European Beer Tour - Where would you go and Why?

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mr_wibble

mr_wibble

Beer Odd
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Hi,

I'm planning a 2-3 week of European tour of Beer & Breweries.
It's not a brewery-a-day type thing, but beer & good food would be a major focus.

Where would you suggest and Why?

Here's a few from the top of my head:

Czech Republic:
- Plzen - Pilsebner Urquell / Brewery Museum - http://www.czechtourism.com/c/brewery-museum-in-plzen/

Germany:
- Bamberg - Home of smoked beer (Rauchbier), etc. - http://www.schlenkerla.de/schlenkerla/ausschank/schlenkerlae.html
- Munich (of course)
- The brewery walking tour of munich, hofbrauhaus, etc. etc.
- Daytrip out to Aying, the brewery and restaurant
- Daytrip out to the monastery brewery of Andechs (absolutely gorgeous dopplebock and pork knuckles) - http://andechs.de/en/hospitality/

Belgium:
- Brouwerij Van Steenberg - Home of "Gulden Draak" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brouwerij_Van_Steenberge

Where else?
How to get around?
 
Mr Wibble said:
Hi,

I'm planning a 2-3 week of European tour of Beer & Breweries.
It's not a brewery-a-day type thing, but beer & good food would be a major focus.

Where would you suggest and Why?

Here's a few from the top of my head:

Czech Republic:
- Plzen - Pilsebner Urquell / Brewery Museum - http://www.czechtourism.com/c/brewery-museum-in-plzen/

Germany:
- Bamberg - Home of smoked beer (Rauchbier), etc. - http://www.schlenkerla.de/schlenkerla/ausschank/schlenkerlae.html
- Munich (of course)
- The brewery walking tour of munich, hofbrauhaus, etc. etc.
- Daytrip out to Aying, the brewery and restaurant
- Daytrip out to the monastery brewery of Andechs (absolutely gorgeous dopplebock and pork knuckles) - http://andechs.de/en/hospitality/

Belgium:
- Brouwerij Van Steenberg - Home of "Gulden Draak" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brouwerij_Van_Steenberge

Where else?
How to get around?
Click to expand...
In Belguim, add Brugge. Hit up t'brugs beertje and Cambrinus. Also do a tour of the Haalve Maan brewery. Also if you are in Brussels, check out the Cantillion brewery and Moder Lambic Fountainus if you are into sour beers.

In Germany, you could also try Cologne and/or Dusseldorf.
Bamberg is very nice, plenty of places to have a beer and schnitzel. I liked the Mahr's beer garden while I was there.
Munich is great, make sure you check out the Augustiner Keller / Beer Garden.

In Czech Republic, the Urquell tour is awesome. There are also plenty of nice pubs in Prague.

Poland is also very good and very cheap.

Transport? Trains!
 
I didn't do a heap of beer related stuff when I was in Europe (was before my enlightenment...) but can highly recommend the Munich beer walking tour that you mentioned (continued with the group well into the night after the official wrap-up at Hofbrauhaus), and also did a walking tour in Brussels that was fantastic too.
 
The Urquell tour is great.

I also did the Budvar tour in České Budějovice which was not as grand but I preferred it out of the two.
 
Central Europe only. From there it simply radiates into watery lagers, white liquor and wine.
 
The Urquell tour in Pilsen is definitely a great experience. If nothing else, tasting a real Pilsener, unfiltered, straight from the giant oak barrel will give you a reference point.

In Prague, visit the Strahov Monastic Brewery, just a short walk from the Prague castle. The beer is good, the food is good and the view of Prague as you walk to the castle is fantastic. http://www.klasterni-pivovar.cz/about_us

If you ever get a chance to visit the Svijany brewery in the Czech Republic, do it. They still use open fermenters and will actually let you inside the fermentation room. I got to scoop some fresh krausen from the fermenter and taste it! They are one of the older breweries, just over 450 years. Getting the tours is a bit tricky, you need to book ahead and need a minimum, but we (two adults and two kids) just paid the price for 10 adults and got a private tour with an English speaking guide. It was not expensive. They have a good shop, with lots of cheap beer, but also some nice merchandise, like t-shirts, hoodies, socks, hats, beer glasses and steins, etc. I ended up bringing two 2L beer cans of Svijanský Rytíř back to Australia, it was that good. https://www.pivovarsvijany.cz/kontakty-exkurze/

In Belgium, the De Dolle brewery tour was very, very good. Stuff you don't see elsewhere, like giant copper gravity fed cooling. http://www.dedollebrouwers.be/en/welcome
 
I would recommend more time in Belgium, especially if you are into (or getting into) sours, also plenty of good trappist and trappist style beers. I have family in Germany but on the last trip enjoyed Belgium far more.

Some good places:
Belgium
Brussels - Moder Lambic, Cantillion (which I missed last time as it was closed after xmas)
Brugge - Duvelorium (bar above the Markt Square), Brouwerij De Halve Maan
Ghent - Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant (the water house on the beer side)
All restaurants had a very good beer menu, always with correct glassware.

Germany
Cologne - Home of Kolsch - I spent 3 or 4 nights here, probably would have done 2 or 3 max. Whilst the beer was good it was only Kolsch and after the wide selection of beers and styles in Belgium I was dissapointed.
Dusseldorf - Home of Altbier - 2 nights here
 
If you are beer driven, I'd suggest about 4 or 5 days in Czech Republic, then drive through Germany (over 2 or 3 days) to Belgium. Spend as much time in Belgium as you can. I've done a beer tour with a friend and 2 weeks in Belgium was not enough.

Make sure that you visit Brussels and that you go to Delirium Cafe Hoppy Loft. We went on a weekday and arrived at around 10:30am. It was quiet and we got full attention and great education from the beer experts there for several hours until the crowds started arriving mid-afternoon. http://www.deliriumhoppyloft.com/

The rest of Delirium Cafe is also great, of course.

Bruges is a good base for a few days. There are some great bars/cafes in town, including Beertje. If you can get served by Daisy, just explain to her the kind of beers you like and she'll sort you out. She knows her beers! http://www.brugsbeertje.be/index_en.htm

If you can make it to Vleteren, make sure you visit Struise (voted best brewers in the world, back in 2008) https://struise.com/

If you are lucky and organised, you might even be able to pick up some Westvleteren from the San Sixtus Abbey down the road.

Orval is worth visiting for the tour of the ruins. You won't get to see the brewery, but there's a decent pub a hundred meters down the road that serves all their beers. You get a choice of having them cold or "normal" serving temperature.

Chimay is less exciting to visit, however there is am official Chimay restaurant a few km down the road. They have some nice cheeses too. http://chimay.com/en/auberge-de-poteaupre/ http://chimay.com/en/lespace-chimay/

And there's so much more...
 

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