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Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Day Seven of Belgian Beer Tour 2008
Day Seven September 24th, 2008
Picture of an Event in Bruges:
Regnier came to pick us up in the hotel lobby at 11:30 AM and we had a nice walk through the old city centre and ended up at the Brewery Halve Maan ( = Half Moon) at the Walplein, near the Beguinage. Since 2005, the brewery, that has recently celebrated its 150th anniversary, has started brewing a new beer, after important investments were made in the very old fermentation facilities. The brew house, dating from the 1950’s, is still modern compared to some we have seen!!! Two beers are brewed: the “Brugse Zot blond” a 6% blond ale, that recently won a gold medal at the World Cup in Seattle and the “Brugse Zot dubbel” a brown of 7.5%, with a nice malty character.
In the afternoon, Regnier took those who wanted on a walk through the old and less known Bruges, with stops at some museums, churches and of course old pubs.
We sat in the garden of” Vlissinghe” the oldest pub (since 1556).
After that we went for dinner in Cambrinus, the brasserie-restaurant in the Philip Stockstraat, just off Market Square. (see www.cambrinus.eu)
Regnier came to pick us up in the hotel lobby at 11:30 AM and we had a nice walk through the old city centre and ended up at the Brewery Halve Maan ( = Half Moon) at the Walplein, near the Beguinage. Since 2005, the brewery, that has recently celebrated its 150th anniversary, has started brewing a new beer, after important investments were made in the very old fermentation facilities. The brew house, dating from the 1950’s, is still modern compared to some we have seen!!! Two beers are brewed: the “Brugse Zot blond” a 6% blond ale, that recently won a gold medal at the World Cup in Seattle and the “Brugse Zot dubbel” a brown of 7.5%, with a nice malty character.
In the afternoon, Regnier took those who wanted on a walk through the old and less known Bruges, with stops at some museums, churches and of course old pubs.
We sat in the garden of” Vlissinghe” the oldest pub (since 1556).
After that we went for dinner in Cambrinus, the brasserie-restaurant in the Philip Stockstraat, just off Market Square. (see www.cambrinus.eu)
Day Six of Belgian Beer Tour 2008
Day Six September 23rd, 2008
We saw the large warehouses and after a stop in the park (with pond and ducks) We tasted:
Piraat 10.5%: a truly wonderful golden ale,
and Monk’s Café red ale!
After the tasting Jef took us to Holland, to Philippine, a village just on the other side of the border. We enjoyed:
Mussels-- all you can eat with Cuvée Philippine, a housebeer specially brewed to accompany this delicious food.
After this unforgettable visit and great lunch we drove to Brugge, where we checked into the beautiful hotel Navarra.We arrived around 3PM so there was still plenty of time to dicover the beautiful city and do some shopping.
In the evening we enjoyed a fabulous beer dinner at the gastronomical restaurant Den Dyver, well-known for its beer cuisine. ( see www.dyver.be)
After the tasting Jef took us to Holland, to Philippine, a village just on the other side of the border. We enjoyed:
Mussels-- all you can eat with Cuvée Philippine, a housebeer specially brewed to accompany this delicious food.
After this unforgettable visit and great lunch we drove to Brugge, where we checked into the beautiful hotel Navarra.We arrived around 3PM so there was still plenty of time to dicover the beautiful city and do some shopping.
In the evening we enjoyed a fabulous beer dinner at the gastronomical restaurant Den Dyver, well-known for its beer cuisine. ( see www.dyver.be)
Picture of a Beer Dinner in Brugge:
After this great beer dinner we all enjoyed a good night’s rest so that we could enjoy the next day in this wonderfull city ( see www.brugge.be)
After this great beer dinner we all enjoyed a good night’s rest so that we could enjoy the next day in this wonderfull city ( see www.brugge.be)
Day Five of Belgian Beer Tour 2008
Day Five Monday September 22nd, 2008
In the morning, we visited another great brewery, Bavik the town of Bavikhove, near Kortrijk. Assistant brewer Yves Benoit gave us a very nice tour of this large Flemish brewery, which was founded in 1894 and is now in the fourth generation of the Debrabander family.
We walked from the brew house to the impressive fermentation line and bottling line.
