Cantillon Quintessence 2016

I have been in 2012 & 2014. I have thoroughly enjoyed the previous editions.

 

Looking at AirBnB and hostels for now. Thanks!

 

Super helpful... and much more in the price range we were looking for. thanks!

 

I have purchased tickets to the event in the off chance I can make the flight and hotel work out. Plan on taking my wife for our 5th year anniversary. Hopefully I can move a few mountains to make this all come together, hopefully I'll see some of you there!

 

I believe that the 5th is the "international lambic blend anniversary." Enjoy!

If travel logistics don't work, you'll find someone to take them off your hands -- make it face value for the sake of your beer karma, of course. If you need to (and I hope not -- hope you make it), post here, Belgian Beer Board, and maybe if there are Spanish and Italian ones...?

 

Ya that's what I planned on doing. Although I do believe they are named tickets and you have to have a matching ID, but I could be wrong.

 

You can order x tickets but only need to give one name, so i dont see how they could check on ID

 

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I did it last time. I don't remember exactly how, whether he just mentioned my name or I put it under his name, but it worked, no trouble at all. To be clear, there was absolutely no scalping involved, and I can't remember if I even bothered to ask him for the face value, I think I was just glad to see the ticket go to a good home. What a blast it was. The unacknowledged secret was that having it end early in the evening made for an easy recovery and untroubled morning after, FWIW.

 

Where do we purchase tickets?

 

http://cantillon.be/br/3_18

 

Just booked my ticket! This will be my first trip to a brewery abroad - in fact, my first trip away just for beer. Normally I'll find beer whilst away. Whereas this I'm going away for the beer.

So I've got a 14:00 - 14:30 slot. All the morning slots went first, so it seems everyone is aware that's the preferred times (as has been mentioned in this thread).

Just curious, how "bad" does it get in the afternoon? Is it that busy? What am I going to miss out on as a result of having an afternoon slot, as opposed to a morning one?

Also, I'm miles away from a lot of the guys on here in terms of experience and knowledge - will the Cantillon crowd cater for guys with lesser geek points? Or will I be judged into submission for not being able to pick out baby's breath or burnt maple leaf in a beer?

 

They pour beer, you drink it, there's not much more too it.

 

This, I can get along with.

 

Looking to book accommodation for this, and I've come across numerous reviewers suggesting to avoid Anderlecht.
A lot of the good (cheap) deals seem to be in this area - maybe not coincidentally?

For anyone with experience, what would your advice be on areas in and around Brussels?

 

@ManforallSaisons I'm glancing towards you at this stage...

 

What are you looking for? This time I'm satying with friends, but I've stayed in a bunch of hotels there over the years. If you go for more than 2-3 days it's usually cheapest to rent an "apartment" which is just a hotel room with microwave but without cleaning. Usually it's also cheaper to not be right at Grand Place, but a little further away, if you're close to a metro or tram station it doesn't matter anyway.

I'd avoid the super shady stuff, but just check on a site like booking.com for something in your range and preferred area.

 

Thanks @Maakun. I'll only be there for a couple of nights. I suppose one question would be where the "super shady stuff" is? I don't know any areas in Brussels, so I don't know if some should be avoided, or if they're all similar.
So for example, there is a hotel down the street from Cantillon, in Anderlecht. Some of the reviews (some of which are from booking.com) suggest avoiding the area, not walking anywhere at night etc. Were they unlucky? or would you agree?

 

Again, it depends on what you're looking for. I have stayed in worse areas in Brussels than the area where Cantillon is and I have no problems with it, but others might be uncomfortable. The location is a bit rough, but nothing too crazy, and if the hotel itself seems decent enough I would go for it.