Belgium Travel Thread

[DoctorRock]

Added these to Ghent (any thoughts?)

Beer:

T'dreupelkot,

Her waterhuis

Aan due bierkant

Aba Jour

t'velootje

Herberg de Dulle Griet

Trollekelder

Bar des Amis

 

[willseph]

Added these to Ghent (any thoughts?)

Thanks for all the great info, I'm very excited to head back to Belgium next year and check out all these places that I didn't make it to in previous trips.

 

[shelf_turd_ferguson]

The walk from H to A on this map is about a mile and takes 15-30 minutes depending on speed.
Make it bigger with double click or right click>view image.

Awesome thread! My wife and I are taking a 2 week trip to the area and this is our itinerary. The comments listed are just those I've pulled from others comments, so I can't speak to the validity of them. They mostly serve as a reference for us when we are there. If anyone else is in the area at the same time, would love to have a beer!

***Not renting a car

Amsterdam: Saturday 3/15 - Tuesday 3/18

Non Beer:

- Ann Frank House (open 9am - 9pm tix online)

- Rembrandt House (open 10am-6pm)

- Van Gogh Museum (open 9am - 5pm)

Beer:

- Brouwerij 't IJ *brewery w/ windmill (English tours Sat & Sun at 3:30pm)

- De Bekeerde Suster *small brewery (open at 11am daily)

- In de Wildeman *classic Amsterdam beer bar (open at Noon daily)

- Arendsnest *mostly local brews

- Bierkoning

Ghent: Tuesday 3/18 - Thursday 3/20

-Open - Totally free to explore museums, cathedrals etc…

- SUGGESTIONS FOR BEER AND OTHER?


Brussels: Thursday 3/20 - Monday 3/24

Non Beer:

- Grand Place

- ON BEER SUGGESTIONS?

Beer:

- Cantillon *enough said (open 9-5pm except Sundays)

- Moeder Lambik *great beer selection, 2 locations one near Cantillon (open 4pm daily)

- Restobieres (?)

- In 't Spinnekopke *beer and food

- Les Brassins *locals place, make reservations early in the day for dinner (open noon - midnight, no credit cards)

- La Bécasse *off the beaten path, near Grand Place (open 11am - midnight)

- Le Bier Circus *Corey rec. best food (Tues - Friday 11am - 11pm and Saturday 6pm - 11pm)

- de Heeren *insane beer list, pricey (outside Brussels & random hours?)

Antwerp: Day trip from Brussels

- Kulminator *opens late afternoon, amazi/ng beer selection CASH ONLY

- t'Antwaerps Bierhuiske *cheaper than Kulminator and AS good (?)

- Gollem – lots of beers on tap

- n 't Oud Arsenaal *dive bar with Belgian charm

Bruge: Day Trip from Brussels

Non Beer:

- Christs Blood - gothic cathedral

- Canals

Beer:

- De Struise Brouwers Bruges Beer Shop (should be open during most days)

- Staminee De Garre *old and out of the way beer spot (Closed Monday & Wednesday open at Noon)

- Comptoir Des Arts *close to Market Square and Bell Tower (open Wednesday - Sunday at 6pm - blues and jazz bar with lots of taps)

- t' Brugs Beertje*small taplist, but cool and tucked away albeit just outside main city center (open at 4pm and closed on Wednesdays)

- De Halve Maan *brewery (tours from 11am - 3pm every hour)

- Cafe Rose Red

- Cambrinus *meat and potatoes and decent beer

Paris: Monday 3/24 - Friday

Non Beer:

- Typical Paris stuff...

Beer:

- La Cave a Bulles

The earlier you go to Anne Frank house the shorter the line to go in. My friend read the book right before going and it was great because he whispered a bunch of extra info to me.
There's a little brewery on the edge of the red light district near the Bulldog called de Prael, they do pretty good Belgian ales, though the style the designate a beer as may be a bit off. If I recall, their quad was more of a dubbel.

 

[BusinessSloth]

All I want to accomplish out of a Belgian trip is to drink Fou Foune on cask with some good accompanying food, and buy a heap of tasty bottles.

 

[stupac2]

All I want to accomplish out of a Belgian trip is to drink Fou Foune on cask with some good accompanying food, and buy a heap of tasty bottles.

Good luck with the Fou Foune part. You need more luck to find Fou on cask than you do to find Millennium Geuze for sale.