Highlights of the tour were the big oak vessels. The Petrus Aged Pale, the result of this fermentation with lactic acids, is sold in the States and imported by Global Beer Network.
Afterwards, in the tasting room, we were able to taste all the beers: Wittekerke, the excellent wheat beer and the new raspberry flavoured Rosé, the Petrus products, the Pilaarbijters and also the very good un-pasteurized Pilsner. Another great visit and very friendly reception!!!
We had a great lunch afterwards in a local restaurant which is also an outlet of the Bavik brewery so we could taste all the beers.
In the afternoon we visited the Roman brewery in Oudenaarde, in the province of Eastern Flanders. This is one of the largest family breweries in Belgium and they produce some of the finest beers like Ename Abbey Beer and Sloeber Golden Ale. The buildings date from the 1930’s but are in mint condition. The huge old steam engines that used to power the whole brewery have been preserved in what is now the museum part of the brewery. This is truly impressive! Their pilsner ROMY PILS is their biggest seller. They own several hundreds of pubs all over Flanders and the pilsner is what people drink most. They also bottle spring water and produce a range of sodas and soft drinks. We saw the bottling line and the keg filling line as well as the warehouses. In the majestic tasting room on the first floor we were able to taste all those fantastic beers and Mr. Lode Roman, who had kindly given us the tour of the brewery, along with his commercial director and the brew master, answered all our questions.
Pictures in Ghent:
Opposite the castle is a famous beer bar calld Waterhuis aan de Bierkant and we tasted the housebeer called “Klokke Roeland” there. It is brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge.
We had dinner at Chez Leontine, a restaurant next to the pub and owned by the same enthusiastic people. We had a traditional “Gentse Waterzooi’ there and were joined by Jef Versele from the brewery Van Steenberge and his salesman Gert. After dinner Jef took us for an unforgettable pubcrawl through Ghent.
We had dinner at Chez Leontine, a restaurant next to the pub and owned by the same enthusiastic people. We had a traditional “Gentse Waterzooi’ there and were joined by Jef Versele from the brewery Van Steenberge and his salesman Gert. After dinner Jef took us for an unforgettable pubcrawl through Ghent.
Day Four of Belgian Beer Tour 2008
Sunday September 21st, 2008
Poperinge
We arrived in Poperinge, the city of the hops, at noontime. There was already a crowd at the Grote Markt and bands were playing various national anthems in another WW memorial service. We all enjoyed some free time before the start of the Hop-parade at 3 PM. Poperinge is a pretty little town apart from the National Hop museum,, some great historical buildings and great restaurants and pubs.Picture of Scenes in Poperinge
Most of us sat down and relaxed on the terrace of Café de la Paix to enjoy a Hommelbier or another good Belgian ale and ate a snack. The parade is a tribute to the hopharvest, the people working in the industry and the beer culture that is so much a part of this region and of the whole of Belgium. The parade lasted for nearly two hours, it was very colourful with children from various schoolsin Poperinge and all neighbouring towns and villages taking part in it.
Most of us sat down and relaxed on the terrace of Café de la Paix to enjoy a Hommelbier or another good Belgian ale and ate a snack. The parade is a tribute to the hopharvest, the people working in the industry and the beer culture that is so much a part of this region and of the whole of Belgium. The parade lasted for nearly two hours, it was very colourful with children from various schoolsin Poperinge and all neighbouring towns and villages taking part in it.
Pictures of Hops Festival: Beer Available at the Hops Festival
"Here come the Hopheads"
After the parade we walked to the bus, which was waiting for us on the edge of town. Paul, our friendly and very professional driver took us to Watou, a neighbouring village just next to the border of France. Brewery Van Eecke is right in the centre of Watou. It makes famous beers such as Hommelbier and the Kapittel Abbey and also the very good wheat beer Watou’s Wit. We saw the brew house dating from shortly after WW2 and the fermentation rooms. Bottling takes place now in the other plant in Boezinge, at Brouwerij Leroy, owned by the same family. The tasting took place in Het Brouwershof, the official outlet, and situated right next to the brewery entrance.
