Going to Belgium, where to visit?

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Berlbrew

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Hello everyone, I'm pleased to announce that I will be spending four days in Belgium during January. I know it's not a huge amount of time, but I wanted to see if you guys had any suggestions or previous experience with brewery tours, bars, and other beer-related must-see sights.

I'm staying in Brussels and will also be visiting Bruges... maybe Antwerp. I'm willing to travel out of my way to see the most important/interesting beer sites available. Suggestions???

EDIT: I'm also spending 8 days in The Netherlands, staying in Amsterdam. Any suggestions sans Heineken are welcome.
 
If I were you, I'd start in Amsterdam and drive down along the coast via the Delta Works storm barriers (take a dune hike near Haamstede on Shouwen-Duiveland) towards Brugges and then Westvleteren. From there, head towards Brussels.

The Hautes Fagnes region is really nice as well. Between it and Brussels, it's not too far from Remouchamps (an awesome show cave with an underground boat ride), and Rocheford isn't too terribly far away, either. If you are a history buff, the Fagnes region was where the Ardennes Offensive took place, and you can still see destroyed bunkers and dragon's teeth from the Siegfried line dotting the landscape).

On the other side of the border, it's maybe 90 minutes to Cologne and a bit more to Duesseldorf - a nice way to finish up the trip.
 
Brussels--> Delirium Cafe = 2000 beers
http://www.deliriumcafe.be/

Brugge-->get the book "Around Brugge in 80 beers" ,
Brugs Beertje -->http://www.brugsbeertje.be/index_en.htm
Cafe Garre
Bargehuis

Antwerpen --> you must visit the Kulminator.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1232/

Amsterdam--> interactive map: http://www.amsterdamer.supanet.com/
another map --> http://www.coffeeshop.freeuk.com/Map.html

Café Gollem - fav
In De Wildeman - 2nd
Café Belgique - cozy
Café `t Arendsnest - only Dutch beers

Need a list of the better Coffeeshops?

Forgot to ask are you driving yourself or taking the rails?
 
You usually can't go wrong with the following coffeeshops:

Grey Area -- the Chocolope is just......:drunk:
Dampkring
Barney's
Katsu
Basjoe

Hit or miss shops:

Greenhouse
Old Church
Rokerij
Bushdoctor

Stay away from:

Any coffeeshop on Damstraat/Oude Hoogstraat.
Any coffeeshop on Nieuwendijk.
Any coffeeshop with an overdone reggae theme.
 
Excellent, I can safely trust the advice of a fellow HBTer. Many thanks! Any other suggestions are welcome too...
 
< while in Amsterdam >
I would say try the Copelandia Cyanenscens ("Hawaiian Magic Mushrooms) but the Dutch banned fresh mushrooms due to dumb tourist jumping off rooftops.

They do sell Sclerotia (a.k.a magic truffles/philosophers&#8217; stones)
link



If somebody walks up and offers to sell you XTC-COKE-HASH- H, just say "Nein" or "Nay" and look at them like a piece of $hit stuck to the bottom of your shoe and keep walking... fuk'em they are just trying to rip you off.

But really your safer walking the worse parts of Amsterdam than most USA cities. I have been visiting the city since `94 and never had any problems.
 
I'll second a mandatory stop at Brugs Beertje. Not too many places can claim 300 Belgian Beers on their menu.

Also in Bruges you can tour the De Halve Maan Brewery. (My avatar is actually a cropped photo that I took of a poster that was on the wall when I visited.) There's a tasting room upstairs after the tour.

Of course the great thing about being in Belgium is that everywhere you stop to eat will have Belgian beer. Go figure.
 
The beer is pretty good:mug:

Yep, I second that. You'll love Bruges. Tour the brewery. Rent a bicycle, take a boat ride. Was in Brussels for two weeks this past July. Ghent is nice too, as are all the locations on your itinerary.
 
Since you are in Brussels you should check out Lueven which is nearby. It is home to the BMC of Europe, AKA Stella Artois but is still pretty cool and a short trip away.
 
Don't miss two other places in Brussels:

La Mort Subite -- great selection of beers, classic

A La Becasse -- if I had to recommend only one place, it would be this. It is the only place I've ever had fresh lambic (UNFLAVORED), served cold and frothy in a ceramic pitcher. Quite possibly the most refreshing beverage I've ever had. Ever. It is a ***** to find, though -- the "street" that it is on looks like a hallway. It's right off one of the main squares, though, so you can get close very easily and then ask someone. Everyone speaks English.
 
I am here now, plenty of snow but I'm glad to report I have yet to fall down! Thanks again for all the recommendations!
 
Sounds like you're going to have a great trip. Here's a couple of my favorites from a trip some buddies and I took touring the Belgium countryside and visiting breweries.

Cantillon - If you were going in the fall, they have an "open brew day" where they let the general public come in and watch them do a brewday, from the time they start the mash until they pump all that beery goodness up to the copper lined attic that serves as an open-air cooling vessel.

De Dolle Brouwers - Awesome people. Small family operation, like many breweries in Belgium, the hours are limited (at least they were where I was there). I quick look at the website indicates they're only open on the weekend. Hands down my favorite stop of the trip. The owner/brewer started pulling out bottles from his private stash that he wasn't exporting at the time for us to try. His wife also makes pate and serves it with a homemade mustard - very fresh, VERY spicy. Like I said, really awesome people.

Dupont - Ok, not the best atmosphere... not a small, family-run feel to the operation. But, we got there early one morning - like 8am. Lucky stars, language barrier, crew that didn't want to bother - whatever it was, they just let us roam around the brewery without a tour or an escort while they worked. That was certainly different. (Especially after spending a week doing enough brewery tours that you could give a tour in your sleep.)

Rodenbach was also interesting - although we went on a Monday and the town it is in was like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock novel. We couldn't find a living soul in town - it was eerie. Apparently Monday's are like that, with many business owners taking the day off after having their stores / pubs open over the weekend. I was there shortly after they were purchased by Palm, and most of the people we talked to were very concerned about if they would still have a job.
 
Watch 3 Sheets Belguim on Hulu. It was one of the first episodes, so its on the last page of episodes. Aside from that, all I have to offer is Westvleteren, but check out their website first, you have to call ahead and such.
 
I spent a few days in Brussels of May this year. I'll have to echo the suggestions of the Delirium Cafe and Brasserie Cantillon. The amount of beers Delirium has is insane. Also Cantillon is a really neat brewery and their beers are unlike anything I've ever tasted.

Orval's brewery isn't too far from Brussels either if you want to check that out. Brewery tours are hard to get from my understanding, but the surrounding area is beautiful and it's the only place you can get Petite Orval:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/37/1813
 
Brouweij 'Ij, de Prael in Amsterdam, Cantillon in Brussels, Kulminator in Antwerp. If by train, Poperinge is as close as you are going to get to Westvleteren. Delerium Tremens cafe is in a Brussels alley, but right across from an absinthe bar.

I would say that Kulminator ws one of my favorite spots. Nice and cozy with LOTS of bottled beer.

Lots of places in Belgium required about 15 ppl to get a tour, so arrange before you go.

Also, public Google maps for beer in Belgium: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
 
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