 

[BusinessSloth]

Good luck with the Fou Foune part. You need more luck to find Fou on cask than you do to find Millennium Geuze for sale.

 

[HenrikO]

Good luck with the Fou Foune part. You need more luck to find Fou on cask than you do to find Millennium Geuze for sale.

I've had Fou Foune on cask twice in two different places.
Neither of them in Belgium tho...

 

[stupac2]

I've had Fou Foune on cask twice in two different places.
Neither of them in Belgium tho...

Yeah but you live over there.

 

[HenrikO]

Yeah but you live over there.

Yes, I thought he was talking about what he would do if he travelled here? In Europe getting Fou Foune on cask is just near-impossible, not impossible ;-). Around release time I hear tell that quite a few of the better beer bars in Brussels get casks. I heard that Torst in Brooklyn had a cask on for their opening night, but that's unsubstantiated.

But we're splitting hairs. It _is_ difficult to get Fou Foune on cask no matter where you are.

Now Soleil on the other hand, that's virtually a shelf beer over here. I've had that from cask more than I've had Fou Foune ;-)

 

[stupac2]

Yes, I thought he was talking about what he would do if he travelled here? In Europe getting Fou Foune on cask is just near-impossible, not impossible ;-). Around release time I hear tell that quite a few of the better beer bars in Brussels get casks. I heard that Torst in Brooklyn had a cask on for their opening night, but that's unsubstantiated.

But we're splitting hairs. It _is_ difficult to get Fou Foune on cask no matter where you are.

Now Soleil on the other hand, that's virtually a shelf beer over here. I've had that from cask more than I've had Fou Foune ;-)

Yeah, I was in Belgium a few weeks before bottles were released and heard about a cask at Moeder, but it was gone before I got there. It's hard to find, man.

 

[HenrikO]

It's hard to find, man.

True dat.
The Akkurat casks usually last for at least a week (crazy long, tight?) - not too many crazy Lambic heads in Sweden.

 

[stupac2]

True dat.
The Akkurat casks usually last for at least a week (crazy long, tight?) - not too many crazy Lambic heads in Sweden.

Yeah, Zwanze day at Akkurat made that pretty clear. Reading the threads for the American bars afterward was lulzy, we just walked in, got a table, and ordered lambic after lambic. Akkurat is awesome.

 

[SwoldierBoiTellEm]

I've got a friend traveling to Belgium for work later this week. They don't know many details but what they have told me is they're flying into Brussels and will be working in Antwerp for a couple weeks. They also know nothing about beer, but are willing to bring me back a bottle or two.

I'm hoping to make it as easy as possible for them. Is there a place in either Antwerp or Brussels that is ideal for a one stop pickup of good bottles? Also, what should be available? Is St. Lam or an LP reasonable to expect? 3F vintages? Anything else?

Thanks in advance!

 

[franch]

best shot for cool cantillon bottles is, unsurprisingly, at cantillon.

 

[stupac2]

Franch is right, though there are stores that have other things. I got a LPG at a random store in Brugge, and there was a store outside Gent that had a fantastic selection. But afaik there's not really anything in Antwerp outside of those "BELGIAN BEERS WOO!" stores that have maybe RdG and regular Gueuze.

 

[HenrikO]

Délices et caprices in Brussels occasionally has Cantillon/3F, and a pretty good selection of obscure Belgian microbrews. Check their RateBeer page, http://www.ratebeer.com/p/delices-et-caprices-brussels/4665/, their FaceBook page seems to be gone/down.

 

[xscottypx]

Délices et caprices in Brussels occasionally has Cantillon/3F, and a pretty good selection of obscure Belgian microbrews. Check their RateBeer page, http://www.ratebeer.com/p/delices-et-caprices-brussels/4665/, their FaceBook page seems to be gone/down.

great great great store. best prices in grand palace and outside of cantillon itself.

bier temple has fantome tulips currently.

cantillon had loads of bottles and glassware including the iris glass.

 

[waltersrj]

My wife and I are going to Europe for the first time at the end of the year. Leaving Christmas night and returning January 10th. We will be in Brussels for 3 days (29th-31st). I am curious about whether or not most places will still be open.

We will be going to DhvL, Moeder Fontainas, Cantillon, Bier Circus, and Drie Fonteinen (on our way out).

Anyone have info for me?

Cheers
Ryan

 

[stupac2]

My wife and I are going to Europe for the first time at the end of the year. Leaving Christmas night and returning January 10th. We will be in Brussels for 3 days (29th-31st). I am curious about whether or not most places will still be open.

