Little Delirium Café grand opening

I was initially quite excited about yesterday’s grand opening of the Little Delirium Café on Rue Marche au Fromages. Promising 30 brews on tap, the new location looked like it might become a solid addition to the city’s quality beer scene. Sadly, the night didn’t work out as I'd hoped.

I showed up a fashionable-yet-still-eager 15 minutes late for the grand opening party, but the place was a construction site, with at least a dozen people moving furniture, playing with power tools and making busy with a shop-vac. OK, I thought, things are running a bit late. That happens. So I went to Grand Place to enjoy the light show for a while.

When I came back, things still weren’t quite ready, but the workers were taking a break with a glass of rosé. There was still no beer flowing, which for a beer place, seemed to be missing an important part of the equation. I left a second time, now thirsty for a beer, and went elsewhere.

A few hours later, we returned again, and the place was hopping with a beer-drinking crowd. But when we opened the door, and stepped in, my trachea went into revolt. The bar was thick with smoke, making it nasty and unwelcoming for breathing types like us. For the third time in the evening, we left.

I don’t want to be completely dismissive. I’ll probably give the Little Delirium Café another chance at some point. But heavy smoke is the reason I don’t much like the old Delirium bar at Impasse de la Fidélité. No use having over 2000 beers if you're choking while trying to taste them.

It could also be that the whole Delirium phenomenon is just not really my thing. As the pink elephants slowly surround Grand Place, it seems more and more like a chain of tourist traps. It may forever be a draw for drunken visitors, but it’s not really for me (unlike Delirium Christmas beer, which definitely is for me).