Hello all, I'm going to be staying in Belgium for a few days in the summer, and want to return with a car full of beer (to the uk). I was wondering where are the cheapest places to buy beers e.g Chimey blue (not sure where I will be staying)? From what I have seen the supermarkets seem very cheep, but surely it would be better to go to a warehouse e.g "vanuxeem". Cheers
Beers like Duvel, Westmalle e.a. are available by the crate in the lager supermarkets (Colruyt, Carrefour hypermarkt, Delhaize, ...). Sometimes you can also buy Chimay by the crate there, but that depends on the shop. Warehouses like Geers, De Koninck, Rotsaert, Prik & Tik will certainly have a lot of beers by the crate. In almost every Belgian city you have those warehouses,.
Vanuxeem is definitely worthwhile if you're going to be around there. It's about an hour or so from Calais - was there a couple of weeks ago. Excellent choice (though generally fairly mainstream beers), costs around €1 to €1.45 per bottle for most beers plus 10 cents deposit. They also have a good range of glassware.
Hedging against Brexit? (Oh NO, I went there!....) If looking for the classics, Trappists and Duvel and whatnot -- in other words, not hunting whales -- any big-box grocery would do (Cora might be the best bet), or else a drinks wholesaler/warehouse type. Not sure you'd save money over a grocery, but more selection, I'd say. Feel free to post back with details of your itinerary. But if coming by car from UK, what's near Calais will be a good bet to be on your route.
Aside from the big supermarkets for some of that beer, try the following website: http://www.abcdrinks.be/ You can look up where the nearest drinkcenter is by town or address (ABC, Prik&Tik, etc). Basically supermarket sized drink stores. A few of these are more like warehouses, but most of the ones I've stopped at have good selection at good prices.
