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Belgium beer places to visit: advise needed!

Northern Brewer General
#1

I will have three days in Belgium to be a (beer) tourist and could use some good advise from fellow beer lovers: The objective is good food and great beer!

Day one we will be in the French speaking part, the Walloon area of Belgium and will be visiting around Tournai or Le Vieux Lille (this last one is on the French side of the Border).

Day two will be in Bruges

Day three will be in Ghent

Any great beer bars in those areas you have been to and would recommend? Any great restaurants with good beer lists? Any abbeys with tasting rooms? In short, any “must have” beer advise for a fellow beer geek and brewer?

Thanks in advance!

#2

only place I was able to hit in Belgium was Antwerpen. If you can get there, go. Amazing city and pubs everywhere. The beer lists are like wine lists there. One thing as good as the beer there is the chocolate. Stock up, bring tons back.

#3

In Bruges, you can do a tour of the De Halve Maan brewery. It’s a pretty cool brewery and individual tours are rare in Europe.

http://www.halvemaan.be/

For beer bars, café 't Brugs Beertje is very nice. Lots of variety and a friendly atmosphere. Small though.

You have to visit 't Poatersgat if you like smoky, old school taverns. You might miss it if you don’t watch for it, though. I’d like to give more info, but it’s all pretty hazy after nights of big Belgian beers. :cheers:

#4

Excellent! Thank you both for your help and suggestions. I am sure I will raise a glass (or three!) in your honor when there next month!http://forum.northernbrewer.com/posting.php?mode=reply&f=1&t=109445#

#5

i envy you…belgian beers are at the top of my food pyramid; do me a favor and try to take a few pictures of the beer portion of your journey.

safe travels

#6

If you can, get to Westvletern. My friends got there, and had a great adventure. It’s hard to get to, and the beer is notoriously hard to get. Read up on it, it sounds like a fun time.

#7

+1 Visited Westvleteren last fall on a beer tour. Was in Antwerp, took a two hour(ish) train out to Poperinge. It might be a little longer from Bruges, but not too much I dont think. We then walked (yes, walked) to the monastary and Cafe the next town over. The lady at the tiny tourist office in town said it was a half hour walk, although I think something was lost in translation there. A lot of people rent bikes which is cool, because the trek wouldnt be so ridiculous, and you can enjoy cruising through the farmlands and hop fields.

They will always have beer on tap at the Cafe, so no worries about striking out completely, but what they sell at the gift shop will vary. I got a gift box with a glass, a 12, an 8, and two blondes, but others have walked away with a sixer of the 12.

Takes a day to do it, but the “quest” aspect of it is quite fulfilling… also the copious amount of beer takes the edge off quite nicely.

#8

The best thing about Westvleteren (besides the beer) is that it’s very close to both St. Bernardus and de Struise (in Oostvleteren).

Bruges has a lot of beer stuff to do but Brugs Beertje was my favorite spot. De Halve Maan brewery tour was pretty sweet.

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