Podge’s Belgian Beer Tours

The Great Flemish Ardennes Beer Tour

Wednesday 19 March - Sunday 23 March 2025

Siobhan is delighted to announce this new Tour exploring beer in the beautiful Flemish Ardennes. This is the southern part of East Flanders Province, famed for its hills, many of which are tackled in the Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour of Flanders classic cycle one day race each April and they are steep, cobbled and cruel. There are several iconic cycling cafes amongst these hills, which we've never visited, but we will do. We are based in the luxurious four star Leopold Hotel in the historic town of Oudenaarde, centre of the Flemish Bruin Beer style. This Tour explores the Flemish Ardennes, as opposed to the Belgian Ardennes/Forest/Battle of the Bulge/where the pate comes from in Wallonia, in the deep south of Belgium which are the Wallonian Ardennes!

Saison beer from Brasserie St-Feuillien in Wallonia

We are based in Chelmsford in Essex and we use a UK hired coach to travel. We try to use Le Shuttle (Eurotunnel) from Folkestone to get to and from Belgium, but if not available we go by ferry from Dover to Calais. Most of our Travellers join the Tour at our main pick up point outside The Woolpack Pub, 23 Mildmay Road, Chelmsford CM2 0DN and most come from other parts of the UK, and some from further afield, especially USA. Lots of our Travellers stay the night before a Tour (and often the night of our return) at Chelmsford Travelodge only a few minutes walk from The Woolpack or at the Premier Inn near the Railway Station, about a 10 minute walk to the pick up point at The Woolpack. We all usually pop in to The Woolpack the night before departure for a meet, greet and a few beers with Siobhan who is your Tour Manager, Tour Guide and drinking pal for the duration.

Our Galloways luxury coach (49 seater coach with toilet) starts from Suffolk and on the way to Folkestone (or Dover if we go by ferry) and picks up at several points, as agreed with Siobhan, as below:

Ipswich, Bus Stop, Tesco Store, Pinewood, Ipswich IP8 3TS.

Colchester, McDonald's, Tollgate West, Stanway, Colchester C03 8RG

Chelmsford, The Woolpack, 23 Mildmay Road, CM2 0DN.

Dartford, BP Garage (formerly Esso) 474 Princes Road, DA1 1YT. On the return leg we drop off at Dartford Railway Station DA1 1DR

Swanley, Unit 4, Moreton Industrial Estate, London Road, BR8 8DE.

Ashford, pull in Outside Dobbies Garden Centre, Opposite Premier Inn, Ashford Eureka Leisure Park, Rutherford Road, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4BN.

Folkestone, Shell Garage, Stop 24 Services, J11, M20, Kent, CT21 4BL.

This Tour is now arranged and the detailed, timed itinerary is set out below. This Tour will sell out, so if you would like to join us please send Siobhan an email or call on +44 (0) 7722 724 558 for details on how to secure a place. The deposit for this Tour is £185 per person. Tour price at the foot of this page.

Day 1 – Wednesday 19 March

Very Early! Coach departs from Galloways coach depot at Denters Hill, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5RR.

06.15hr Coach pick up The Woolpack, Mildmay Road, Chelmsford CM2 0DN.

07.00hr Coach pick up Howdens, Unit 4, Moreton Industrial Estate, London Road, Swanley, Kent BR8 8DE.

07.45hr Coach pick up at Pull in Outside Dobbies Garden Centre, Opp. Premier Inn Ashford Eureka Leisure Park, Rutherford Road, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4BN.

08.00hr Coach picks up at Shell Garage, Stop 24 Services, J11, M20, Kent, CT21 4BL.

08.20hr Arrive Le Shuttle (Eurotunnel) Folkestone.

10.50hr Departure of Le Shuttle (Eurotunnel) Train crossing from Folkestone.

12.30hr Arrive/Disembark Calais.

14.00hr Arrive at our first stop of the Tour which is the Zevende Hemel (Seventh Heaven) beer café restaurant in Beernem. This is a big beer and food place next to the railway station and has been a great beer cafe for years. We’ll have our first meal here and also the opportunity to slake your great thirst with one or two beers from their list of over 100 choices.

15.45hr Leave de Zevende Hemel in Beernem.

