Belgium Beer Trip

As others said, they're on facebook. Glad to hear he's not supposed to be out long.

As for the Good Beer Belgium book, I asked Tim Webb about the new edition when I met him at the Kerstbierfestival last year... He said there's really only a couple of new pages worth of content compared to the last edition... so if you can get your hands on an old copy, you won't really be missing much.

 

I concur with the comments about Delirium...overrated...crowded with drunks. Lots of other places within walking distance of the Grand Place. Look at BeerAdvocate.com for some nice reviews. I personally like Chez Moeder Lambic in the Saint Gilles neighborhood SE of Midi Station. There are other nice brown cafes in the area. As to Brasserie Dupont, I'm not certain it is open to the public for tours. I just visited it on a tour with a group that had made reservations months ahead of time. Worth it if you can do it. I have visited all the Trappist breweries and really enjoyed the trip to Orval. I have taken some tours of other Trappist breweries, but generally a casual visitor without reservations and not part of a group will not be given a tour. At Orval, beautiful old ruins and countryside surrounding it. Nice museum. Very underrated IMHO. It is more than just the beer. They also operate a nice cafe a short walk down the road. Overall, sounds like a great trip...enjoy! So many great places...I could spend a liftetime. P.S. I would check dates and times of openings etc. right before you go and after you get there! In Belgium, schedules tend to change with no announcement...always have a plan B in case a door is locked etc.

 

I am planning a similar trip next year and am looking at a guided trip or the possibility of completely plan in my own. The one concern I have is driving around and getting lost as my group will be all English speakers. Is navigating around Belgium less daunting than it may seem from my couch?

 

My recommendation contact local ba's on here to visit places with you. It helps a lot. I did that and met some amazing people. Having locals always helps anywhere you visit. Also bring American beer for them to enjoy if you have room

 

That's a great idea I hadn't thought of. Since I assume I won't be able to cart those locals around the country with my I'm wondering how easy it is to navigate from Brussels to Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp?

 

You can take a train from Brussels to bruges. It takes about 1.5 hours. Well worth it though. I enjoyed brussells for the breweries, but bruges was much more scenic. Contact any of the locals in this thread when you are visiting. If nothing else they can help tell you where to go.

Navigating Brussels for me was kind of tough. I took some transportation, but more often than not just hopped in a cab. Beware though, because cabs in Europe are really expensive. Much more so than in the United States. If you need any other tips just shoot me a message and I can give you tips based on what I did on my trip. I just got back so it's fresh in my mind still.

 

It's quite easy, Brussels is in the center between al those cities. The furthest is Bruges, about 130km/80 miles. Only thing is the highways can be packed during rush hour. I would recommend taking the train if you're planning on just doing the bigger cities.

I'm from near Antwerp and can guide you around if you want, just PM me.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I will definitely send out some PM's when I start to build out my trip a little more.

 

If you have a big enough group, renting a van could be less than trains, but it would be a hassle if you're mainly to/from/in cities. To be out in the countryside, I think you'll find navigating much easier than you think. Lots of signage pointing the way to the center of pretty much any village. But you want to invest in a decent map or a guide book with good wide-area maps, because roads aren't signed by direction on the compass, it's by the towns and cities they head toward. A minimum amount of "Speak English?" will find someone to fill in the rest.

 

Ouch, sorry! At Bier Tempel in Brussels center, the price range as of recently was something like 8-12 euros/bottle. Beer Mania in Ixelles district charges 12 euros for all. It's around the same price at one of the cheese vendors at the weekend market on Place Flagey. Oddly more reliable to find beer to go there than In de Vrede. Just a reminder that if you're interested in some of the "comparables" like St. Bernardus 12 or Rochefort 10, check a decent-sized grocery store before paying more than 2.50 euros/bottle at a specialist/tourist place.

 

There are 2 kinds of "cabs" in Belgium: the one with the moneycounter (don't take them) and the guys that you can rent for a whole day or more. They give you a price when you book so no suprises for that. I know a guy that does a lot of drives for Moortgat( Duvel) that takes their visitors around for 1-3 days and stays with them all the time. English is no problem. He know his way around in the beerareas.
For example a price with a cab to the airport from where i live is € 120 with this guy its €60 (we book him for our holidays). Its a huge difference.. you should check it out.
His link www.wingstransport.be

The drive from Brussels to Bruges is ok only the drive in Brussels is the worst. And whatch out for BOB controles : its the police checks for alcohol ... drinking and driving you can forget in Belgium.... so stupid country of beers and we can not drink more than 2 normal beers anymore.

Let me know if you need some more information or a guide.

 

Nothing to it. its flat in the northern part. They drive on the right, just have a good GPS with euro maps set and update it. If you getting a car and I do not know IF you are, all the major cities are easy to get to and from. The hard part is city centers in some places. But after even a few days my first time driving in Bruges, it was not that bad. Ghent is cake, Brussels is not hard but more traffic. Half the fun is learning but if going to drink allot do not drive. Its why I say you do not need a car in the bigger cities, take the train, until you have to have a car. plan the trip well and you can minimize the car rental.

car rental now that is a whole new fun game to play. beware of drop off fees, airport fees etc. that they never tell until you get the keys.

 

Try www.wingstransport.be for a beertour..... its private and the prices are ok ....they make tours on request ....

 

Hmmm and the guy who organizes these tours is a "friend" of yours?

 

its one of my beerfamily beeradvocate is the secretword

 

For people who have done it before....do you suggest bringing beer back on the plane or paying to ship it? Going over next week...trying to decide what to do!

 

Bring it on the plane if you have the room. Shipping beer back is very expensive. 6 bottles costs about 70 USD and 12 is like $130 depending on where you are shipping too.

 

carry a extra suitcase, hardsides. and packing mats.