Beer Talk Café & Bar

Beer Talk Café & Bar occupies unit C11-2 in the warehouse district of Kaohsiung's Pier 2 Arts Center, set inside a repurposed 1970s harbour warehouse at 2-6 Dayi Street in Yancheng District. Exposed brick and steel beams overhead, and art installations visible through the windows, give the room a character that is hard to replicate, and it is one of the larger beer bars in the city.

The focus is Belgian: Trappist ales, saisons, gueuze, witbier and strong dark ales, with listings putting the Belgian range at more than 30 beers, a rare offer in Kaohsiung. Some are on draught and many more come in bottles, and regulars suggest the bottle list is where the more interesting finds are. Taiwanese and international craft cover anyone straying beyond Belgium. Imported Belgian beer is not cheap, so prices run higher than at most local bars.

The sharing plates suit grazing across several beers. Reviewers single out the shrimp and zucchini pizza, while opinions on the onion rings and chicken wings are more mixed. The kitchen can stop taking orders a couple of hours before closing, so eat early if food matters. The mood is laid-back, there are screens for watching sport, and some nights bring live performances of Taiwanese songs, when the music can be loud.

Listed hours are 3.30pm to midnight from Wednesday to Friday and noon to midnight at weekends, with Mondays and Tuesdays closed. Tables can be booked online, which is worth doing at weekends. Make it the end of a day at Pier 2: take in the galleries and street art, ride the LRT, then settle in here. It suits groups of friends and anyone keen to work through classic Belgian styles in southern Taiwan.