Going to Belgium with two friends of mine for six days. Monday October 17th - Saturday the 22nd.
I will try to make this as short as possible. But basically if possible we would like to see Brussels, Antwerp, Brugge, and Ghent. Having a hard time finding hours for a lot of the breweries, but in general we would like a good mix of (in order of importance):
- Breweries
- Beer Bars
- Restaurants (best liege waffle?)
- Bottle Shops
- Historical Sites.
- Hotels to stay at near de Struise?
Cantillon, and Moeder are already for sure happening (but what days?). Other than that, how would you break the week up? Again the main difficulty here is finding places open/worth visiting earlier in the week. I realize this is a broad question, so thanks ahead of time for the feedback.
Here is a random map I had made this spots I’ve read about. I realize there is NO way we will get to all of them, but I like to over prepare :)
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1nWv06GHo4RPBkJNTWv4_94olu7A |
i’d start out in Antwerp, than work your way up to struise, so you only take train in 1 direction (kinda) rather than back and forth.
Antwerp - monday
Brussels - tuesday
ghent - wednesday
Bruges - thursday
(whatever speaks to you the most, you can make 2 days )
Struise is only open on saturdays ( 2 pm to 6 pm )
Cantillon is much nicer ( calmer ) on weekdays.
Ratebeer place reviews can give one a very good idea of what places to visit. I am from antwerp myself, and specifically reccomend kulminator, billies, gollem, beerlovers bar, antwerps bierhuyske ( and if you have time the renewed brewery de koninck ) . Its worth noticing however, that most places are closed on tuesday in antwerp.
In burssels, Cantillon is a can’t miss, as well as chez moeder lambic. According to which moeder lambic you choose, there’s a whole bunch of other reccomendations nearby.
in my opinion, ghent doesn’t have all that great beerbars, but has very nice bottleshops ( geers and hopduvel )
Bruges has struise beershop ( they have far more than struise ) , as well as cambrinus ( touristic, but fantastic service and food ) . Le trappist and rose red are the best bars, currently.
Also, if you can take home some brews, you might want to take time to go to Bierhalle dekonicnk ( In Vichte ) .
If you’ve done all those, i think you’ve had a pretty nice trip !
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Looking at your map:
Rochefort – nothing for the public
Fantôme – opening hours are indeed variable & very far from everything else
Orval – I think only open on open door days which are sold out but not sure
Het Anker – not really interesting
In general breweries aren’t that interesting in Belgium, don’t offer anything that you can’t get elsewhere, may not even meet anyone informed. Notable exceptions are Struise & Cantillon which are essential visits. I would recommend sticking more to bars for the biggest part unless if you & your friends are massive fans of something. Feel free to reach out to breweries if you are unsure of opening hours. Pretty sure places like Hof ten Dormaal & Fantôme will be happy to meet you if you contact them.
De Kelk – I don’t think this place exists anymore – check with Kraddel
Délirium Café – I wouldn’t recommend it unless if you are into the drunk student scene
À la Mort Subite – bar is gorgeous / historically relevant – beer is obvious complete garbage
Bottle shop:
If you have a car you should add Bierhandel Dekoninck – stop there on your way to struise. You will find right about everything you need.
Antwerp:
Beerlovers Bar
Billie’s Bier Kafétaria
’t Antwaerps Bierhuyske
Gollem
(last 3 are a 10 min. walk from each other)
Kulminator has really gone downhill in my opinion. If you want to check it out, go early since they close sometimes when full. Remember that it is 20 years past prime probably.
Brussels:
Moeder Lambic Original
Moeder Lambic Fontainas
Nüetnigenough
Le Poechenellekelder
Malt Attacks (bottle store)
Dynamo - Bar de soif
Brussels Beer Project Brewery (not the greatest brewery, fun to visit & lots of new stuff for you)
If you are interested open to small bottle share in Antwerp or a drink. |
Anything on your map is possible, but you’ll want to narrow down your priorities. If you are up for renting a car, you can get to more places in a shorter amount of time -- anywhere you want, it’s a small country.
Briefly: Book a room at Vieille Forge B&B in Mont, which has its own nanobrewery, Inter Pol. Nice place and people too. From there you can walk to Achouffe via a scenic trail. It’s a good base for visiting Fantôme, Orval and Rochefort.
About Rochefort: It’s not quite true that there is nothing there. There is a nice hike from the town to the abbey, where you can visit a chapel and see the shiny brewhouse from afar. No tasting room or anything like that. But in town there is a restaurant called Gourmandise, good food and all the Rochefort beers, and upstairs a tiny museum dedicated to Rochefort’s brewery. So there is something to do.
A strong recommendation for you in that area, if you go: Les Gamines restaurant in Poix-Saint-Hubert. Great charcuterie and almost all the artisanal beers from Luxembourg province. There is a nice hotel there too, and a train station. Worth the detour. |
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Kelk will stay a bar, under the same name. Other owner though, and it will not be a specialist beer place anymore... :( |
Originally posted by kraddel
Kelk will stay a bar, under the same name. Other owner though, and it will not be a specialist beer place anymore... :(
:( |
Depending on the days and hours always ready to share beers @ Moeder Lambic Fontainas or Cantillon. |
Originally posted by kraddel
in my opinion, ghent doesn’t have all that great beerbars, but has very nice bottleshops ( geers and hopduvel )
That’s because you’re a ticker, and you have already had all regular Belgian beers... And don’t forget that tourist-wise Ghent has one of the most beautiful city centres in Belgium. Lots of canals, ancient and fake-ancient ("only" 100 years old) buildings and facades, castles, etc...
My beer tips for Ghent are already in the ratebeer locations of course, I’d like to emphasise Galgenhuisje, especially for foreigners. The beer list is not very extensive but it’s by far the most unique and cosy bar I’ve ever come across. I’ve been taking foreigners there for years, they all love it!
Other tips: Aba Jour (great Belgian food along an extensive beer list), Multatuli (fusion and classical Belgian cuisine) with usually the Dupont Bons Voeux 2 year old on draft, Backdoor and/or Rock Circus (close to each other, so why not both) for late night drinking and good rock music, and Uncle Babe’s, although that’s pretty American, real solid good burgers, but not sure if that’s a real added value for foreigners...
Yes, I’m a fucking local! :-p
As for Fantôme: you can try to arrange a meeting, but you never know if Dany will show up. :p |
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Ghent has TONS of good beer bars. But it’s worth it for the mustard alone. |
I agree with Tim. Ghent is a great visit.
I would recommend Backdoor and add Trollenkelder - why not.
Multatuli and De Stokerij are great for food and the beer lists (and in a lovely city neighbourhood); Uncle Babe’s American ales are quite classic ones.
I like(d) the jazz bar Hot Club de Gand too, near Galgenhuisje, but with a limited beer gamut. |
I was more talkig about service and the ability to pours and know the beers the way they should, Tim. Of course there will be exceptions, and i’m sure you’ll know better than me regarding Ghent. Trollekelder was Nice , but Indeed no ’new’ beers which makes it less worthy (for me ) to go there especially for beer.
Not talking about the cultural side, obviously, in which perspective Ghent is Indeed very epic |
