I'm taking my first trip to Belgium this spring and need some suggestions for places to check out while I'm there! I'll be in Brussels for 2 days and Bruges for 2 days before heading up to Copenhagen at the end of the trip. So far I know my group is planning to go to Westvleteren and Gentse Stadsbrouwerij while we're there, and we still need to decide between checking out Cantillon vs. Liefmans? Recommendations? I'm also looking for thoughts on good pubs/bottle shops in Brussels & Bruges while we're out there. I have a short list based on the Places pages for each city, but am looking for current info if anyone has suggestions based on recent experience.
There are a ton of good threads in the Benelux forum, which is where this will be moved. Not to mention, you can just search on "Places" for each city and check out the reviews. That's what I've been doing, since I'll be there in July.
Bruges: http://www.beeradvocate.com/place/l...&bar=Y&eatery=Y&store=Y&sort=name&sort=rating Brussels: http://www.beeradvocate.com/place/l...&bar=Y&eatery=Y&store=Y&sort=name&sort=rating
Check out this place that does cycling tours of Belgium that hit up a brewery everyday. You may find something to take advantage of. http://beercycling.com/
On the question of Cantillon vs. Liefman's, I will note that Cantillon is within the Brussels city limits and really easy to get to. Liefman's is about an hour's drive to the West of Brussels, which may not matter, depending on how you're getting around, since Bruges is West (and North) of Brussels. Cantillon is nice because it's also a gueuze museum and you can visit pretty much anytime you want, whereas I know many of the breweries in Belgium only do tour groups and are harder to visit as an individual.
Westvleteren is a bit of a hike from Brussels city center. A round trip will take most of a day. If you don't have a reservation, you may want to skip it as you're not guaranteed to get any six packs at the cafe. In De Vrede was good though. If you ask nicely at Beer Planet you can probably buy some Westy 12 anyway. It was even on the menu at Aux Bon Vieux Temps when I was there (though that was 2009). My two best meals there were at Restobieres and In't Spinnekopke. I had a great carbonnade flammonde and an amazing pairing of mussels and gueuze, respectively at the two. See if you can find the dog piss statue I saw on my walk there. I'd avoid Delirium except to check out the jeanneke pis which somehow people manage to miss. Toone was very interesting albeit a little disturbing with all the marionettes staring at you. Le Poechenellekelder was a good stop right near their most famous piss statue, the manneken pis. The Cantillon tour, though self guided was amazing. If you're also a home brewer, I highly recommend it.
Westvleteren trip requires a stop at De Struise. But make sure it is on a Saturday. Cantillon over liefmans in my opinion.
Here's a little gem in Brugge. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...-Vino_Vino-Bruges_West_Flanders_Province.html
A Saturday trip to Cantillon is always smart, especially with De Struise just down the road. Cantillon is alway a great place to tour and drink had to get beers. From there it is a short walk to Moeder Lambic, and from there a short walk to Delirium. Delirium is a massive toursit trap and can get quite crowded. Definitely go early, and enjoy some beers that may be harder to find elsewhere.
My advice for Westvleteren: Get at least six friends to use the telephone constantly when the phone line is open (it's ALWAYS busy), to book your beer. We had people dialing for two days before one managed to get through and booked two crates of the Westvleteren 12. They'll need your car registration number, and you'll get a time slot to pick up your beer. It's a lot cheaper than getting the odd bottle in a bar or beer shop!! The roads near the Abbey are very narrow (single track in some places), and can get very busy. If you've got one, use SatNav! Good luck!
Beware that searching by city can be a bit confusing. For example, Cantillon and the original Moeder aren't listed as Brussels, because a quirk of the address system lists them by "commune" -- St. Gilles, in their case. But search around in this forum and you'll find plenty. And have a great trip.