The highlight of that day would be the exquisite dinner at Hommelhof in Watou. We enjoyed a very special aperitif, called Cuvee Hommelhof, which is half Watou’s Wit and half Kapittel blond: excellent and nowhere else to get but here!!
Day Three of Belgian Beer Tour 2008
Day Three September 20th, 2008
After this visit we went to the town of Alveringem for a visit to the malt- and brewery museum “De Snoek” (=the pike) there. Regnier guided us around in a place well known to him. This unique brewery survived WWI because it was located just behind the battlefields and was an important supplier of beer to the allied troops during the war. They remained active until the fifties. Then the family Dierikx decided to concentrate on distribution rather than on production . The extraordinary thing is that the actual brewery, maltery and even the kilning tower remained intact and were restored in the late eighties when the city bought the premises and turned it into a museum. What a decision that was!!! The copper is now shinier than ever and where else are you going to find such an (almost) working example of a cascade brewery ( = using gravity with brewhouse on top and fermentation downstairs)
We tasted the housebeers , the blonde which is brewed at Bavik breweries and the dark which is made by Strubbe in Ichtegem. We also had lunch there and tasted the local farmers’ dish with smoked ham, cheese, smout ( =lard) and hoofdvlees ( = headcheese)
In the early afternoon we drove to nearby Westvleteren where we saw the Sint-Sixtus trappist abbey. Belgium has six trappist monastries like this where monks brew beer, and this is the smallest one. Their production is 35 times smaller than Chimay for instance and this makes the beer very wanted and sought for. But we tasted it!!! They make two strong dark ales, one of 10.5 ABV and one of 8 ABV. They also brew a bitter blonde of 6 ABV.
Since the outlet always closes for the second half of September , we tasted the beers outside in the garden like in a picnic. Regnier had brought some cases in the trunk of the bus and the driver had arranged to get us clean white tablecloth and napkins. This was great and we were lucky because the weather was just splendid!!!
After the visit to the abbey we drove to the Brewery De Ranke in Dottenijs, which is in the province of Hainaut, some 50 kilometres down south. This very modern brewery produces beers like XX Bitter, a very hoppy pale ale and Guldenberg, an abbey beer that is lighter in colour and less bitter. Their cherry beer, Kriek De Ranke, is produced with a blend of Girardin lambic and real cherries together with a blond beer brewed by themselves. A great beer with lambic character. We were very well received and our group was very interested at the technical details. We did a fantastic tasting in the room in the back of the brewery and Nino Bacelle, one of the brewers, let us taste some very rare aged beers from previous batches.
Everyone had a great time here!!!
We couldn’t stay too long because we wanted to attend the Last Post ceremony, at the Meningate in Ypres, which has continuously been held since WW1 and remembers the soldiers without a grave who were killed during the first World War. It is very impressive and every night, hundreds of people attend it.
Picutre of faceless German mourners s:
Picture of Rudyard Kipling gravestone: He decided on the unknown epitath: "A Solider of the Great War known only to God:
After the ceremony we went to the restaurant ‘Het Zweerd’ which is walking distance, right in the heart of Ypres. A very tasty dinner concluded this wonderful day. The pub-crawl afterwards took us to various smaller pubs in the town and we were able to taste more interesting local and rare beers like Ypers Katje.
After the ceremony we went to the restaurant ‘Het Zweerd’ which is walking distance, right in the heart of Ypres. A very tasty dinner concluded this wonderful day. The pub-crawl afterwards took us to various smaller pubs in the town and we were able to taste more interesting local and rare beers like Ypers Katje.
Day II of Belgain Beer Tour 2008
Day Two Friday September 19th, 2008
There was some free time in the morning so that we could do some shopping first, since we were expected at no earlier than 11.30 AM at the Cantillon lambic brewery. This place is only 5 minutes away from the hotel and the last lambic brewery in the city centre. All the other ones are in the countryside around the capital, on the side of the river Senne. Cantillon is over 100 years old and visiting this place is like stepping in a time capsule. You just don’t expect to find a place like this in the middle of a modern city with over 1 million inhabitants.
Brewing A Lambic:
Lambic beers that are brewed here are of spontanuous fermentation, on of the oldest styles in the world. When it is being brewed, no yeast is added . The mash consists of 2/3 of malted barley and 1/3 of unmalted wheat. The brewing season is in the winter months, from late October till early April, because the wort has to cool down from boiling temperature to 20° Celsius overnight. This cannot happen in summer.
