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Belgium Travel Thread

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Thanks for all of the info everyone! This thread has been extremely helpful for planning.

I will be flying into Brussels on Sunday Feb 7th at 11:45 am. Will I have enough time to get to Grote Dorst before they close for the day? If so, what is my best transportation option?

And DHvL. Is there anything that anyone would recommend doing nearby? Also, is anyone interested in splitting bottles there on Feb 8th? BusinessSloth ?
Shoot me a PM. We'll try to figure it out. I will be drawing up an itinerary so I can visit everywhere I want to. Grote Dorst And DHVL are on my must visit list.

I'd like to visit some museums and take in local culture. I think there is actually going to be some sort of festival while I'm in country. I'd have to look it up though as I forgot what it is exactly
 
Shoot me a PM. We'll try to figure it out. I will be drawing up an itinerary so I can visit everywhere I want to. Grote Dorst And DHVL are on my must visit list.

I'd like to visit some museums and take in local culture. I think there is actually going to be some sort of festival while I'm in country. I'd have to look it up though as I forgot what it is exactly

Will do! Carnival is probably what you're thinking of. :)
 
This right here is why I love this community. So many helpful and friendly people....Mixed with a few trolls and gifs. ;)

I'll PM you when I get home in a few hours. Thanks!

koplamp is a great dude! Did an IP trade with him at Moeder on Zwanze Day and my wife and I ended up hanging out with him and his buddy the whole night, and drinking a few decent beers ;)

Also, I've been meaning to come in and and post since we got home a few weeks ago, but I just wanted to thank everyone who has posted in this thread with helpful info about how to do Belgium right. Especially Quatz, who went out of his way to PM me lots of great info and answer all my questions. I posted in this thread before our trip that being in Brussels for Zwanze Day would probably be the pinnacle of my beer drinking career, and that was definitely the case. This is indeed a great community with many great people.
 
Booked Belgium trip from 11/11/ - 11/18 - Stay in Brussels for a few nights, hopefully meet with a friend in Antwerp one day. Should most likely take the train into Amsterdam or London. Anyone here do public brew day at Cantillon before? Never been to Europe before really stoked. Going to start freshing up on my French. Gonna try to hit alot of the spots mentioned on here. If anyone wants to do a trade or something let me know.
 
Booked Belgium trip from 11/11/ - 11/18 - Stay in Brussels for a few nights, hopefully meet with a friend in Antwerp one day. Should most likely take the train into Amsterdam or London. Anyone here do public brew day at Cantillon before? Never been to Europe before really stoked. Going to start freshing up on my French. Gonna try to hit alot of the spots mentioned on here. If anyone wants to do a trade or something let me know.
I went to the public brew day last year, place was packed but it was my first time at Cantillon so I had a great time. One tip I can give you already is try to get there early as it will get very crowded as the day goes on and the most interesting part of the brewing happens in the morning. PM me if you need more info.
 
I went to the public brew day last year, place was packed but it was my first time at Cantillon so I had a great time. One tip I can give you already is try to get there early as it will get very crowded as the day goes on and the most interesting part of the brewing happens in the morning. PM me if you need more info.

Go early is right! It is fun, but honestly regular weekdays are a lot more laid back and they are brewin then as well.
But go early and enjoy croissants and geuze:)

I might be in for feb 8, if rosenmontag is a holiday at the University or I just schedule exams for another day.
The weekend though February 6/7 is very likely, especially since I like to escape Cologne during Karneval.

Cheers
 
I'm going (unless of course my friends cancel on me again). Don't really know much about it yet but it should be fun!

I´ll be there with some friends and a pinscher named Torribio ;) Come over and say hi.

cpHUcoV.jpg
 
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Go early is right! It is fun, but honestly regular weekdays are a lot more laid back and they are brewin then as well.
But go early and enjoy croissants and geuze:)

I might be in for feb 8, if rosenmontag is a holiday at the University or I just schedule exams for another day.
The weekend though February 6/7 is very likely, especially since I like to escape Cologne during Karneval.

Cheers
I just want dat sausage gueuze ;)

t Antwaerps Bierhuyske supposedly serves what I assume is a house blend of sausage and gueuze on their limited menu.
 
Excuse me if this is covered elsewhere, but cantillon has bottle shippers for sale. Anyone have experience bringing extra checked luggage of beer shippers? In other words, is it legit to bring this box back on the international flight back to the states?
 
Excuse me if this is covered elsewhere, but cantillon has bottle shippers for sale. Anyone have experience bringing extra checked luggage of beer shippers? In other words, is it legit to bring this box back on the international flight back to the states?
As checked luggage? Sure, but that'd be quite expensive for a 3 bottle shipper. Airlines charge around 60€ for an extra bag.
 
