Going to Belgium!

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Craig311

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Looks like I will be making a rip to Belgium in April for a wedding. As of right now, I have reserved a dedicated "beer day" for myself. I am somewhat familiar with Belgian styles and breweries. I've brewed a tripel myself. However, I am nowhere near where I need to be in order to plan and properly appreciate a day of Belgian beer. Does anybody have any resources, websites, personal experiences, etc. that you would recommend for studying up? Thanks in advance!
 
I would recommend flying to get there. thats the best i got. have fun! what're you gonna bring us back?
 
if you can get your hands on this, try it Westvleteren 12 by the Westvleteren Brewery its spose to be the best beer in the world

Westvleteren has the smallest output of the Trappist breweries, with only a small part of their production available outside of Belgium.

all i can recommend
 
You are going to absolutely love it. We visited Brussels last fall, and it was fantastic. Westvetleran is definitely a must-do, but do visit the absinthe bar and ask for the bartenders special. Oh, and go to any street-side cafe and order a half and half, french white wine and champagne. Very tasty.
And do not forget to order mussels and frites for a meal. I suggest those cooked in white wine.
 
Thanks to all that have replied so far. Westvleteren 12 is definitely on the list. Also, we will definitely be taking the advice and flying there! :mug:

When my brother in law gave me a stir plate, I thought I had seen all of the benefits of him being a doctor/researcher. Then he goes and gets engaged to a Belgian girl he met in the lab. Go figure!
 
I should mention... He went there and visited her family a few months ago. Came back and was so impressed by the beer that he actually wants to get into brewing now. I sent him Palmer's "How to Brew" for XMas. :mug:
 
Reelale said:
So ironic. The best beer in the world, and they imitate the US.
Click to expand...

a buddy of mine was in Scotland on vacation a few years back and he said he just laughed when 90% of the people in the pub were drinking Budweiser, and loving it....:tank:
 
I visited Belgium a few months ago and had a blast. I can recommend a few of my favorite experiences:

In Brussels, be sure to visit Cantillion (near the south train station). They make some of the best lambics in the world. You get a tour of the brewery and a free tasting at the end. For bars, you should go to Delirium. Their beer list looks like an encyclopedia. Another great spot was Bier Circus.

If you make the trip out to Westvleteren, I would recommend also visiting De Struise in nearby Oostvleteren. They were the only brewery I visited that has embraced US-style experimental microbrewing, and their beers are phenomenal. Another good one around there is De Dolles in Esen.

If you are in Antwerp, check out Kulminator. It was unfortunately closed when I was there, but I have it on good authority that it is the best bar in the world.

Have a great trip!
 
never done the capital but ive done bruge
cant remember what beers i drank but i wasn't disappointed
first time i tried leffe straight from the tap and its way better than the bottle

and stuff your face with waffles in between pints.
 
Thanks again for the thoughtful replies. I just learned that I will be staying in Bilzen.
 
TBag said:
never done the capital but ive done bruge
cant remember what beers i drank but i wasn't disappointed
first time i tried leffe straight from the tap and its way better than the bottle

and stuff your face with waffles in between pints.
Click to expand...

Haha. My wife is looking forward to the waffles!
 
TBag said:
seriously though the waffles are the best!
Click to expand...

There are 2 types of waffles:

1. Brussels Waffles
-what we think of as Belgian waffles, square and fluffy, what is served in cafes

2. Liège Waffles
-street waffles, circular, filled with buttery sugar pearls
-In my opinion, these are the best.
-Whereas Brussels Waffles did not seem much different than the U.S. version, Liège waffles I do not think you could find in the U.S.
-Get these ones!
 
Liege waffles, don't bother with the square ones.

If you are in Brussels, pick almost any cafe/restaurant--they all have the menu posted, (in english, french and dutch)--It always includes the beer!!

When we were there in Sept. We picked our restaurant by the beer menu (first) then the food.

Best place in the world---Beer, french Fries, waffles, and chocolate everywhere.
 
Will you be driving?
Your going to have to do alot of driving from Bilzen.


