Podge on Beer

Tour dates for 2009

These tours are now ready for booking, so come and join us! Should be another great beery tour year!

Brussels & Heritage Tour 2009
Friday 28 August to Monday 31 August 2009. 

Aalst & the Bruges Beer Festival 2009
Friday 13 November to Monday 16 November 2009. 

Special Christmas Tour Bruges
Thursday 24 December to Monday 28 December 2009. 

The group at Hof te Puttens.

!New Tour Announced!! The Great Three Beer Festival Tour

Thursday 4 March to Monday 8 March 2010.

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The Great Three Beer Festival Tour

!!New Special Five Day Tour Announced!!

Thursday 4 March to Monday 8 March 2010

As yet this is just a date for your diary. During this five day Tour we intend to visit the:

• Pre-ZBF festival at Alvinne
• Night of the Great Thirst Festival at Eizeringen
• Public Brewing Day at Cantillon
• the magnificent Zythos Beer Festival itself.

Watch this space for future updates. 

Special Christmas Tour Bruges 2009

Thursday 24 December to Monday 28 December 2009

We are thrilled to announce this exciting five day tour over Christmas 2009 during 24–28 December inclusive. Our base will be Belgium's loveliest city, Bruges, which is at its most charming at the magic season of Christmas. 

We are booked into the fabulous four star Hotel Academie situated in the historic “golden triangle” of Bruges, just 50 metres from the famous Minnewater (Lake of Love) and the Begijnhof (Beguine Convent).  With a superb hot and cold buffet breakfast, this is a great hotel which has air-conditioning in all rooms and all bathrooms have a bath and shower. They also have a bar and a winter garden with terrace. 

Start giving excuses to your family now, or if all else fails bring them with you!

The price of this extended five day tour is £385 per person based on sharing a twin or double room. There is a single supplement of £112 if you want your own room.

We always use our own luxury coach throughout the Tour. Included in the price are breakfasts each day, all brewery visits, admission charges, and coach travel from Colchester or Chelmsford. Arrangements can be made for different joining points on the way from Colchester to Dover or even on the other side of the channel. Personal insurance is not included but is strongly advised, as is carrying the European Health Insurance Card, application forms available from the Post Office.

If you would like to join us on this tour or if you need more information, please call Podge on +44(0)1245 354677, or send an email.

Aalst and the Bruges Beer Festival

Friday 13 November to Monday 16 November 2009

This Tour is based at the ever-popular Hotel Keizershof in Aalst and takes advantage of the superb Third Bruges Beer Festival that takes place over that weekend. Aalst is a great city for bars and beer, see Podge’s Beer Guide to Aalst.

The price of this tour is £278 per person based on sharing a twin or double room. There is a single supplement of £84 if you want your own room.

We always use our own luxury coach throughout the Tour. Included in the price are breakfasts each day, all brewery visits, admission charges, and coach travel from Colchester or Chelmsford. Arrangements can be made for different joining points on the way from Colchester to Dover or even on the other side of the channel. Personal insurance is not included but is strongly advised, as is carrying the European Health Insurance Card, application forms available from the Post Office.

If you would like to join us on this tour or if you need more information, please call Podge on +44(0)1245 354677, or send an email.

Going on the Toer de Geuze?

Podge’s Belgian Beer Tours are! The Toer de Geuze is a biennial one day special event when most of the geuze makers of Belgium open their doors to the public. This seventh Tour is on Sunday 26 April 2009. Each of the breweries and blenders Hanssens, 3 Fonteinen, Oud Beersel, Boon, Timmermans, Lindemans, De Troch, De Cam, Mort Subite can be visited in a cirucular tour where you can find out about how geuze is made from lambic beer.

You can taste both the base lambic beers and the final sparkling geuzes made from blending and bottling young lambic and lambics up to three years old. Our Tour 44 to Leuven 2009 in April 2009 will incorporate the full geuze tour on the Sunday from the comfort of our coach. Why not come and join us?

Special Czech Tour

Thursday 21 or Friday 22 May to Tuesday 26 May 2009

This tour is a five or six day tour depending on whether you want to fly out to Prague on Thursday 21st May 2009 or Friday 22nd May 2009. This tour starts with a two or three night stay in Prague, and then moves on to one night stays in České Budějovice and Plzeň. All travellers will need to book their own flights to Prague and back. 

Here is the itinerary: all items marked with an asterisk* are included in the tour cost. The tour cost is £380 per person for a four night tour or £418 for a five night tour. If you want your own room, the price is £20 per night extra.

Thursday 21st May 2009 
Transfer* from Prague airport meeting Easyjet Flight 3065 from Stansted (dep 06.25, arr 09.15) to Hotel Smaragd*. Other travellers are  joining us from Gatwick EasyJet flight number 5493, which departs 6.25am and arrives Prague 9.20am. Our shuttle bus at Prague airport meets both the Stansted and Gatwick flights. Optional visit to the Czech Beer Festival Prague, which runs during our visit.

Krusovicka Pivnice, Prague

Friday 22nd May 2009
Buffet breakfast in hotel.*
A day free to sample the delights of Prague and its world famous bars, with the help of a specially produced city bar guide.

U Zlateho Tygra, Prague

Saturday 23rd May 2009
Buffet breakfast in hotel.*
Another free day to explore Prague.

Pivovarsky Klub, Prague

Sunday 24th May 2009
After our buffet breakfast in the hotel* we board our own tour bus for the transfer* to České Budějovice.  
Here we visit the Budweiser Budvar Brewery for a guided tour and its Museum.*  This is followed by a three course lunch* in the Brewery Restaurant. 
In the afternoon we check into Hotel U tří lvů* in České Budějovice before going on to Cesky Krumlov in our coach.* 
Here we will have an evening city tour of Cesky Krumlov with an English speaking guide* followed by a guided visit to Eggenberg Brewery* and dinner at the brewery.*
Return to Hotel U tří lvů for a one night stay.*

Budweiser Budvar Brewery, České Budějovice, Prague

Monday 25th May 2009
Buffet breakfast in hotel.*
The tour coach leaves České Budějovice for transfer to Plzeň.*
Here we visit and take a guided tour the famous Pilsner Urquel Brewery and Museum.*
Lunch will also be taken at the Brewery* before we are driven* to check in for a one night stay at the Hotel Viktoria* in Plzeň at around 16.00.
Free evening in Plzeň and a bar guide and map will be provided.

Cesky Krumlov

Tuesday 26th May 2009
Buffet breakfast in hotel.*
Depart hotel in our tour coach* to Beroun and the Micro Brewery Berounský Bear where we will have a short guided tour* followed by a three course lunch* including a beer.*
After our last beer here, we transfer* to Prague airport to arrive at 14.45 for our flight home which is the 3068 from Prague departing 16.35 and arriving in Stansted 17.30.

Eggenberg Brewery visit,  Cesky Krumlov

All above times are local and approximate. Insurance is at your responsibility and cost, as is most food and drink on this tour but the cost of all the items marked* above is  included in the price of this tour.