Excuse me if this is covered elsewhere, but cantillon has bottle shippers for sale. Anyone have experience bringing extra checked luggage of beer shippers? In other words, is it legit to bring this box back on the international flight back to the states?
In my experience I'm usually able to fit around 9-12 bottles between two suitcases filled with clothes, shoes, etc., without going over the weight limit. I pack fairly minimally but my fiancee definitely does not, and we never have an issue.
 
How many bottles are you allowed to bring into the US? I'm planning to take some in my luggage and maybe buy one of these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007DZJAHY/?tag=talkbecom09-20

Makes things easier to take stuff back to Belgium too ofcourse
Rule of thumb: You're generally OK with up to a case of alcohol for "personal consumption". Beyond that and customs MAY have you pay taxes or even fill out a temporary license to sell if they think you're trying to subvert the law and sell the alcohol. I think the majority don't care enough to have you do that if you bring a little over a case.

The wine check is legit. I've used it.
As checked luggage? Sure, but that'd be quite expensive for a 3 bottle shipper. Airlines charge around 60€ for an extra bag.
For reference, my 1st bag is free on the trip to Brussels with United Airlines. A 2nd bag is a $100 charge though.

I'll probably bring a 2nd bag as it's roughly the cost to ship a case or two of bottles back to home. If I pack smart, I'm pretty sure I can fit the actual bag itself into the 1st one on the trip up there so I avoid paying $200 in baggage fees (or my carry-on backpack)
 
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How many bottles are you allowed to bring into the US? I'm planning to take some in my luggage and maybe buy one of these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007DZJAHY/?tag=talkbecom09-20

Makes things easier to take stuff back to Belgium too ofcourse
of beer? lots and lots and lots, and then more.
Officially with liquor and wine it is 1liter and then you are taxed, but the taxes are only about $1-2 a bottle, unless it is something crazy expensive. I had friends a few years ago who were stopped with 12 bottles of wine and they paid around $25-$30.
Back to beer!
I have had customs ask about beer once and I told them I had about 20 liters of beer and they did not care. IF you are stopped, after your duty free allowance, it is about 13 cents/liter. I have not looked up the exact rates in some time as I have never worried about it. If you are curious and want to delve into it look up "Harmonized Tariff Schedule of The United States" under spirits and vinegar... actually here: http://hts.usitc.gov/current
 
of beer? lots and lots and lots, and then more.
Officially with liquor and wine it is 1liter and then you are taxed, but the taxes are only about $1-2 a bottle, unless it is something crazy expensive. I had friends a few years ago who were stopped with 12 bottles of wine and they paid around $25-$30.
Back to beer!
I have had customs ask about beer once and I told them I had about 20 liters of beer and they did not care. IF you are stopped, after your duty free allowance, it is about 13 cents/liter. I have not looked up the exact rates in some time as I have never worried about it. If you are curious and want to delve into it look up "Harmonized Tariff Schedule of The United States" under spirits and vinegar... actually here: http://hts.usitc.gov/current
The limit is about 100L if you stay inside of the EU. Outside of the EU I think it's 16L
 
3 Fonteinen restaurant/store: Good food, vintage 3F on the menu. Store has really limited hours, can't vouch for the selection as it's always been closed for me.

Made it out to the restaurant on my recent trip. I had to go twice because they were not open Thursdays for dinner (but were open Thursdays for lunch?) and that had not been updated on their website. It appears as though it is up to date now.

Beyond double checking the hours before you go, my recommendation is that we did take a train and it was actually pretty easy. It was less than 30 minutes, the only tricky thing is you do have to transfer. The info stations at the Brussels train station were quite helpful with telling when/where to transfer and which specific tracks to catch your transfer.

BTW, as of a few weeks ago, this was the menu for the "vintage" selection at the restaurant:
12219339_10103984070846913_1787162637403789781_n.jpg


They were apparently selling Zenne y Frontera as well in the 50 euro range.
 
Made it out to the restaurant on my recent trip. I had to go twice because they were not open Thursdays for dinner (but were open Thursdays for lunch?) and that had not been updated on their website. It appears as though it is up to date now.

Beyond double checking the hours before you go, my recommendation is that we did take a train and it was actually pretty easy. It was less than 30 minutes, the only tricky thing is you do have to transfer. The info stations at the Brussels train station were quite helpful with telling when/where to transfer and which specific tracks to catch your transfer.

BTW, as of a few weeks ago, this was the menu for the "vintage" selection at the restaurant:
12219339_10103984070846913_1787162637403789781_n.jpg


They were apparently selling Zenne y Frontera as well in the 50 euro range.
Yep, ZyF is exactly 50€.
 
