Belgian Beer Board

Hey, what is a post about De Garre doing in the Belgian Beer Abroad forum? Well, I'm sure the sharp eyed amongst you have already figured it out by looking closely at the background in this picture. See, I decided to take a bit of a trip yesterday ... but no, unfortunately it wasn't to my beloved Belgium.

This trip was to a smallish city about an hour from where I live here in southern California called Claremont. I went there for the purpose of attending a class to renew my CPR and First Aid training. And alas, only 5 minutes from this class is a place called The Back Abbey. It's been a couple of years since I've been there. Think I posted about it here on the BBB last time, but here's a picture from yesterday's visit.

The Back Abbey is a small bar/restaurant with very good food and a very nice taplist of beer. Most of them are Belgian, many of which can't be found elsewhere anywhere southern California, including the Garre tripel and Klokke Roeland among others. After attending class and renewing my CPR and First Aid certificates I decided to stop by for a beer before heading home. I would have loved to stay for more, but I chose to have only one beer because first of all I had to drive home and second of all this place can get very expensive quickly and I still need to watch my budget.

So, because this is the only place that I know of within hundreds if not thousands of miles to get that excellent Garre tripel, that's what I ordered. And boy did it hit the spot nicely! Had a nice chat with the youngish bartender, and he informed me that The Back Abbey will be opening a second location next month, slightly closer to where I live (about 45 minutes from my home). So in this day and age where a lot of bars and restaurants are struggling to stay alive, The Back Abbey seems to be doing well. I will have to pay a visit to that new location sooner rather than later and report back here.

Garre Cheers! - John

https://www.thebackabbey.com/



 

Hi John,

Good to see you out and about, and sourcing Belgian beers!

They're always there to be discovered!

So many bars, but of course they cannot all be totally
successful all the time.

Cheers!


Viv

Hi John,
Nice report mate !!! 
I was trying to add this place to the Belgian Beer Pub Map of the World at https://www.belgianbeerboard.com/index.php/pubs-world
But see, it's already member for a long time.
It's always so strange to see De Garre available outside Bruges' beer pub De Garre. 
Looking at the Google pictures at https://tinyurl.com/3aftbn9z it seems this place has some great vibes. Certainly my kinda pub to visit. Fantastic!!
Cheers,
Filip

Cheers Viv and Filip!

Yes it sure felt great to visit this place again. It was a rare treat for me. A brief visit but well worth it.

Viv, you're right about there being so many bars and they can't all be successful all the time, which unfortunately brings me to  ...

 ... Filip, I was just looking at the Belgian Beer Pub Map of the World and noticed a place located in Garden Grove called The Globe. A shame, but it seems that it is no longer in business when doing some research.     So, perhaps time for an update in regards to that establishment.

Anyway, yes Filip The Back Abbey has that nice kind of vibe to it, a vibe that is not common over here. It's a small place that focuses on a niche segment of the market. But it does what it does very well. Quality is the name of the game here. It's a place that I'm sure you would truly enjoy if you ever do find your way back to southern California. And if you ever do, I'd be happy to be your Taxi John and show you around the good places to visit.

P.S. Someday you really need to visit northern California too, it's beautiful and full of amazing beery places.

Cheers! - John 

 

Quote from: John B on June 17, 2022, 12:32:05 AM... Filip, I was just looking at the Belgian Beer Pub Map of the World and noticed a place located in Garden Grove called The Globe. A shame, but it seems that it is no longer in business when doing some research.     So, perhaps time for an update in regards to that establishment.

Hi John,
Thanks for notifying me! Has been deleted by now.
With some research I found another place to replace The Globe.
You won't believe this, but it's called The Little Bear Bar. This clearly reminds me of my local Bruges' Little Bear Bar (Brugs Beertje) ?     
http://littlebearbar.com/

And..... no..... I won't add Belgium Beer bar https://tinyurl.com/4ub8y2y2   

Cheers,
Filip