Friday 6 March to Monday 9 March 2009
Friday 6th March 2009
05.45 Pick up at Colchester.
06.15 Pick up The Woolpack Mildmay Road, Chelmsford.
07.00 Pick up at Junction 1b on the M25.
07.45 Pick up at Relyon Parking just off Junction 12 M20.
09.20 Eurotunnel from Folkestone.
11.00 Arrive Calais.
12.15 The first stop is over the border at one of Belgium’s top beer cuisine restaurants, ‘t Hommelhof in Watou. Here we have an opportunity to taste Chef Stefaan Couttenye’s fantastic food which has a local Flemish flavour and style. We will be choosing from Chef Stefaan’s beer cuisine Flemish specialities such as Rabbit Stew cooked in 't Kapittel blond, Leg of Ham in St-Bernardus tripel, Half a Cockerel in Watou’s witbier and Grilled Cod with wild mushrooms in ‘t Kapittel Abt and mashed potatoes perfumed with truffle oil.
15.30 Arrive at the 2nd pre-ZBF beer festival festival hosted at Alvinne Brewery in Heule, near Kortrijk. The two innovative brewers Alvinne and Struise join together here and have their outstanding ranges of beers on offer together with many completely new beers which are due for their first commercial airing at this event.
19.00 Arrive at Hotel Mechelen Novotel Centrum in the heart of Mechelen. Copies of Podge's Mechelen Bar Guide* and City Maps* will be provided.
Nigel enjoying himself at Alvinne Pre-ZBF Festival March 2009
Saturday 7th March 2009
10.30 Late start for the coach leaving the hotel to enable early risers to visit the great Saturday Market near the Hotel.
11.00 Arrive at Pelgrims Beer Warehouse in Aarschot for a choice of beers to buy to take home from their 550-strong stock.
13.00 Arrive at the relatively new micro brewery Achilles in Itegem north of Heist-op-den-berg which was established in 1999 by its musical brewer. The brewery has been successful with it range of Serafijn beers, which we can taste on site, in their new tasting café*.
16.00 Pay a visit to the Duysters brewery in Diest for a quick look round* followed by a beer* or two in the Café-brouwerij Loterbol which only opens its doors to the public once a month. Here you can try the Loterbol Blond and Bruin, and maybe even the Roodebol, if available. This is followed by a night out in Diest, where a map and beer guide* to the best bars in town for beer and food will be provided.
22.00 Arrive back in Mechelen for a few nightcaps.
Brewery Duysters, Diest
Sunday 8th March 2009
10.00 Coach leaves hotel.
11.00 Arrive at the Halve Maan brewery in the fortified and historical city of Hulst, in Dutch Flanders. Here we can have a look at the brewery* before trying their wide range of beers in the comfy tasting room, which was formerly a railway depot.
13.30 Visit to Belgium’s greatest beer festival in Sint Niklaas the annual Zythos Beer Festival. Here you will find stalls representing 60 of Belgium’s greatest breweries offering a total of 200 different beers. The venue is non-smoking and snack food is available from inside the festival. The whole of the known beer world will be here.
18.00 Stop in at the Gulden Kop in Temse for an evening meal. Although there is an extensive menu, I bet most of you will go for the €15 Ribbetjes a Volonte, as many ribs as you can eat.20.30 Drop off in Mechelen for a final evenings drinking.
Group meal at De Gulden Kop, Temse
Monday 9th March 2009
10.00 Coach leaves hotel for journey home.
10.30 Arrive at the attractive Bosteels brewery in Buggenhout, which has been in the same family for over 200 years down seven generations. We will have a brewery tour* and tasting* of their famous beers, in this, the home of Kwak, Tripel Karmeliet and Deus.
13.00 Drop off on ‘t Zand square in Bruges for an afternoon in this great city, beering and dining. A map and guide to the top 10 beer venues in town will be provided, and there will be an opportunity to buy our new second edition of Around Bruges in 80 Beers which should be hot off the presses.
19.50 Leave Calais on Shuttle.
19.30 Arrive Dover. Drop off at Relyon Parking just off Junction 12 M20. Drop off at Junction 1b on the M25.
21.30 Arrive Chelmsford.
22.00 Arrive Colchester.
Group visit to Bosteels Brewery, Buggenhout
All above times are local and approximate. Food, drink, passport and insurance costs are each Traveller's responsibility. The items marked with an asterisk are included in cost of the Tour.
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