Beer motivated trip to Belgium... anyone been there?

[jayred]

Mate get to Bruges
It's such a beautiful city and has a couple of really good breweries and most of the bars have 100's of beers to choose from.
Bourgogne des flanders is a must try, Wish i could get that **** over here
I stayed in brussels for a few days before tommorowland and didn't really like the city too much.
It has it's nice parts but then has its dero parts too and there is a sense of not so save areas
The beers there are great however- Delerium is popular

 

[Alienka]

About a year ago, my girlfriend presented me with a tour to Belgium. I will tell you that Belgium impressed us very much.

 

[duncbrewer]

Bruge beer festival very good in the central square, very pretty city and some great crepes as well. It's got some many beers in the one place to try, it's not like Oktoberfest or Springfest in Germany.

 

[GoodDuck]

Bruge is beautiful! And gives you access to plenty of great drinking establishments and bottle shops. De Halve Maan brewery is easily accessible and does tours and tastings. I also stopped briefly in Brussels to visit the Cantillon brewery (self tours) - walkable from the train station.
From Bruge we hired a car, and drove to the "In Flanders Fields Museum" in Ypres, some of which is very moving. From there we drove to the Saint Sixtus Abbey which brew the Westvletern 12 ( and the Blond and the 8) - The Abbey is closed to the public, but fans of the beers do like to visit the site. Pick up some 12s from the "In de Vrede" cafe across the road. (pretty sure the cheapest price around)

 

[Alienka]

About a year ago, my girlfriend presented me with a tour to Belgium. I will tell you that Belgium impressed us very much. Every evening we went to a new pub and drank new beers. If you want to do beer tourism, then I recommend just going to bars and pubs like we do. But if you want to take a tour, I recommend that you look at this site visit site a couple of tours we bought here and we're delighted. So if you still plan to go to Belgium, then allocate at least a couple of days to view this country, you definitely won't regret it!

 

[MHB]

Personally I would rate the Westy Blond one of the finest beers on the planet!
Mark

 

[zoigl]

I found that getting to breweries was a bit of a problem. They are situated out of town, very little public transport was available, you seem to have 2 options, get a driver, or maybe ride a bike (could pose problems with alcohol)
I found it very difficult to find a beer under 8% abv.
My wife and I did the 4 nations bike ride, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany, the ride took us along the Battle of the Bulge route, there were numerous opportunities to sample the local beers during this ride. So in the main towns you should find bars that will have about 1000 beers available, some seem to have about 100 on tap.
Look out for glasses, there is a fine shop in Bruge, but you will find stalls at markets too. Good luck.

 

[zoigl]

There is a bar in Antwerp which specializes in very old beers. Unfortunately, I only found out about it when I got home. The bar has a sign, "Are you here to drink or taste?" Maybe worth looking up if you are nearby. Some beers are reputed to be 40 tears old.

 

[LRAT]

I was born and grew up in Belgium in a village called Ertvelde (Near Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen). The local brewery Van Steenberge is worth a visit and they produce some of the best Belgian beers: Piraat, Gulden Draak, Augustijn, Baptist, Bornem, etc.
It's a pity we can't buy this stuff in Australia. They do lots of export to the US.
Check out their website: Brouwerij Van Steenberge | Home

 

[MHB]

A nudge for a mate of mine, Jason imports beers mostly from Belgium; they are cold shipped all the way so are in excellent condition.

If you can’t get to Belgium the International Beer Collector is the best option here.
Mark

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

I was born and grew up in Belgium in a village called Ertvelde (Near Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen). The local brewery Van Steenberge is worth a visit and they produce some of the best Belgian beers: Piraat, Gulden Draak, Augustijn, Baptist, Bornem, etc.
It's a pity we can't buy this stuff in Australia. They do lots of export to the US.
Check out their website: Brouwerij Van Steenberge | Home

I've tried the Van Steenberbe beers at the Castle in North Melbourne.

Also one of the guys in the Belgian club imports them

 

[LRAT]

I've tried the Van Steenberbe beers at the Castle in North Melbourne.

Also one of the guys in the Belgian club imports them

Can you share some contact details of the person who imports these beers?
I am dying for a taste of my roots

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

A friend of a fried said he had got some beers from a guy in the Belgian club, they have social functions, maybe they can help you. Activities

You can taste the beers you like at the castle hotel, check out the beer menu Food & Drinks - The Castle Hotel

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

Just returned from lunch at the Castle hotel, look what I had,

 

[yankinoz]

2000 beers on tap across the bars they own in Delirium lane is fairly extensive

My favourite I can’t remember which bar it was but it had The Hoppy Loft upstairs
All Malt beers bottom floor and everything else on the middle floor

How much time should one allow to try all 2000?