvleteren, a superb dark beer, as well as other favourites of mine including Malheur and Gouden Carolus. Some typical Belgium varieties such as Leffe, Chimay and Orval amongst others that you might have tried before are also available.

Note: The owner does lock the door to the bar once content with the number of patrons inside. This happened around an hour after we arrived. You can still exit out the front door but can't open the door from the outside to enter the bar. As such, a handful of people arrived after us to find the door locked. If you are a beer aficionado and don't want to risk missing chance to visit Kulminator, it is best to arrive early before they become too full (and potentially locked).

In the end, The Kulminator is a genuinely unique beer experience, one we would gladly repeat during future visits to Antwerp. Sure the service could be better (locking door on people - ouch!) but that is just part of the Kulminator culture. As suggested above, do yourself a favour and arrive early if this is a place you really want to visit...

This place has turned a bit strange... We came here 6 years ago for a lovely drink. It was great atmosphere, and we tried some amazing beers. Having been all over Belgium, we decided to come back here again to visit. Before we had a chance to read the door a man had opened the door and blocked our entrance. I thought he might be just a customer, so I laughed and asked to be let by to come in. He said no, why would you want to come in? I replied I was here for the beer. But then he asked what I wanted to do with the beer... Now, if anyone asks you what you do in a pub usually it's to drink, correct? Apparently not here! He looked repulsed by my response and angrily replied that there are hundreds of pubs where I can drink beer. I replied that I know that, as we come to Antwerp around three times a year and we enjoy the beer and visited this particular pub a few years ago... He starts slamming his hand on the door and telling me that he's retired, so I assume that he's telling me the pub is no longer open to the public. So I apologise as say I didn't realise it was closed now, but he angrily insists he's still open. Eventually after a strange back and forth he asks me again what I want to do with the beer, whilst pointing at a sign at the top of the door. I say... Okay... Taste it I guess? He rolls his eyes and said okay but you have cash yes? I said no, because the other sign in the door says NO CASH (Cashless bar I assume?) and he then slams the door in our faces.

The situation was bizarre and hilarious, and I still don't know if he actually is open for beers or not. Just a thought, if you want me to say I'm here to taste the beer, let's assume I can take a bottle, take a sip and leave the rest?

The word 'drink' seems to have such negative connotations for him, but I want to point out that when you drink a beer you can still drink it slow, enjoy it and celebrate it. Tasting implies I'll be taking part in a tasting session with tiny measures of a whole host of beers... If I'm tasting a beer can I buy a €50 bottle and only pay for a sip?

Really sad to see this place go downhill, considering we had such an amazing experience...