During that night the wort is infected by wild yeast bacilles, “Brettanomyces” as they are called. The next morning the wort is pumped into tall woodens casks and the fermentation starts immediately. As the wort becomes beer, “Lambic” as they call it, it will stay in the vats for a period anywhere between 6 months to 3 years. The lambic is later blended into “Geuze” by the brewer, using different barrels with different ages. This assures a constant taste and is a true art. There are not many people in the world left that are skillful at the art of lambic blending.
After this very interesting tour of the brewery, we tasted the geuze, the kriek ( lambic with cherries), the framboise ( raspberry) They occasionally do a “faro” too, this is a geuze blended with some candysugar. The tiny barrels of faro have to be consumed within a matter of days and therefore are destined only to local pubs. The family Van Roy also blends lambic with white muscat grapes, apricots and red grapes from the Bordeaux area.
After this wonderfull visit we drove to the small village of Beersel, also famous for its lambic breweries since it houses two of them. We visited the one of Drie Fonteinen ( = Three Fountains) but we first had lunch in the restaurant which is part of it.
We ate rabbit with geuze, a true local dish, drank the excellent lambic and also the kriek on draught. Some left the table a little bit earlier because the wanted to visit the medieval castle of Beersel, a fortress destined to defend Brussels when they were sieged. The rest of the group drank coffee and then went on the brewery tour.
Armand Debelder ( his brother Guido runs the restaurant) has only recently taken up the brewing of lambic beer. Before he was a blender, like his father and his grandfather. This means that they bought the lambic from another local producer, like Frank Boon or Lindemans and made their own blend , occasionally adding local cherries and raspberries.
The new brewerey is small sized but modern. Armand still is a blender too, because his production is too small to meet up with demand.
The bigger oak kegs rest in a cellar a couple of blocks away, the smaller ones we saw lying in the small cellar under the brewhouse.The smell of oak and lambic is mermerizing and distinctive. Open a bottle of Drie Fonteinen, smell the nose and you’ll feel like standing in that cellar again!!
They have opened a new tasting room , which is actually a small café on the front of the building, street side. It’s open to the public on Friday afternoons and on Saturdays.
We tasted the geuze and the faro, as well as the bottled rare Kriek and a vintage geuze ( = aged geuze of exceptionnal quality)
Brasserie de Silly
The next brewery on the program was Brasserie de Silly, in the little town bearing the same name. It is located in the province of Hainaut, west of Brussels. This family-owned brewery has been producing high quality beers for several generations and currently a new one is taking over. We were given the tour by Lionel Vanderhaeghen , the son of Didier.
We saw a very modern and clean brewery, with a state of the art stainless steel brewhouse.
Here classic beers like the Titje ( wheatbeer), Silly Scotch( dark sweetish scotch type ale)
La Divine blonde and amber are made. Recently the Pink Killer ( grapefruit flavoured wheat) has joined the rich assortment.
After a very nice tasting in the specially equipped room, where we were warmly wellcomed by the family, we bought Tshirts and beers and headed to the local restaurant les 9 Tilleuls, named after a very old Lindenbaum. When one of the giant branches of the three threatened to break off, they repaired the split with cement and bricks!!
We had a very nice dinner there, Of course accompanied by all the beers of Silly.
Later that night we drove to the town of Ypres in Flanders, where we checked in the hotel Novotel. We stayed there for 3 nights and we attended the famous Hops Festival of Poperinge, which takes place only every 3 years!!
Summary of 2008 Belgian Beer Tour Day I
Thursday, September 18th Day I
At 4 PM,
Everyone showed up in the bar of the Novotel Tour Noir hotel in Brussels, for a meet and greet and drank a quality Belgian beer. People had flown in from all parts of the US , one person had come all the way from Brazil. Our tour guide Regnier AKA the Brute of Bruges welcomed everyone on board and after a first taste of good Belgian trappist, we set off for a guided trip to see the highlights of the Belgian capital. Traffic was pretty fluid on this Thursday evening , the weather fair and the forecasts were positive. What more could you ask for?
