What People Drink in Antwerp: 6 Traditional Beverages from a Port City

Antwerp’s port on the Scheldt shaped what locals drink: grain-focused beers from nearby polders, juniper spirits distilled from cereal surplus, and spice‑led liqueurs rooted in maritime trade. The city’s temperate maritime climate favors balanced, sessionable styles alongside a few strong classics.

You’ll meet these drinks in brown cafés with wooden bars and tiled floors, at waterfront terraces in summer, and during winter gatherings where a small glass of something warming is customary. Antwerp’s rituals are unhurried: beer in its proper glass, spirits served neat and cold, and a respect for house traditions.

Ask for “a Bolleke” and you’ll receive De Koninck’s amber city ale in its signature goblet. This top‑fermented beer (about 5.2% ABV) is built on pale and caramel malts with noble, herbal hops. The pour glows copper, with a dense off‑white head; aromas suggest biscuit, light toffee, orange peel, and a clean, floral bitterness. Texture is medium‑light, finishing dry enough to invite another sip—perfect for Antwerp’s mild summers and pub chatter.

Production follows classic Belgian ale practice: warm fermentation with a characterful yeast, cold maturation for polish, and careful conditioning for stability on draft and in bottle. Historically, Antwerp’s access to malt and hops, plus a culture of café drinking, helped a balanced amber become the city’s default order. Locals drink it after work, with shrimp croquettes, or as a steady companion to conversation. You’ll see Bollekes lined up on counters in brown cafés and at brasseries citywide—an everyday emblem served in the rounded glass that gave it its name.

Seefbier is Antwerp’s once‑vanished, now‑revived heritage ale, reconstructed from archive notes and old family accounts. The grist blends four grains—barley, wheat, oats, and buckwheat—yielding a hazy blond beer around 6.5% ABV with a soft, bready body. Fermentation with Belgian ale yeast adds light banana and clove, while the mixed‑grain base contributes creaminess and a gentle tang. Expect aromas of fresh dough, lemon zest, faint spice, and a crisp, moderately dry finish.

Before pale lagers dominated the 20th century, Seefbier was a local staple poured in working‑class districts near the docks. Its modern revival by an Antwerp brewery returned a taste of the city’s pre‑industrial palate, when multi‑grain mashes were common due to regional agriculture. Today, Seefbier appears in cafés and festivals as a conversation‑starter: familiar yet distinct from standard blondes. It pairs well with fried snacks, pickled herring, and moules‑frites, and is often chosen in spring and autumn when its grainy richness meets the season’s cooler evenings.

Created in 1863 by François‑Xavier de Beukelaer, Elixir d’Anvers is Antwerp’s signature herbal liqueur, distilled from a maceration of citrus peels and botanicals—traditionally cited as 32 ingredients, including bitter orange, anise, cinnamon, and angelica. After distillation, the spirit rests in oak vats to harmonize flavors. At 37% ABV, it pours golden with aromas of candied orange, baking spice, and gentian‑like bitterness. The palate starts sweet, then cleans up with herbal complexity and a drying finish.

Elixir d’Anvers reflects Antwerp’s maritime connections: spice routes fed the local apothecary tradition that shaped its recipe. It is consumed as a digestif in small glasses, added to coffee on cold days, or used to glaze crêpes and enrich vanilla ice cream. You’ll also find it in simple highballs with tonic or soda, where its citrus‑spice profile shines. Many cafés keep a bottle ready for post‑dinner sipping, and families reach for it during holiday meals, when a gentle herbal sweetness rounds out the table.

Jenever (genever) is the juniper‑accented grain spirit native to the Low Countries and firmly at home in Antwerp. Distillers start with a cereal mash—often barley, rye, and sometimes corn—fermented and distilled into malt wine (moutwijn). This is redistilled with juniper and botanicals, then blended to style: oude (higher malt‑wine content, rounder grain character) or jonge (lighter, cleaner). Strength typically ranges from 30% to 38% ABV, though variations exist. Aromas run from bready and malty to piney juniper, with textures from silky to brisk.

Café etiquette matters: a small tulip glass is often filled to the brim and served chilled, sipped neat with steady patience. Some pair it with a beer—an age‑old “shot and a glass” ritual favored by dockworkers and café regulars. Antwerp’s cool, damp winters make a warming jenever feel timely, while grain from surrounding farmland historically ensured steady supply. Expect to find both classic oude graanjenever for contemplative sipping and lighter jonge styles as an approachable aperitif.

Tripel d’Anvers represents Antwerp’s take on the strong golden ale Belgium is famous for. Brewed with pale malts and Belgian yeast, it typically sits around 8% ABV, balancing honeyed malt sweetness with firm carbonation and a peppery, fruity profile. Expect aromas of pear, citrus zest, and white pepper; the palate is medium‑bodied yet finishes dry, a result of highly fermentable wort and attentive fermentation control. The color runs deep gold to light amber with a persistent, rocky head.

While the tripel style emerged elsewhere in Belgium, Antwerp’s breweries adopted it to suit city tastes for food‑friendly, aromatic beers that still feel celebratory. You’ll see Tripel d’Anvers on dinner tables with mussels, hard cheeses, and roasted poultry, and in brasseries where a single well‑made tripel can carry a meal. Production relies on warm top fermentation, extended cold conditioning for clarity, and careful hopping to avoid cloying sweetness. It is a go‑to choice for weekend meals, birthdays, and cooler evenings when a brighter beer lacks heft.

Advocaat is a rich, spoonable egg liqueur made from egg yolks, sugar, and a neutral spirit or brandy, traditionally flavored with vanilla. Depending on the producer, it ranges from about 14% to 20% ABV. Production uses gentle heat or bain‑marie techniques to set the yolk‑sugar mixture before fortification, yielding a luxuriant, custard‑thick texture. Aromas recall vanilla custard and sweet cream; the taste is round and creamy, with enough alcohol to balance the sweetness without harshness.

In Antwerp cafés, an “advocaatje” may arrive in a small glass or cup with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles—a nostalgic treat as much as a drink. It shows up at Sunday coffee, during holiday gatherings, and alongside waffles or pancakes. Bakers fold it into pastries and ice‑cream makers churn it into winter specials. The style suits Belgium’s cool months and dessert‑friendly café culture: slow, indulgent sips rather than quick shots, and a reminder that not all traditional drinks are purely liquid in feel.