Six days in Belgium. Help!

In de Vrede is right across the street of the abbey/brewery and it is the only place where they officially sell the beers from the abbey. You can also buy a sixpack of the beers, but it depends on the stock which kind. In october it closes every thursday and friday. Keep that in mind.

In a lot of bars you can also buy Westvleteren (6, 8 or 12) f.e. Cambrinus in Brugge, but you pay around 15 euros for one bottle of 12.

 

The Guardian Angel is located on the entrance road that leads to the Abbey. It's a simple cafe in terms of sandwiches and offers Orval, as well as the Petit Orval which is a table version that doesn't make it all that far outside the surrounding area. There's also a Hostellerie on the corner of the main entrance where you could possibly indulge.

You can tour the Abbey ruins that date roughly to the year 1070 but you cannot visit the brewery except for their open access days which, I believe, is only twice a year. Unless you are in the area from previous travel I don't think Orval is a good stop if you're simply looking at the beer angle. But you should be able to gather thoughts after visiting the Orval website.

 

1. Liègestyle waffles arn't my cup of tea :-). In most Belgian town, you have ample choices.

2. what JosephThompson said

3. Deconinck in Vichte has lot of different sours. They don't always have the same selection though. You also have Geers in Oostakker, but same here: you don't know what they are going to have.

 

Dekoninck may have some Cantillon by October, but currently they don't sell it. They usually have 3f (normal ones) and other Geuze.
Geers may have some Cantillon, also depending on availability and only 1 bottle per person.
Struise beers are mostly the normal ones in the beer shops. If you want to drink rare ones, e.g. Kulminator, Molenhof, ... But that's to drink, normally not to take away.
Cheers!

 

I would spend less time in Brussels unless you are using it as base for day trips. Skip Delirium, its an overrated tourist trap. There are better beer cafes within a few blocks. My main advice is to purchase a copy of Tim Webb's Good Beer Guide to Belgium. It is the Bible for beer travel in Belgium. I would probably take Ghent over Antwerp but there is a lot to do in both places. Definitely Bruges. You will probably find that Belgian breweries (tours of the brewery) are generally not open to the public except weekends and often then only with a group or by special arrangement. The exceptions are Cantillon De Halve Maan in Bruges. However, this is changing with some of the new breweries.

 

I'm pleased to see you are thinking about going south to the Ardennes in Wallonia. You won't be disappointed. Most tourists don't venture there. My all-time favorite place is Orval, but yu won't be able to tour the brewery. You can look at the historical ruins and eat lunch and drink the petit Orval at their cafe. It is truly beautiful. No tours and not much to see at Rochefort. No tap room. Just a couple of beer cafes in town. I would pass on it. Danny at Fantome...what can I say. A true small farmhouse brewery. Achouffe is fun. You can take a tour, call ahead and ask for English speaking Tine to be your guide. For history, you can take in the Battle of the Bulge museum in nearby Bastogne. It is world class.

 

+1 on Bastogne, if you are into WWII history.... The museum is very good, as is the Mardasson Memorial. It is also only a short bit away from the Bois Jacques, where the Band of Brothers dug in their foxholes (still there!) awaiting the Germans... Recommend having an Airborne Beer (google Vincent Speranza for the story!) at https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16121/?view=ratings - Brasserie Lamborelle....

 

Re: Bastogne..... It was 2011... I arrived there for a day by train and bus from Liege... then rented a bicycle. Rode to the Mardasson Memorial, then the Bois Jacques, Foy, Bizory, Noville, Houffalize and on to Achouffe... The Brewery itself was closed that day, but I had some of their bier at a pub across the street.... Back the same way, with a bier stop in Houffalize, then back to Bastogne and Brasserie Lamborelle.... A fan-friggin-tastic day, both for the history and the bier!

Prosit!

 

Have fun :-)

 

Best choice. Public transport isn't always that reliable. Especially if you are going to Westvleteren or Dolle.

 

I you want to do De Struise and De Dolle, hub out of Brugge and do it towards the end of the week. Brugge has a De Struise shop and the Schoolhouse is only open on Saturday and De Dolle has an English tour on Sunday. We had a blast in Brugge - yes it is touristy but it is a beautiful and easy navigable city. Not sure where you are flying in/out of, but maybe do two days in Brussels, train to Antwerp (spend a day), two days in Brugge and then back to Brussels.

 

If hungry in Brugges and a meat eater must go to ribs n beer make sure you have a reservation as it gets very busy

 

We go over about 6 times a year to Brugges from the UK to see friends so they take us to a few places that we love
The beer wall plenty of choice but touristy
The vissinger might be spelt wrong!..oldest bar in Brugges
The red rose....good selection
Brugge Bertie's busy touristy but good
Even normal bars in Brugges have a good selection
And got to have frites and mayo under the bell tower
When eating keep away from the main market sq very expensive a tourist trap
You'll love it
Ghent about a hour by train away..some awesome bars there love the place

 

https://www.parkrestaurant.be/index.html

These guys do a good job for dinner in Brugge.