Six days in Belgium. Help!

Personally, I think you would be rushing if you visited all 4 of those cities in 6 days. If it was me, I would visit two properly (although you still won't have time to visit all of the top beer bars even in that time). I've visited a few times but am certainly no expert.

Anyway, my favourite tours were Het Anker, Rodenbach and Cantillon.

Favourite bars are Kulminator and Gollem (Antwerp), brugs beertje (Brugge), Au Bon Vieux Temps, Poechenellekelder and Toone (Brussels).

For bottle shops, you need to ask Euroglot on here.

Historical sites I can't help you as apart from Brugge itself, which is one big historical site, as I have always planned to visit some and then found something beer related I would rather do instead.

The last time I visited was in June, can't wait to go back. Have fun!

 

Agreed with the poster above. I'd narrow it down to 1-2 so you aren't scrambling all over the country and not really having any time to properly enjoy any one particular city.
In the case of Brussels, Cantillon, Moeder, and Delirium Cafe would be must-visits from a purely beer point of view. Nuetnigenough would be a place with good food and beers together.
Drie Fonteinen is a quick drive if you're there one of the weekends they're open. If not, their restaurant is still worthwhile if you're in the area.

 

check previous threads. i posted a West Flanders map, which includes hotels.
The B&B down the street from Molenhof is very nice.

I wouldn't touch Gollem. it's a waste when you have Kulminator as your option. there's also Billie's, but the taps don't look that amazing. looks like they get some fun stuff once in a while.

Brussels: Moeder Lambic and Cantillon for drinking/bars.

Bruges Bertje: i'd never suggest it. it's overrated. De Kelk and Rose Red are better options. De Garre for 1 pint.

if you're leaving on a Saturday, when exactly did you plan on visiting Struise? they're only open to the public on Saturdays

 

well then...the world's your oyster!
Oostvleteren is small. even if you're staying at Schravernacher, which is also cute, it's only a 15 min walk to de struise.
but this is literally a 1 min walk from struise/molenhof. http://www.eenvoudinovervloed.be/en

 

yeah, i comment a lot on threads due to working a lazy-ass job.

i'm pretty vocal as to what i'd do with a saturday. if you have time before lunch, drive to Westvleteren. if you don't, don't worry about it. overrated.
lunch: Molenhof in Oostvleteren. usually they have Tilquin on tap if you aren't in the mood to overdue it on Struise beer. make reservations for dinner at lunch.
2 pm: struise. spend 5 hrs there if you want. or spend 2 hrs there and have a cab arranged to take you to De Dolle.
get to de dolle at 4ish. drink there and get a tour, if possible. it closes at 7. cab back to Molenhof. dinner and drinks (Struise barrel-aged stuff on tap or in bottles) for the rest of the night. and try not to die.

i don't recommend going to St Berny. nothing out of the ordinary to drink there. most Trappist breweries are kinda pointless to visit

 

I really like Gollem, yes Kulminator is awesome, but why only visit one bar in Antwerp?! Billies is also worth a visit.

I also liked Bruges Beertje, Moeder Lambic in Brussels not so much though. Yes, they have an impressive beer list but it has about as much atmosphere as your local macdonalds.

Each to their own though I suppose.

 

monday/tuesday: everything in the big cities should be open .Kulminator opens at 4 on mondays, i think. and pay attention to Kulminator's FB page. Dirk's knee is giving up. unsure how long they'll close it for after his surgery. 2 weeks, i'd guess. and even then, i doubt he'll be going to the cellar for a solid month.

https://www.facebook.com/Kulminator.friends/?fref=ts

 

my counter:

tell me what's on tap at Gollem that makes it worth the visit? the only thing that's excited me has been St Bernadus Prior and/or Pater. otherwise, there's really nothing great.

Kulminator can easily keep me occupied for 3-4 nights. plus i really enjoy its atmosphere. you end up meeting really interesting people there and i like Dirk's wife.

Bruges Beertje has a sad draught and bottle list. nothing there that's inspiring.
Moeder Lambic - the new one's atmosphere's like a Mcdonalds? that's kind of odd. during the day, i've had it be relaxing and tranquil with jazz. a great place to go to escape the rain or to rest your feet for a pint or 2. at night, the patio can get full of tourists and drunk britts, but it's tap list can be absolutely brilliant when it is on. plus the staff's all been incredibly nice and cool.