We will be going to DhvL, Moeder Fontainas, Cantillon, Bier Circus, and Drie Fonteinen (on our way out).

Anyone have info for me?

Cheers
Ryan

You'll need to check with them about hours. Some places in Belgium will close for long periods of time without it being obvious (DHVL particularly). Moeder really ought to be open, the rest you'll need to check. Keep in mind that 3F's shop has buttfucking insane hours, I've actually never been to it despite having been to the restaurant twice, it's just always closed. If you want to go there you really need to plan it.

 

[GetchaPull]

^this. It's not uncommon for shops/breweries/whathaveyou to shut down for 2-3 weeks over the holidays with little or no notice or postings. The phone is your best friend and definitely plan/call ahead.

Congrats on your trip and hopefully the weather cooperates despite the cold!

 

[beerdweeb]

You'll need to check with them about hours. Some places in Belgium will close for long periods of time without it being obvious (DHVL particularly). Moeder really ought to be open, the rest you'll need to check. Keep in mind that 3F's shop has buttfucking insane hours, I've actually never been to it despite having been to the restaurant twice, it's just always closed. If you want to go there you really need to plan it.

Did you ask if you could go to the store? Our waitress took us over there after our meal to buy stuff and tour the cellar.

 

[stupac2]

Did you ask if you could go to the store? Our waitress took us over there after our meal to buy stuff and tour the cellar.

I think I did, actually...

 

[flexabull]

Tickets are purchased, and I'll be spending 4 or 5 days in Belgium while traveling through Europe this October.

I'd like to check out Brugge and Dinant, but I'm not sure it's necessary to stay the night there. Would a good base be Brussells, then just drive or take a train for day trips?

 

[stupac2]

Tickets are purchased, and I'll be spending 4 or 5 days in Belgium while traveling through Europe this October.

I'd like to check out Brugge and Dinant, but I'm not sure it's necessary to stay the night there. Would a good base be Brussells, then just drive or take a train for day trips?

That should work fine, though in general I find European train systems perplexing and have mostly driven around. I'd also consider using Antwerp as a base instead of Brussels, depending on what you want to do (both beer- and non-beer-wise) it could end up being preferable. Brussels kinda sucks.

 

[DoctorRock]

We went to Ghent for 2 nights and it was our favorite city in Belgium. We used Brussels as a jumping off point and we were a 20 min walk to the Midi train station.. went to brugge and Antwerp from there. PM if you have any questions!

 

[flexabull]

That should work fine, though in general I find European train systems perplexing and have mostly driven around. I'd also consider using Antwerp as a base instead of Brussels, depending on what you want to do (both beer- and non-beer-wise) it could end up being preferable. Brussels kinda sucks.

Thanks, I tend to lean towards cars too, some countries I like the trains, others it just seems expensive and too much hassle.

My experiences of the entire country consists of a few hours in Brussels years ago.

 

[flexabull]

We went to Ghent for 2 nights and it was our favorite city in Belgium. We used Brussels as a jumping off point and we were a 20 min walk to the Midi train station.. went to brugge and Antwerp from there. PM if you have any questions!

Will do, thanks. Ghent definitely looks like a worthy stop, and maybe a good place to set up base since it's close to Brussels and Brugge.

I'm going with people that like good beer, but it will definitely not be the main focus of the trip. Well... Maybe it will be for the Belgium portion.

 

[GetchaPull]

Tickets are purchased, and I'll be spending 4 or 5 days in Belgium while traveling through Europe this October.

I'd like to check out Brugge and Dinant, but I'm not sure it's necessary to stay the night there. Would a good base be Brussells, then just drive or take a train for day trips?

Dinant (the whole Ardennes valley area actually) is beautiful, recommend it...especially for a romantic stop. Brussels is pretty much a dump unless tourist traps are your thing, but it's definitely Lambic HQ. Recommend staying at least one night in Brugge/Bruges (again romantic), with maybe another in Ghent/Gent and/or Dinant since it's out of the way a smidge. Would definitely drive if you plan to visit a handful of cities. Lots of beer-centric towns, but the recommendations change a bit depending on what you are looking for.

 

[franch]

brussels definitely sucks except for lambic. love love love bruges

 

[beerdweeb]

I think I did, actually...

Do you have up-to-date info on the restaurant / retail shop hours? We are heading out there at the end of the month of Quintessance and CBC and would like to check out Drie as well.