We stopped at the Atomium for a photo, drove along the main lanes, “avenus” they call them here (mainly built in the 19th century), saw the Royal palace and also the monument of the cinquantenaire ( a park and a giant arch built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Independence).
Paul, our skillfull and sympathetic driver dropped us off at the Central Railway Station and we walked the rest of the way to the Grand’Place, Brussels’ central square and old market, one of the prettiest squares in Europe. We had our first beer dinner of the trip in La Rose Blanche which means: The White Rose)
After this wonderful dinner we went for a pubcrawl which brought us to nice places like “Poesjenellekelder”, a former puppet theater now beer bar with an excellent choice, also to
“ A la Mort Subite” meaning "At the Sudden Death"-- a former lambic brewery located next to an undertaker, hence the appropriate name. This is a classic in the capital and the interior is late 19th cent. And authentic. Everyone had a good night’s rest , given the fact that we had all been travelling for many hours that day and still felt a bit jetlagged.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Reservation Form for Belgian Tour 2009
RESERVATION FORM
Print this form, fill out and send it by “AIRMAIL” or Fax to:
ALBION TOURS
GRAAF D’URSELLAAN 12
B-8300 KNOKKE-HEIST
BELGIUM
EUROPE
Tel. 011 32 50 51 11 47 Fax. 011 32 50 51 34 35
OR to:
Global Beer Network
325 N. Main Street
Middleton, MA. 01949
Tel. 800 442 3379 Fax. 805 683 1470
Who will forward the information to Albion Tours in Belgium.
Please reserve space in the Beer Tour in Belgium- September 2009 for:
1. Participant Information: Traveler 1
Name:.........................................................................................................................................................................................
Street:.......................................................................................................................................................................................
City-State-Zip:............................................................ Phone:.......................................................
Phone Work.............................................. Fax:...............................................Email..............................................................
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*Passport must be valid for at leat 2 months beyond tour start date
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Dietary restrictions, if any............................................ Single bed.................. Double bed.....................
In Case of Emergency Please Notify (Name and phone number)................................................................................
Cost per person, based on double occupancy of the room:
Price single room deposit
land package only (9/13- 9/20) Euro 1,432.00 + Euro 382.00 Euro 400.00
Participant Information: Traveler 2
Name:.........................................................................................................................................................................................
Street:......................................................................................................................................................................................
City-State-Zip:............................................................ Phone:...........................................................
Phone Work.......................................... Fax:................................................Email.................................................................
Nationality:.....................................Passport No............................. Exp. Date..................................
*Passport must be valid for at leat 2 months beyond tour start date
Country .........................................Date of Birth................................................................................
Sex......................Smoking or Non................................
Dietary restrictions, if any............................................Single bed................. Double bed..........................
In Case of Emergency Please Notify (Name and phone number)................................................................................
Cost per person, based on double occupancy of the room:
Price single room deposit
land package only (9/13- 9/20) Euro 1,432.00 + Euro 382.00 Euro 400.00
2. Accommodation wanted:
O Traveling together with.....................................................................
O Traveling alone, but wish to share a room, if possible (I agree to be billed for a single if no roommate is available within 60 days of the tour date)
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Upon receipt of this informationm Albion Tours will charge the deposit and will send you confirmatation. Balance will be charged on July 1, 2008. Cancellation and travel insurance is highly recommended, as it is not included in the package price.
4. Cancellation and refunds.
Your cancellation request must be made in writing.
- Euro 400.00 of your initial deposit is nonrefundable after July 1, 2009.
- Cancellation received after 60 days before departure are, in additionto the non-refundable deposit, subject to the following penalties: any costs that are already spent are lost, non-spent costs will be paid back.
- Cancellation received after 30 days before departure are non-refundable. We strongly recommend trip cancellation & interruption insurance.
The tour is organized by Albion Tours NV, Knokke-Heist, Belgium.
If Albion Tours cancels the tour prior to departure, all money paid will be refunded and this will constitute full settlement for the client. Albion Tours will endeavor to give as much notice as possible if your trip is likely to be canceled. This will normally be 45-60 days prior to departure.