Don't buy 6pks, singles 25cl -33cl are best but sometimes you will have to buy the big 750ml- like this very fine beer>


Its abit overwhelming at first but I like to prep by checking a few websites as to whats good or new.
http://blog.seniorennet.be/bierblog/
http://www.bloggen.be/bier_in_beeld/
http://hierstroomthetbier.be/
http://belgianbeerboard.com/
http://gloriousfoodandwinebelgianbeer.blogspot.com/

lunch>


afternoon snack>


dinner>


latenight snack>



Kulminator.Thats a pub you should spend hours & hours pouring thur the list.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1232/



Don't forget to pack lite going over so you can bring back plenty of beer>
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t248/Beer_Tour2/packwell3.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t248/Beer_Tour2/packwell2.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t248/Beer_Tour2/packwell1.jpg


Small sample of the beers I brought back over the yrs>
http://s821.photobucket.com/albums/zz138/UknowWho2u/My brew pics/bottle beer/

More pics in my sig, I spend roughly 1 month per/yr in Belgium for beer:drunk:


Word of warning, Do Not Drink & Drive!
 
TBag said:
seriously though the waffles are the best!
Click to expand...

well, "probably the best" at least according to the waffle stand I went to over there, a play on Carlsberg...a great way to get your stomach ready for another day drinking
 
There was a BeerAdvocate mag a few months back that had a bunch of recommended bars in it, if you can find it, it would be a good section to have. Make sure to identify good bars before hand and go to them, there are plenty of bars, but it doesn't mean they have plenty of good local beer. I dragged my friends all over Brussels in search of good beer, they hated me until we found it.
 
Jeff Sparrow's book Wild Brews offers a pretty fantastic history and overview of the Lambic/Flanders regions and open fermentation breweries. It's an interesting read, and I think it reviews which of these unique breweries are still open.
 
Hoppocrates said:
There are 2 types of waffles:

1. Brussels Waffles
-what we think of as Belgian waffles, square and fluffy, what is served in cafes

2. Liège Waffles
-street waffles, circular, filled with buttery sugar pearls
-In my opinion, these are the best.
-Whereas Brussels Waffles did not seem much different than the U.S. version, Liège waffles I do not think you could find in the U.S.
-Get these ones!
Click to expand...

We have a Liège waffle place in town that is amazing! So good.

My only advice is to never drink the same beer twice. You have thousands of them to try over there and you'll want to take advantage of it.
 
How timely this thread! I am going to do a 7-10 day tour of beer in Belgium this May with couple other folks.:ban: We will be biking around, from Abbey to Abbey, and Pub to Pub. Putting it together ourselves so time to get organized. Should be fun. Thanks Houblon for the links!
 
It needs to be noted that if you have plans on bringing back any Westy beers, you have to call in advance and tell them the day you're coming. They'll let you know what they'll have for sale that day and what time to come get it.

Have fun!
 
c_e said:
I visited Belgium a few months ago and had a blast. I can recommend a few of my favorite experiences:

In Brussels, be sure to visit Cantillion (near the south train station). They make some of the best lambics in the world. You get a tour of the brewery and a free tasting at the end. For bars, you should go to Delirium. Their beer list looks like an encyclopedia. Another great spot was Bier Circus.

If you make the trip out to Westvleteren, I would recommend also visiting De Struise in nearby Oostvleteren. They were the only brewery I visited that has embraced US-style experimental microbrewing, and their beers are phenomenal. Another good one around there is De Dolles in Esen.

If you are in Antwerp, check out Kulminator. It was unfortunately closed when I was there, but I have it on good authority that it is the best bar in the world.

Have a great trip!
Click to expand...

I've been three times and c_e nailed all the best spots I would recommend. De Dolles was great. The brewers 90 year old mother gave the tour. Hope she is still around.
 
Sparky said:
Putting it together ourselves so time to get organized.
Click to expand...

Get the "Good Beer Guide Belgium by Tim Webb"

Rent a car if you really want to see the country, trains are great but limit your travel & time too much.

Have any ideas where you want to go? Brugge,Antwerpen,Brussels all are nice but theres far more than those major cities.


So much to see and never enough time:drunk:
 

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