My wife and I will be traveling to Belgium in May for a couple of days before we head off to Germany. We will be staying in Bruges for 2 nights and will spend 1 more night in Belgium and open in that regards. The wife wants to see Bruges as I want to drink beer (suggestions). I believe we will also be taking a train one day to check out Rodenbach (any tours available). Also I really want to possibly get my hands on some Westvleteren 12 so I plan on going to In De Vrede (from what I read, the cafe across the street). Does anyone know the cafe's hours of operation? When would I need to be there to possibly purchase the 12? We also plan on then going to St Bernard for some of their fine brews. I am really concerned about the driving after possibly drinking some big beers as we will have a rental car. Since I will be driving to the Mosel Valley area the next day does anyone have a suggestion on where I should stay? Also, should I stop at Rochefort on the way to Mosel Valley or just pick some up at a bottle shop on the way? Suggestions? Thank you!
Your best (cheapest) bet for Rochefort is to pick some up at a grocery store. Hell, you might find it in the highway rest stops.
There are many great places to drink beer in Bruges. Read any number of the threads below what you posted and you will find a wealth of information. In De Vrede is closed Thursdays and Fridays. It opens at 10:00. You can get Westvleteren 12 there, if it is stock, depending on the day you go there will decide how early you need to get there. You can also arrange a trade with any number of BAs here in Belgium. If you are coming from Michigan, it shouldn't be hard to trade with Founder's, Kuhnhenn, Dark Horse, Bell and many others right there. Rochefort is easy to get at almost any grocery store, and pretty cheap as well. There isn't much at the Abbey, so I would suggest skipping that, unless you are dead set on going there. I would not suggest driving over here as the BAC is .05, which is almost half what it is in the States.
SStein: We would be traveling to Westvleteren on a Monday, May 11. Should I get there before 10? Do they limit you to how many you can buy? I am not looking for much, maybe 4 total. Do you know if it is always available to drink at the cafe on tap? We also were thinking of going to St Bernard after and possibly staying at their B&B for the evening. Thanks for the info.
Westvleteren is not possible to drink on tap ... shop opens at 10 ... i sended you a pm need some help let me know
Unless something has changed, it's not "on tap" at the cafe, but it is available to drink on premise, which is what I think he was getting at. They serve it to you in proper glassware from the bottle.
Pick up a copy of Tim Webb's Good Beer Guide to Belgium. Super informative. I used it to guide my trip and it's pretty accurate with regards to days/hours of operation. I also found a couple of gems that don't generally get discussed in the forums. If you want the most current addition, you need to get it from the UK: http://www.camra.org.uk/en_US/good-beer-guide-around-the-world Where are you going in Germany? Cheers!
Going on a Monday, it shouldn't be an issue. They always have beer to drink, but as it was previously said, it is from the bottle. To buy beer it is in either 4 or 6 packs. I believe they run around 20 Euro.
That is what I was getting at. So even if I was unable to buy a few bottles to take with me they should still have it available to drink there, correct?
After leaving St Bernard area we will be traveling to Mosel Valley area then Bamberg then Munich area.
Bamberg is awesome! Beautiful city and if you don't like rauchbier, you will develop a taste for it - at least that was my experience. Hit up Café Abseits while there.
Bernardus is not very interesting to go to and you can buy the beers in most of the supermarkets in Belgium. Be aware that cafe In de Vrede can be closed at the day you want to visit so be sure to check the site first! They do not always have sixpacks and if it's the blond, eight or twelve they have. If you really want some good beers best is to go to the Molenhof in Oostvleteren. This bar has most of the Struise beers in bottles to drink and for take away if you ask for it.
Personally I loved staying at the Bernardus B&B and I enjoyed the brewery tour as well. Road bikes into Watou and took a belbus to In De Vrede so didn't have to worry about driving.
