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Discuss beer travel and regional information, including the best bars and places to check out around in Canada and around the world, and other chat that is not specific to Ontario.
Kekumba wrote:
By the way, Jean's dog is so awesome. Dude just chilled with me while I drank my Fou and gave his belly a good scratch.
yeah, the dog is great. he was running (literally) back and forth between Jean's office and the tasting area.
there's always a foreign tour group when i've been. they get a large cheese sampler plate and get pours of Cantillon. 90% of what's poured is not consumed. kills me. and the dog begs for cheese.
correct me if i'm wrong, but they usually don't "allow" people to come in just to drink. you have to pay for the tour regardless, n'est pas?
correct me if i'm wrong, but they usually don't "allow" people to come in just to drink. you have to pay for the tour regardless, n'est pas?[/quote]
No, stopped in a few times towards the end of the afternoon for beer only when I was there last week. By then I found the tour groups were gone and beer nerds, primarily Americans, lingered.
atomeyes wrote:
Antwerp: went to Kulminator both nights. couldn't force myself to go elsewhere. too many beer on their cellar list that need consuming. going to see the nutso owner is worth the price of admission. he had knee surgery but instead of hiring part-time help, he just spends the entire day/night occupying the biggest table in the tiny bar. half the table's covered with a mountain of junk mail. he slowly reads one piece of junk mail every, oh, 20 minutes. sometimes he cuts out a little square of the mail. other times, he writes on is. he only gets up to go into his cellar. no one but him is allowed in the beer cellar. imagine if Doc from Back to the Future owned a bar. this is what you would see. literally. drank some total gems from them. 1987 Westvleteren/Saint Sixtus Prior 8? yes please!
We had a similar experience, owner was injured somehow and half the stuff we tried to order we were told only he knew where it was so we couldn't order it. We had some nice beers there, but if you can't *actually* get the rarities they are known for then there are much better places in Brussels.
JerCraigs wrote:
We had a similar experience, owner was injured somehow and half the stuff we tried to order we were told only he knew where it was so we couldn't order it. We had some nice beers there, but if you can't *actually* get the rarities they are known for then there are much better places in Brussels.
he had knee surgery and didn't recover well. the cellar was off limits.
the story behind the cellar is that it actually goes well beyond the footprint of the bar and is half a block long. someone had to go down there with him to help him with something and said that there is no real order to where the beer is. his wife doesn't go there unless she's getting something simple and common. e.g. i was drinking Oerbier Reserva, and i'm pretty sure she was getting those for me. when i got my St Sixtus Prior 6 from the 80s, he got it.
he's apparently more mobile now, instead of just occupying the largest table in the bar, reading junk mail and cutting coupons.
that also begs the question: what will become of the bar once he retires? last year, he finally became a state pensioner. so i'm guessing he's 60?
I was wondering about just coming in to drink. I did the tour the second day there, but that was the only time out of the four days I went. They didn't seem to care once I started buying bottles and other merch, and the tour guide recognized me, so who knows.
icemachine wrote:We stayed at the Hotel Van Belle in 2010, a bit older and looking a little shabby, but very reasonably priced
Same here... but taxi in and out of that hotel. Very shady area, a guest of our hotel got robbed 4000 euros while he was there. (serves him right though having 4000 euros and staying in the cheapest place in town
it was really great. breakfast was great. rooms were great, hostess was great.
keep in mind that, unless you're getting a place in the middle of nowhere (like i did the 1st time i was in brussels), everything is close to everything. so this B&B is a 15 min walk from the Grote Markt and, i think a 7-8 min walk from Cantillon
it was really great. breakfast was great. rooms were great, hostess was great.
keep in mind that, unless you're getting a place in the middle of nowhere (like i did the 1st time i was in brussels), everything is close to everything. so this B&B is a 15 min walk from the Grote Markt and, i think a 7-8 min walk from Cantillon
Good tips here guys, I'm thinking of heading to Belgium in early Fall Sept/Oct...appreciate all the insights from those who've done a beer trip there recently, especially on places to stay.
it was really great. breakfast was great. rooms were great, hostess was great.
keep in mind that, unless you're getting a place in the middle of nowhere (like i did the 1st time i was in brussels), everything is close to everything. so this B&B is a 15 min walk from the Grote Markt and, i think a 7-8 min walk from Cantillon
booked into this bnb for a couple of nights in april. thanks for the recommendation.
