Bruges - Brussels - Heidelberg - Stuttgart

If you have enough room in your car, you should go to Geers and buy some bottles. It is located in Oostakker near Gent, on your way to Brussels from Brugge.

In Brugge we also have a beermuseum. I don't think you will learn anything new, but you can find some good stuff on tap (tasting glasses). You could also visit Bourgogne de Flandres, the second brewery in the city center. De Halve Maan is more or less a museum with not a lot of brewing info. Still worth it to see how it was done in the 18 and 1900's. But the brewing itself is a really short part of the tour. At Bourgogne you can talk to the brewer and can see the actual brewing.

Bars to visit in Brugge: Rose Red, Brugs Beertje, Vlissinghe, Le Trappiste, De Garre, ...

 

In Brussels, La Porte Noir (bar).

 

On your way from Brussels to Germany, it is always worth to stop by in Düsseldorf for a few fantastic Alt beers - and probably Cologne for a fresh Kölsch. It is not a big detour and beerwise worth a visit!
If you're up for a quick beer there, just BM me

 

I'll second @Erzengel's suggestion of stopping in Düsseldorf and Köln - if you're right there they're not to be missed!

There's not a lot between Heidelberg and Stuttgart and it won't take you long to drive there at all so I'd suggest a side trip to the Disney-esque town of Rothenberg ober der Tabuer (tourist trap but worth it) for a couple of hours before circling back to Stuttgart.

After that, given the routes that look the most convenient, I wouldn't hesitate at all to go immediately to München. There's plenty to do there, and I feel that I barely scratched the surface over a period of 4 or 5 days myself. Haha, of course I'll be back soon!

Where are you flying out of?

Also, one thing to note is that quite a few breweries outside of München will be closed during this period so make sure you check before you make a drive.

 

Belgian who used to live in Stuttgart for 5 years here...it's slowly coming along in terms of new beer culture there. But there is enough happening all over Germany and the Bxl-Heidelberg-Stuttgart drive should give you plenty of traditional regional beer drinking options that make so much more sense at the source that by import bottle.

I might make it to Zwanze at Mon Petit Café when I'm not in Bxl and might bring a few Freiburg friends to join in the fun. Bringing any TreeHouse/Lawson's/Alchemist or other canned Vermont hazies?

 

Düsseldorf/Cologne is definitely worth a stop on the way! Wandering around the old city of Düsseldorf you'll find plenty of Altbier brewpubs, it's super easy and a cool area.

 

If you like Oktoberfest in Munich, then you'd probably enjoy Cannstatter in Stuttgart.
https://www.cannstatter-volksfest.de/de/landing-page/

 

Just got back from Heidelberg. Here is a thread on it:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/heidelberg.580326/

Enjoy your trip!

 

Beer Shop Geers in Oostakker is certainly worth a visit, they have almost all beer you can imagine. When you stop in Ghent you should also visit the Dulle Griet, a popular beer bar at Vrijdagsmarkt.

Brugs Beertje is a must when being in Bruges.

 

Sounds like an awesome trip. My wife and I did Amsterdam and Belgium last year and I fell in love with Bruges. I really enjoyed the night we found De Garre, that might have been one of the best drinking "events" I've ever had.

 

Sounds like a great trip! I think you made a smart move taking advantage of your friend who is stationed in Europe! We lived there for 4 years and while we had quite a few guests, there were so many that said they would, but never did. Truthfully their loss. On Ramstein Air Base, there is a Belgian Support unit that opens their bar every Thursday (?) to enjoy what they have on tap for a good price. Also in the area is a great restaurant called De Belgian Bistro and he has an amazing selection of Belgian Beers. If your buddy hasn't already, have him check those out.

It's too bad you didn't make it to De Halve Maan. I LOVE their quad. and the tour can be great with the right guide. We never had a bad tour there, but one lady made it really fun.

I made a list of the best sources for Belgian Beer (mostly in Belgium), but I could pass that along to your buddy if he's interested. I do believe that Decononick was the best one-stop-shop I found.

My two regrets are not going to Cantillon or Struise. But I did make quite a few Belgian Beer fests.