What to do in Europe?

I am sure you're going to get loads of responses from folks with tons of experience, but before you get overwhelmed let me just say this: In your quest for awesome beer don't forget to really enjoy Rome. True it's not exactly a well known "beer city" but you're doing yourselves a big disservice if you don't take in the beauty of the culture, the food, the wine, the architecture and the history of that amazing city.

 

You could visit 't Arendsnest in Amsterdam, serving over a hundred different beers from Dutch breweries. The address is Herengracht 90. Very cosy, and great location next to the channel. Don't forget to visit 'De Bierkoning', the address is Paleisstraat 125. Nice beer shop offering more than 1100 different beers.
Another nice beer cafe is 'In de Wildeman', address Kolksteeg 3. Nice atmosphere and lots of beers from different countries. Have fun!

 

If you have a car make a short stop at De Molen brewery/beershop/restaurant. Great place to eat and drink. That's in Bodegraven.

 

Obviously, try for some Westy! But otherwise Germany is my go to country (as you can tell from my avatar) there are too many good German beers to spend time anywhere else

 

Sheffield in Yorkshire is a must. Cantillon in Westvleteren in Belgium. Franconia and Munich in Germany.

 

"My question is this-what would you do with that amount of time in Europe? What would you say is a must see? But most importantly- what would you say is a must drink?"

What do you like?

 

My first thought is damn, you have way too little time. My other thought is, relax on the beer side a bit. In many places, skip the beer and enjoy the rest the place has to offer. I mean, Rome has a great beer scene at the moment, but instead of spending your evenings at bars, spend it at restaurants with a nice bottle of wine instead. That goes for many other places too. Sure, Belgium is all about beer (as well as Germany and the UK to an extent), as it should be, but just don't let the whole trip be beer centered, Europe has so much more to offer, especially with so little time.

 

Then you've answered your own question. Gather a list of every beer focused bar in each city or town that you visit and indulge. Simple. Don't waste your time seeing things that you're told are important but that aren't important to you. Find "Your" Europe; and if that's just beer that's ok.
Now if your trip is truly just about beer then there is virtually no reason to go to Spain or France. And as you already know the UK and Belgium have wonderful beer culture so focus on them. As for Holland I've never been so I'm not familiar with how their beer culture is. Italy is newer on the craft scene and I've heard (and tasted) some nice things.

And as for "what would *I* do with that amount of time in Europe"? I've visited Europe about once a year for almost twenty years now. And my most interesting memories are through my interactions with local people. Make friends. To me if you don't meet and interact with the local people you haven't really visited a place. It becomes an amusement park otherwise. And no matter how many travel guides you read the local people know so much more.

 

Even though Germany is not on your list, I'll make a recommendation anyway. If your home base for Belgium is going to be Brussels, consider taking a train (or driving, if you have a car) over to Düsseldorf for a day trip. The best Altbier in the world is there, and the pubs are pretty great, too. My personal favorite, admittedly based on rather limited experience, is Zum Uerige. There is not much in terms of sightseeing in Düsseldorf, so if you'd rather mix in sightseeing with your beer drinking, head over to Köln (Cologne) instead. I think either one is around a two hour train ride from Brussels, maybe two and a half. You'll get to "tick" Germany, at least, and drink some darn fine beer while you're at it.

Otherwise I agree with some of the others here...don't let the beer hunt get in the way of enjoying the sights. Paris is awesome, Amsterdam is awesome...every major city in Europe is going to be great in its own way. Have fun, and I hope you report back about your beer experience!

 

All of this is true, but Rome is now a top beer city. Brasserie 4:20 and Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fà are key stops, plus Domus Birrae for taking home Italian craft, and Baladin's own bar.

You haven't said if you're driving, going by train/bus or flying.

Going south to north overland from Rome to Amsterdam:
- There are over 100 breweries in Lombardy and Piedmont, you could plan any number of visits/tours.
- Austria I found a bit dull, but Switzerland is a totally under-the-radar craft destination, with over 100 breweries.
- Bavaria speak for itself, especially Franconia (http://www.franconiabeerguide.com/), with lots of breweries that don't export and styles - smoked, unfiltered, whatever - that are hard to find.
- Kolsch is a style that suffers hugely by bottling, so it's worth it to drink it fresh in Cologne.
- Pilaarbitjer above listed the crucial Amsterdam stops, to which I'd add Beer Temple, Europe's first American beer bar with lots of Danish and other rare craft options. It's around the corner form Bierkonig.
- And then there's Belgium....

This would make a beer-centric journey without too much zig-zagging that's doable in the time you have.
French and Spanish craft aren't as compelling as German or Belgian beer, and adding them (especially Spain) would add a lot of travel time.
It depends on how focused on beer you are and how much time you want to spend in airports or train stations.

I'd add that nipping over to London on Ryanair or Easyjet for 3 days of drinking real ale would be totally worth it. The Great British Beer Festival (http://gbbf.org.uk/) - 800 ales over 5 days - starts August 7th.

Good luck!

 

Yeah if he and his friends are going to Rome and asking *what to do* then that tells you right there that they aren't interested in what you've stated about the culture, cuisine, history, etc. Hey, I love all that too but it is what it is sometimes. As long as they don't spend all their time in expat pubs drinking over priced Guninness with a bunch of Brits and instead visit the local craft bars mingling with local people they'll be immersed in something of a Roman experience. And who knows where that might lead.

 

It's easy to get to Bodegraven by train from Amsterdam. Takes about an hour. The brewery is only a few minutes walk from the station.

 

Go from Rome to Munich via Austria and get to Augustiner for the world's best Munich Helles. Head north 3 hours to Bamberg for the world's best Rauchbier. Head along the Main River and up the Rhine to Koeln and Duesseldorf for the world's best Koelsch and Alt, respectively. Then skip over to Brussels and Belgium and settle in for as long as necessary for the world's best Trappist beers and Lambics. A couple of hours up the way and you're in Amsterdam with all of the above recommendations. Done.

 

No problem. I did see that the Great British Beer fest is on in London starting Aug. 7. If you can hop over to there from Amsterdam or Belgium on Ryanair (usually for cheap) and hit that up then you will have covered a massive amount of ground in terms of drinking the Europe's great beers.

EDIT: and even if you don't hit all of these spots, you will have seen and drunk plenty of great options in their original settings. Have fun (will be difficult not to)!

 

But your question included what we thought were must SEES and must drinks in Europe and what we would do in Europe given your time frame. If you wanted just a simple beer trail that's something different. Enjoy your trip.