You can compare Brussels a bit with Paris, city centre is absolutely allright but in the cities around it, like Anderlecht, there's sadly more criminality, youth gangs etc.. so I'd advise to stay away from there and surely at night.
Some places in the city centre for a classic Belgian 'chippy' are Fritland, La Friterie & Friterie Tabora.
Regarding the beers, most of the pubs serve all kinds of stronger beers. I'd really recommend Le Coq, lovely little pub with a great beer selection. Deffo try a "Tripel karmeliet" from tap, but not too many or you won't see anything of the game
Day trip to Brugge sounds lovely as well, especially this time of the year. Not very far by train as well from Brussels but expect it to be very busy as Brugge is a really small city with lots of tourism.