My children who are in their 30s love beer. Where would you recommend they try Belgian beer?
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7886 posts
Oh my, there are tons of places.
In Bruges:
At least head to the two main breweries. Huisbrouwerij De Halve Maan is a very old brewery with a now modern brewery within it. Good tour plus decent beer. Brewery Bourgogne des Flandres is more modern microbrewery, but is a modern out post of an old brewery. Good place to taste a Flanders Red.
For beer bars, De Garre, le Trappiste, t' Brugs Beertje, are all great, a wide choice of beer, good atmosphere.
In Antwerp, there is the Speciale Belge Taproom that is a microbrew, but otherwise, beer bars are the way to go.
I would suggest Billy's Bier Kafeteria, good food as well. I always enjoyed Paters Vaetje, a small bar by the Cathedral, great selection of beer. I also like t' Waagstuk this last trip, nice old bar, great beer, neat courtyard to sit and enjoy. One place that is a legend, but has just not worked out for me to enjoy is Cafe Kulminator. It is owned by a very old couple, he pretty much popularized the idea of aging Belgian beers. You go there as a serious beer lover, wanting to taste different vintages of a beer. Anymore, you almost need to contact them and tell them what you are interested in, then they might indicate if you can come. There are other rules to consider, but if they are deadly serious about Belgian beers, then do it. If they just like a beer, then it is too much trouble.
In both towns, lots of other places, these are just the top few.
Posted by
106 posts
The above suggestions for Bruges are good. I will also add, if you want an awesome view with your beer, the Duvelorium overlooking the Grote Markt.
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2060 posts
In Bruges the oldest pub in town is Café Vlissinghe, founded in 1515. But you can look further away from Main Square for those lesser visited by tourists and more by the locals. You can discover them during a walk, just pop in and see if you like it.
Posted by
OP
Sacramento, California, USA
135 posts
Thank you all very much! He will have plenty of pubs for our short visit.
Posted by
San Diego, California
5383 posts
Kindly scroll through my spring 2024 Trip Report to Brugge section.
My husband also liked 2Be Brewery, they had 300+ beers, and funky decor. Altho it was raining on our visit, I believe they have a nice outdoor seating area.
Have a great trip. Safe travels!