I'll be in Belgium in November. I heard from someone that Armand's limited the hours, although the restaurant's open. Any suggestions or updates on when it's best to visit 3F?
Open beer days is the only time the brewery is open to the public. It's the first week of September. The brewery store is open frid/Saturday's for purchase of beer. They usually only have Geuze, glasses, and their clean beers. The restaurant is not affiliated with the brewery, it's run by his brother and they serve 3f beers there. The food is good and they have aged stuff to drink on site (1997 gueuze, 1998 geuze, lambic, kriekein lambic...)
Yeah, they don't have a ton of different beers available for purchase on-site. Gueuze, Golden Blend, the Beersel lagers, and Zwet. There's also the Armand Gueuze spirits. I've seen more 3F bottles on sale in Denver that I did in and around Brussels. Armand's wife, Lydie, is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, though. She gave us a lot of tips for things to do and see. It's a pretty easy drive to make and the 3F restaurant is the real destination in Beersel.
cool. good to hear. is Tilquin similar in ability to visit? i'm in and around Brussels for a few days, so i might as well check out a gueuzery
I've been at Tilquin one time for picking up some bottles. It was not possible to visit the Geuzerie alone, it's only for groups with at least 10 people and you need to make a reservation. Visits from Monday till Saturday.
Lots of the different breweries only do the group thing. Supposedly you can contact them for exceptions, but I didn't have the time or resolve. Next time I'll be more prepared. Like 3F, I didn't see a ton of Tilquin sitting on shelves, although it was certainly available at the specialty bars.
