t first glance, the location of Benelux will perplex you. Situated under a towering, rounded apartment building, a few blocks east of St-Laurent and next door to a dry cleaners, you’d never imagine that there's something so interesting behind the bar's glass doors.

The moment you walk in, you forget where you are. The décor, the atmosphere and the great play between light and dark will catch your eye. The furniture and walls are dark and warm, while the maze of exposed pipes dangling above have been painted sky blue and the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows allows the lights of busy Sherbrooke Street to pour in. Most importantly, that’s not the only pouring that goes on here. Benelux is a grown-up beer aficionado's dream come true.

The brasserie offers many varieties of their own beer brewed on site with at least five varieties are offered daily, one for every mood you are in. You can even peek through the glass panel behind the bar at the gigantic steel tanks where your drink was born. Then again, every little detail in the place reminds you that beer is their specialty. Pint glass light fixtures dangling from the high ceilings, carved wood bar taps, pristine kegs lining the entranceway, even the magazines that are casually strewn on the windowsill are all about beer. But don’t worry; this is not just any old college beer den. Benelux may specialize in the frat boy’s drink of choice, but it makes it into an art form.

I tried a pint of their golden ‘Witbier’, which was light, slightly spicy and the aftertaste reminded me that it pays to be adventurous and to try something other than a Heineken. What’s also a plus is that the prices are more than affordable - a pint will run you less than $6, and during their happy hour (from 3 to 8pm) you won’t pay more than $4.75.

And while you’re sipping on your pint, take a look around because there’s a lot to take in. The main seating at Benelux is composed of the two elaborate custom-made bars with modern stools and a large cocoon-like banquet placed high upon a streamlined, multileveled wooden plateau. However, the piece that is the résistance is the ‘secret’ room tucked away in the back. You see, this spot used to be a bank, so why not make the existing vault into a private room for small groups? Well they did and equipped it with comfy leather seats, some mood lighting and even directions on how to unlock the safe from the inside-out.