Beer and Hop Festival in Poperinge

I am sorry no one has replied to this question yet as I, too, am interested in the replies you may get as we may head to this as well. A few of us went to the Ghent Beer Fest earlier this year and a beer fest in Haarlem Netherlands last year and can say hitting a Beer Fest in Belgium or anywhere in Europe is so much more interesting and entertaining than a typical beer festival here in the US. It appears tickets go on sale in March and I do recommend getting tickets straight away as each beer fest I have experienced, sold out pretty quickly. Maybe we’ll see you there. Cheers.

Edit: IF you go, I would recommend basing in Ghent as there are so many wonderful bars and things to see and do.

Jay, thanks for the information about Ghent. We wondered about staying in Bruges but will continue to research.

Even living 1½ hour driving from Poperinge I never attended the Beer and Hop Festival but think it’s an excellent way to have a local experience. And as food and fun is very much part of the Belgian lifestyle there will be a lot to enjoy and to discover there.

Think as you know the famous Saint-Sixtus Abbey is just north of Poperinge, you can taste and with a bit of luck even buy a Westvleteren in the nearby restaurant “In de vrede”. If you want buying beer you can also go to the local supermarket Colruyt for best prices or for a wider selection to the local Bierhal(le) / Drankencentrale like the Hopduvel in Ghent. Many local thrift stores sell most of the time cheap but if you don’t mind all kinds of used beer glasses for around a Euro a piece.

Edited: I agree with Jay MN that for pubcrawling Ghent is a better place. There are numerous interesting places for eating and drinking, some are a bit hidden away like De Stokerij making it to my opinion more special. To name a few De Trollenkelder, Pakhuis with it’s special interior, Dulle Griet, Multatuli, 't Galgenhuis and so on. Very special is ‘t Velooke, but ask first the cost of a drink as I have heard, maybe I’m wrong he sometimes overcharges the bill. It’s always worth asking advice if there is more to discover the place you stay

Enjoy your coming Belgian trip.