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myself and my wife are going to be heading to belgium for a couple of weeks touring round on the bikes, partaking in belgian beers and ridding cobbles and quiet roads.
rough plan is rotterdam, middelburg, bruges, wevelgem, oudenaarde, ghent, brussels, antwerp, turnhout and then head back into holland for a couple of days in delft.
looking for some standout beer spots, and anything else worth a look at.
anyone been on such a jaunt ?
Don't miss Ypres if you're doing that lot. You've got a few brewers round there that do tours, Kazmatten being one of them . Also, don't miss going to the Westvletern abbey to get some very special beer about 20mins from Ypres. On your way home, make sure you got to Ploegsteert for the bestest beer warehouse in the whole world..
I'm not so familiar with Belgian beer but if you happen to head further inland near Tilburg then La Trappe brewery has some very nice trappist beer.
Leave loads of room in the boot too.. remember it works out a out 6 cases per person in a car coming home, though I wasn't checked last time so wish I brought back a lot more.
Also, Ploegsteert has got a really good chocolate shop for the missus.
This sounds like the sort of tour I've been looking for.
Also, don’t miss going to the Westvletern abbey to get some very special beer about 20mins from Ypres
This. The cycling is flat around there and not spectacular but it would be a shame to miss out on the beer in the cafe next to the monastery as it's very special. You can only get it directly from the monastery on preorder and so the cafe next door is the only place you can buy it at sensible prices. Go straight for the 12, don't mess around with the other stuff
Oudenaarde is a great call for the cobbles of course and the riding down by the Chouffe brewery is a nice part of the country too.
Go straight for the 12,
a customer at work brought me a couple of bottles when i retired.
it was very nice, but i like a hoppy beer. the leffe royale he also brought was more to my liking.
The Bierhuis on the canal in Ghent. You could spend a week in there by itself!
Ghent is a lovely place, one of my favourite European cities. Dulle Griet is definitely worth a visit, it has a huge beer menu. It’s also famous for taking your shoe as a deposit for one their speciality beers that comes in this really strange (massive) glass. I’d never had proper Belgian/Trappist beer before but developed quite a taste for it while I was there
In Ooudenarde the best bar is De Carrilon. It's on the corner of the main town square, near the big church you can't miss it.
I've also thought about doing this, but only got as far as scribbling some ideas on paper. Following this thread with interest.
The Bierhuis on the canal in Ghent. You could spend a week in there by itself!
If you mean this one, it’s compulsory to visit when in Ghent!
Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant
And if you spent a week there, you wouldn’t remember much of it
The Bierhuis on the canal in Ghent. You could spend a week in there by itself!
Seconded - as I said in my post when @Alex asked the same question
Have a pint or two of De Konick in Bierhuis ( at Het Waterhuis), off Kleine Vismarkt
https://goo.gl/maps/hyqmNz9WwSEZRHT98then have a quick one in’t Galgen Huisje, just round the corner
Carry on following the tram lines round to Korenmarkt and have a Flemish Stew at Restaurant Du Progres
Go to Ypres for the Last Post, 8pm at the Menin Gate every night.
And
Don’t miss Ypres if you’re doing that lot.
Definitely visit Ypres - it's lovely, and as per my post above the Last Post ceremony (8pm every day at the Menin Gate) is quite special.
I'm slowly meeting more and more Belgians due to some projects at work. They're all riders and all keen I head over for a ride and beer....mmmm
Did a mini trip last autumn with three mates
Dunkirk-Bruges-ghent-Ypres-dunkirk
Hotels all had bike storage, good food and drink. Can’t remember meeting a bad beer (but after a few double digit beers we didn’t remember much). Belgians always very welcoming…
Ypres - Menin Gate was heaving for Last Post ceremony on a random weekday, Tyne Cott cemetery was sobering…
Generally flat riding, often well signed, good bike paths/canal side riding.
But the bergs/cobbles make up for that.
Going up the Koppenburg with all bags on the bikes was interesting, and make sure everything is well attached.
Oh and Komoot ran us down muddy bridleways as roads a couple of times which was fun on road bikes!
I really liked Middelburg when we did a (shorter than this) trip a few years ago. Liked everywhere, but remember this town the most! Could have been the lovely b&b: https://en.bnbpoorthuys.eu/ which I’d recommend.
RM.
Cantillon in Brussels, but you have to like sour beer.
Leave loads of room in the boot too.. remember it works out a out 6 cases per person in a car coming home, though I wasn’t checked last time so wish I brought back a lot more.
If you had been checked you would then have paid duty on all the beer, not just on what was over.
Vivan IPA was very much to my liking when in Bruges.
Also Triple Kamaliert.... Turns out you can buy it in Sainsbury.
We did a quick tour last spring - Dunkirk > Kwaremont for a couple of nights > Dunkirk and had a brilliant time.
Great roads, few cobbles, quite a few beers and a visit to Brouwerij Verhaeghe in Vichte for a brewery tour to see how they make Duchesse De Bourgogne.
My Bruges top to is: 't Bruges Beertje, kemelstraat 5, 8000 Brugge.
Tiny little pub, with an enormous list of beers. It's brilliant.
@madeupname That's the one. Don't do what we did and spend lunch there before cycling up to Zeebrugge
The duvel museum (duvelorium) in Brugge in also worth a trip - nice views over the square and the beer is good too
Try the 'Leffe Brun" best dark Beer ever
De Koninck brewery in Antwerp highly recommended - www.dekoninck.be/en/ - in particular the 'De Pilgrim' brasserie on the site serves great beer and food