 

Sorry to disappoint, but I don't remember the entire tap list for Gollem off the top of my head. I do remember that they Prairie Bomb on while I was there, which is not something that you see everyday here in Europe and that was a stand out beer for me.

It's the new moeder lambic that I have visited on two occasions now, once with a group and once just me and my partner. I didn't have the kind of experience that you're talking of either time. The staff were miserable and unhelpful, there certainly wasn't any jazz playing and I just found it a bit dull overall. If all you are interested in is the tap list then I guess you would be impressed here, personally I prefer the places with a bit more character.

 

lol. i listed Kulminator and De Kelk. Think that has character up the wazoo (esp compared to Gollem).
i've been to the Antwerp and Amsterdam Gollum locations. i've never seen anything close to Prairie Bomb on tap. maybe i missed it. if so, yes, it's worth going to. but not if you're an american, since Prairie Bomb's floating around the US quite a bit, whereas 2002 Oerbier Reserva and 1990 Chimay blue isn't

 

Fair enough.

Thanks for the enlightenment anyway; I had to google wazoo.

 

For West and Oostvleteren, it's better to have a rental car, as it is a bit out of direction. Then you can also drop it on Sunday at the airport?

Westvleteren 'Opening times' = never. It's a Trappist abbey. You can see the outside, walk around a bit, that's it.
Across the road, In de Vrede (the only place they sell Westy at reasonable prices) opens as from 10AM. http://www.indevrede.be/home.php?lang=en . If you're thinking about buying some, it's 2 six packs per person (probably 12 or 8), if they have some stock (it depends).

As already mentioned above, St Bernardus is totally not worthy. You can't visit it on Saturdays, unless you're a pre registered large group. I was there 2 weeks ago on a Saturday, stumbled inside (by accident the door was open). There was a tourist group tasting some of the standard ones (nothing special to drink/buy). I was handled like a criminal, very strange... haha So don't go there if you dont have a formal invite

De Struise is, well, heaven. They normally have Pannepot 2016 for sale, and 2 weeks ago, they had their new brew, Brewgler APA, for sale. Maybe by October, they'll have some new stuff. And then the tastings start... If you opt for the rental car, one person is driving. You can ask Carlo (the tall guy at the taps) for half glasses, that's what I did Still could taste some nice ones, without getting toasted.

Bruges, Cambrinus is nice for some food with beers. If you're on the road with the rental, drop by Liedekerke ==> Heeren van Liedekerke. Nice food, nice vintage beer list. Maybe not as good as Kulminator, but still plenty in their cellars too.

Shops: I personally think the Struise shop in Bruges is overpriced (though he has a nice selection). If you have that car, drop by Bierhalle de coninck in Vichte on that Saturday, on the way to Westvleteren. Worth the stop.

If you still have questions, you can always send a message. Cheers !

 

yes. if you like steak, it's excellent. if you want some of the best fritjes in Belgium? yes.
if you want a salad? no.

woah. public transportation. i wouldn't bother. bus comes every 45 minutes and meanders through all the towns.
my suggestion:
use the link in the West Flanders thread and get a taxi. it's basically a local that will drive you for the day. or rent a car, drink cautiously and drive to and from. i do not recommend doing that, since we're talking about breweries that specialize in high ABV beer and in hospitality.

i've seen people get wrecked at Struise and drinking and driving in farm country is not something that's overly cool.

just so you understand, we're not talking about cities or towns. the term "village" is probably best to describe what's in most of West Flanders. Oostvleteren doesn't have a grocery store (just a small general store), laundromat or movie theatre. it has 2 butcher shops (for some reason), 2 bakeries, and around 4-5 bar/restaurant combinations. and a bike shop. that's it.

all the B&Bs in oostvleteren are close. 15 min walk from Shravernacker, which is the furthest of them. the one i already posted is a 1 min walk from Molenhof, which is a 30 sec walk from Struise. these are actual times, not hyperbole.

if you're too lazy to google then so am i.

not a horrible plan. i have no idea what the food's like in Diksmuide. looked touristy there. and you can take the train from Diksmuide to Antwerp with ease.
your time at De Dolle will be rushed, but alas....

 

My answer from a different topic, but usefull here .

The owner (not the manager) of the Kelk died last year and they recently sold the place. Renovation started at the end of May and it is still closed. I'm not sure it will be open by your visit. Eitherway, I'm not sure that it's going to be the same as before...