5. Tour Prices.
Prices Quoted are in Euro currency, are based on current tariffs and are based on a minimum of 20 participants. Albion Tours reserves the right to add a small surcharge to the price of the tour at final billing, or modify or cancel the tour, if the minimum number of participants is not reached. No insurance is included.
6. Changes to Itinerary.
Albion Tours has made every attempt to make the tour itineraries accurate. However, should circumstances change or there be circumstances beyond our control, it may be necessary to modify itineraries, including, the breweries to be visited. Every effort is made to keep changes to a minimum and to maintain standards of similar category and quality.
7. Group Travel Situations.
Travel within a group situation invariably involves compromise to accommodate diverse desires, travel goals, personalities and physical abilities of all group members. Albion Tour tour leaders and local guides may be required to improvise and exercise their good faith discretion and/or make decisions based upon the consensus of the group. These decisions may not always please each individual, but are intended to satisfy the larger desires of the group. While we strive to make you feel at home in Belgium, we also value and respect the expectations, style of service and customs of our local hosts and hope to leave them nothing but positive impressions.
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I hereby release Albion Tours and all of it’s officers and employees from liability for any accident to my person, or any physical illness I may have during my travels or upon my return and waive any future claims against Albion Tours nor it’s officers and employees. I understand that neither Albion Tours, nor it’s officers and employees, nor any travel agent, nor Win-It-Too Inc. -Santa Barbara is responsible for my personal health.
If I want insurance of any kind, I will take care of this myself.
Albion Tours NV, Knokke-Heist, Belgium is the tour organizer and acts as an agent, for the hotels, airlines, bus companies, railroads, ship lines, or owners or contractors providing accommodations, transportation or other services, and all coupons, exchange orders, vouchers, receipts, contracts and tickets issued by Albion Tours are issued subject to any and all tariffs terms and conditions under which any accommodations, transportation or any other services whatsoever are provided by such hotels, airlines, bus companies, railroads, ship lines owners or contractors or by persons in their employ. Albion Tours nor its officers and employees, are not responsible for personal injury or property damage or loss arising out of the act or negligence of any direct air carrier, hotel or other person rendering any of the services or accommodations offered herein. The tour member agrees to the foregoing and also agrees that Albion Tours and all of its officers and employees, shall not be or become liable or responsible for any loss, injury or damage to person, property or otherwise in connection with any accommodations, transportation or other services, resulting directly or indirectly from any acts of God, dangers incident to the sea, fire, breakdown in machinery or equipment, acts of government or other authorities, de jure or de facto, wars whether declared or not, hostilities, civil disturbances, strikes, riots, thefts, pilferage, epidemics, quarantines, medical or custom regulations, defaults, delays or cancellations of or changes to itinerary or schedules, or from any causes beyond Albion Tours control, or for any loss or damage resulting from insufficient or improperly issued passports, visas or other documents, and that neither Albion Tours nor any of its officers, or employees, or affiliates or subsidiaries shall be or become liable or responsible for any additional expenses or liability sustained or incurred by the tour member or tour organizer as result of any at the foregoing causes. Participant Responsibility: Tour members assume the responsibility to select/design a trip most appropriate to their physical abilities and interests. Members are responsible for being in sufficiently good health to undertake their trip and may be required to obtain a physician’s release to participate in the trip. Members are responsible for studying all pre-departure information, for conforming to basic standards of personal hygiene, and for acting in a manner considerate of fellow group members and the countries visited. Smoking is not permitted in busses and other designated non-smoking areas. Albion Tours reserves the right to withdraw a tour, to refuse to accept or retain any person as a member of a tour at any time, or to make changes in the itinerary whenever, in its sole judgment, conditions warrant, or if such changes result from circumstances beyond the control of Albion Tours or if it deems it necessary for the comfort. convenience or safety of the passengers. The airlines concerned are not to be held responsible for any act, omissions, or events, during the time passengers are not on board their planes. The passenger contract in use by the airlines concerned when issued, shall constitute the sole contract between the airlines and purchasers of these tours and/or passengers.
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Belgian Beer Tour 2009
Thank-you all for your interest in this tour. I am sincerely sorry for not having it up. I have been having trouble putting it on the website.