Thanks for all of the info everyone! This thread has been extremely helpful for planning.
I will be flying into Brussels on Sunday Feb 7th at 11:45 am.

Aaaaand I'm confirmed. Departing February 2nd, 2016 and will arrive in Brussels on February 3rd around 8AM. My departing flight will be February 10th.

Looks like my lady and I will be doing a whirlwind tour of Germany and Belgium late February/Early March. May hit you guys up for up-to-date tips after you get back.

FYI for others, super cheap flights to/from Amsterdam/Berlin on WowAir from Boston. We managed $600 round trip with mutliple destinations and one checked bag and you can get as low as $490 all-in round trip.
 
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Looks like my lady and I will be doing a whirlwind tour of Germany and Belgium late February/Early March. May hit you guys up for up-to-date tips after you get back.

FYI for others, super cheap flights to/from Amsterdam/Berlin on WowAir from Boston. We managed $600 round trip with mutliple destinations and one checked bag and you can get as low as $490 all-in round trip.
Sure thing! remind me in about a month and I'll send you my planned itinerary plus all the incredible tips the community has given me into one document.
 
Looks like my lady and I will be doing a whirlwind tour of Germany and Belgium late February/Early March. May hit you guys up for up-to-date tips after you get back.
Happy to help, just shoot me a message before you fly out!
 
How many bottles are you allowed to bring into the US? I'm planning to take some in my luggage and maybe buy one of these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007DZJAHY/?tag=talkbecom09-20

Makes things easier to take stuff back to Belgium too ofcourse

Just made a trip from and back to Europe with my wine check and it was life changing. No more bubble wrap and packing took 2 minutes.

Made the trip with roughly 14 750s and 26 375s. Never a blink with customs or any one else. This has been the case with all the flights I have ever made with beer.
 
Agreed that the Wine Check is life changing. No issues at all with customs, and the only comment I got on it was at Munich airport before we flew back home...the lady that checked our bags looked at the x-ray and smiled and asked if we were bringing home a lot of Prosecco. I just went along with it ;)
 
For anyone considering visiting Belgium: you really have to go to De Dolle if you can. I went there last week and had an amazing experience. It's in a beautiful region of Belgium that I don't visit often enough, the tour was great (got to taste some SNR straight from the barrel) and Kris is a great guy to talk to.
 
For anyone considering visiting Belgium: you really have to go to De Dolle if you can. I went there last week and had an amazing experience. It's in a beautiful region of Belgium that I don't visit often enough, the tour was great (got to taste some SNR straight from the barrel) and Kris is a great guy to talk to.
But will he let you take a picture with his jacket on?
 
Not sure this is the right thread for this but seems to be the most active so I'll give it a shot....

My friend is going to be in Eindhoven for a week on vacation. Any breweries or bottle shops he should visit? Anything he can't miss?

Thanks for the help in advance!

Jeff
 
Not sure this is the right thread for this but seems to be the most active so I'll give it a shot....

My friend is going to be in Eindhoven for a week on vacation. Any breweries or bottle shops he should visit? Anything he can't miss?

Thanks for the help in advance!

Jeff
Well you're in luck, as the crest of the city of Eindhoven in my avatar would suggest.

You can not miss van Moll. And I mean no ******* way. Great brewpub and the best bar in Eindhoven. 24 taps and lots of interesting bottles. They had St Lam for 16,50 on the menu last time it was released for example. Other bars in decreasing order of goodness are de Baron (I may be biased here, I have my own table), de Drinkers Pub and de Bierprofessor. De Baron is a classic Belgian/Dutch brown bar with lots of Belgian beers. The Drinkers pub is very new and not that great (yet). They do have a lot of stuff, like 500 beers, but the menu isn't thought out well and it's quite expensive for the more interesting brews. De Bierprofessor is a small bar with about 200 beers on the bar street which i would avoid. More a student bar than a good bar to enjoy beer.

Look here for van Moll http://vanmolleindhoven.nl/menukaart

There are three good bottle shops. De Bierbrigadier is just around the corner from van Moll and run by an old bartender from there. Right now he has 3F, Fantome, Cantillon CSG, geuze, kriek and rdg on the shelves and a couple hundred interesting other things. Lots of Schneider, some Omnipollo, dunno just a lot I guess.

The Stigros is out of the way but has cheap stuff from Struise, harder to find geuze and lambiek like hanssens, 3f, cantillon, oud beersel and Horal and some other cool stuff. Then there is de Mitra which is close to the Stigros but even further out of the way on an ugly ass (not surprisingly in Eindhoven) industrial area but he has about 8/900 kinds of beer from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, UK and scandinavia. Also some Baltic, Polish and Spanish beers. Lots of Tilquin on shelves right now.

Let me know if you want to know more.
 
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