Zythos Bier Fest & Belgium Trip

Hi All!

I'm planning to head to the Zythos Bier Fest in Belgium this year. Does anyone have any tips on attending or must try beers while there??

Here is the list of breweries:
http://www.zbf.be/index.php?lang=UK&page=2a

And the beer list, so far:
http://www.zbf.be/index.php?lang=UK&page=2

We'll also be staying in Brussels and Bruges (with side trips to East and West Flanders) and a short stop in Amsterdam. I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks!!

Sorry I can't help you with that one but this www.brugsbierfestival.be/ is a very fun beer fest.

As far as what beers to try? Try them all. Most of those breweries are Flemish and I lived in the Wallonia section of Belgium and beer is a very local thing in Belgium so I am not too familiar with most on your list.
Brasserie De Silly (or just Silly as it is on your list #91) was local to me. I drove past it daily and really enjoyed all their beers so give some of them a shot.
Malheur #14 makes a fantastic beer called Brut in both Blonde and Brune. Buy as many bottles of these as you can afford. Seriously. It is sold in a giant Champagne bottle and highly carbed like it is champagne. Here is the listing for it on BA http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/669/16487 This is a great beer to serve in flutes when having people over for dinner.

While I've never been (although SWMBO has promised me a Belgian trip for my 30th birthday in a couple years, and hitting it then is a definite possibility), I did try a bottle from Gueuzerie Tilquin and thought it was quite good. They're on the brewer list, but don't see em on the beer list. Outside of the ones easy to find in the US, I haven't tried most of the others.

Best part is:
bathrooms are hygienically cleaned and only cost 0.30 euro/ trip

Qhrumphf said:

While I've never been (although SWMBO has promised me a Belgian trip for my 30th birthday in a couple years, and hitting it then is a definite possibility), I did try a bottle from Gueuzerie Tilquin and thought it was quite good. They're on the brewer list, but don't see em on the beer list. Outside of the ones easy to find in the US, I haven't tried most of the others.

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Allegedly there is a tour de geuze on odd numbered years. You should look into that.

Edit: Meant to say that the Tour precedes the festival by one day, so definitely try to add it in, if that's your thing.

Problem is, I have yet to find a Belgian style I don't love. There's just so much awesome stuff to see that it'll be hard to fit it all. I've seen gueuze and lambic based tours, Trappist tours, farmhouse tours, very localized tours, and tours that blend it all. Problem is I want to see everything and try everything, and the well rounded tours I've found never seem to hit all the bases I want to hit. So I'll have to take a look at what's available in 2014 and go from there, and might just have to plan it myself. But I suppose as long as I visit Rodenbach, Rochefort, Dupont, Cantillon, and I leave with a bottle of Westy 12 in hand (I will not be leaving Belgium without one, believe me), I'll be happy. But it seems this festival could potentially cover a lot of those bases, and postponing until 2015 and taking the tour de geuze is definitely an option.

Do me a favor and follow up after the fest is over letting me know how it was.