Dates: September 13th-September 20th 2009
Cost: 1432 Euro double occupancy per person
Single room= 1432e + 382 e
Deposit= 400e when you book
Balance due July 1st 2009
Sunday: 9/13
We expect all our guests at the Novotel in the center of Brussels before 4 PM. To arrive the Sunday in Belgium, you have to fly out of the USA the day before.
From 2 PM, Regnier your host, welcomes you with a Belgian beer in the hotel bar. As soon as we are all present, Regnier takes you on a bus sight-seeing tour through Brussels, followed by a walk through the historic center culminating in a beer dinner at one of the restaurants on the magnificent Grand Place square. For those who are still in the right spirit, Regnier will take you to some interesting pubs. The others can easily walk to the hotel.
Monday 9/14
8:30 AM, is the latest time to hop on our bus to go the Belgian Ardennes, and reach the Achouffe brewery around 10:30 AM.
We stay for lunch in the adjacent restaurant.
12:30 short ride to WW II memorial in Bastogne
2 PM we depart for the Trappist Abbey at Rochefort.
4 PM we depart for the village of Soy to visit the ‘strange’ Fantome brewery.
6 PM we depart for the village of Gouvy to have a fine beer dinner at the famous restaurant Aux Trois Fourquets. If time permits we would like to stop first at the hotel to check in.
9 PM we should depart for a short ride to our hotel in the center of Bastogne. Pub crawl possible for the amateurs. The Bastogne people loves Americans.
Tuesday 9/15
9:00 depart to the Trappist Abbey of Orval, where we should arrive around 10:30. The drive brings us through an unbelievable beautiful country, and the abbey and the brewery are pretty unique too.
We will have lunch in Orval, at the abbey-restaurant.
2 PM we depart for the village of Rulles, to visit the local microbrewery.
4 PM we drive back to our hotel in Bastogne. If we are all in favor for it, we might stop at some pubs on the road.
8 PM beer dinner in Bastogne.
Wednesday 9/16
9:00 depart to the Trappist abbey of Chimay, where we tour their packaging facilities (the only part of the brewery open to the public), and where we have lunch at the adjacent restaurant.
1:30 PM: depart for the Dupont brewery in the village of Tourpes
4 PM depart for the Dubuisson brewery in the village of Pipaix
We have a beer dinner in their restaurant.
8 PM depart for the beautiful city of Brugge where we stay in the same hotel for 3 nights. Brugge is Regnier’s home town, and he will take the amateurs on pub-crawls every night.
Thursday 9/17
9:30 AM depart for the village of Bavikhove where we visit the brewery Bavik
At noon lunch in a local restaurant in Bavikhove
2 PM depart for the village of Ertvelde to visit brewery Van Steenberge
6 PM famous mussel-dinner in the village of Philipinne just over the border in the Netherlands.
8 PM short ride to the famous smuggler pub ‘ De Roste Muus’
9:30 PM drive back to our hotel in Brugge where we should arrive a bit after 10.
Friday 9/18
9:30 AM depart for the city of Oudenaarde to visit brewery Roman
lunch in a typical local restaurant
1:30 PM we cross the beautiful Flemish Ardennes and skirt the Payottenland to arrive in the village of Silly (Wallonia) to visit the family Brassery de Silly
5 PM depart to the world famous beer restaurant “De Heeren van Liedekercke’ in the village of Liedekercke
8:30 depart to our hotel in Brugge
Saturday 9/19
Free in the morning. Saturday is shopping day for the locals in Brugge. Brugge is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. We sleep in the historical center. All historical sights are in walking distance. Climb the stairs (365) of the Belfry tower. Remember the movie “In Bruges”?
At Noon: Regnier expects you at the ‘De Halve Maan’ brewery where we have of course our guided tour through this historical brewery and museum. We have our lunch in the brewery restaurant.
After this visit, you can continue your exploration of the city, and join Regnier at 4 PM on a historical pub-crawl.
7 PM: our last beer dinner together at a famous local restaurant.
9:30: we walk back to our hotel to pick up our luggage, and jump in our tour-bus to go to our hotel near the Brussels Airport, where we should arrive around 11 PM
Sunday 9/20
You fly home or you continue your stay in Europe. Taking the plane to the USA before noon brings you home the same day.
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