16.30hr Call in at the Estaminet de Rotse in Gavere. This pretty old café can be regarded as the unofficial brewery tap to the historical Brouwerij Contreras nearby. Contreras Brewery was founded in 1818 and still brews in their 1952 brewhouse with brew water sourced from the original 1818 well. This apparently gives the ‘soft’ taste characteristic of their beers. Here you can try one of these excellent beers, not widely known outside this region. Their Valeir range comes in a Blonde at 6.5%abv, the Extra 6.5%abv which is citrus hopped, the Divers - an 8.5%abv Tripel and the 6% abv dark Donker beer. They also brew a Saison called 1818 and the legendary Tonneke, brewed for over 100 years, this is a Speciale Belge style beer and is recognised as a regional product.

18.00hr Leave Estaminet de Rotse in Gavere.

18.30hr Arrive at the Leopold Hotel in the city of Oudenaarde. This is our base for the next four nights which is in a fantastic position. From the 1400s to the 1700s Oudenaarde was the centre of tapestry production. It has a stunning flamboyant Gothic–style Town Hall and Belfry (1537), designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The niches, although designed to contain statues still stand empty. The evening is free for you to explore this beautiful little town armed with a copy of Podge’s Oudenaarde Bar Guide* and accompanying map*.

Day 2 – Thursday 20 March

10.00hr Following a buffet breakfast* we head off by coach to explore the Flemish Ardennes.

We will visit some of the key points on the course of the toughest bike race in the world, particularly the hills and the cobbles. The roads are surprisingly narrow considering several hundred cyclists take part with supporting vehicles, but we’ll get as close as we can in the coach!

• The Koppenberg Hill. The Koppenberg is considered the worst climb in the Tour of because of the combination of gradient, the narrowness between two steep banks and one of the worst stretches of cobblestones in the entire race. It first appeared in the 1976 Ronde and even legend Eddy Merckx had to dismount and hobble up alongside his bike.

• The Oude Kwaremont Hill. We’ll approach the viewpoint Oude Kwaremont and this climb which has been a permanent feature of the race since 1974 and for many riders, their favourite climb. One winner, Nick Nuyens, said of the hill that it was ‘love at first sight.’ We’ll get out of the coach and have a look at the Monument Karel van Wijnendaele (1882-1961), the founder of the Ronde race. Born into poor family he had fourteen siblings, became a very Flemish journalist and had a profound effect on this region. His memorial is on the southern approach to the Kwaremont which is a four minute climb and which is included in the Ronde race a punishing three times.

11.30hr After that exhausting hill climb, we have a rest at a quaint old locals bar café in Maarkdal called de Lustige Boer which translates as The Merry Farmer. The building has been here on the roadside since the 1830s, but the barmaid Agnes has only worked here for 55 years. They serve ‘geuteling’ here, a local speciality which is a cinnamon pancake mix poured onto a clay tile and baked in an oven. There is a tradition that eating the geuteling confers year-long immunity to toothache. They have a choice of 40 beers, many local specialities and excellent red Formica tables.

13.10hr Leave the Lustige Boer Café in Maarkdal.

13.30hr Arrive at the superb Molen ten Hotond in Kluisbergen for a meal. The Hotond Hill at 150m is the highest point in East Flanders and the longest climb in Flanders, by bike. The old stone Hotond Sail mill was dismantled in 1945 and converted to an observation tower. From the top of the mill on a clear day you can see 107 church towers along with phenomenal views of the rolling countryside. The Hotund mill has recently been renovated and converted into a Sport Hotel (what even is that?) a restaurant and café. We’ll have a bite to eat here and a beer or two chosen from their short but good beer card which includes on tap the uber cycling beer, Kwaremont, local beer Ename Blonde from Roman Brewery and Steeple Tripel Saison, an 8.5%abv offering from another local brewery, Rolling Hills. As in the Flemish Ardennes hills. The brewery tagline for this Tripel Saison is “Ride with the Wind in Your Hare” with an image of a jockey riding a giant hare. Oh, and St. Bernardus Abt (10%abv) is on draught here too. No. Not for lunch. Perhaps later.

16.00hr Leave Molen ten Hotond in Kluisbergen.

16.30hr Arrive at the legendary Liefmans Brewery in Oudenaarde. This is one of the oldest breweries in the country, and indeed pre-dates the founding of the country of Belgium itself. Its history dates back to 1679, but around 1750 Jacobus Liefmans settled by the banks of the Schelde, where this pretty brewery is today. It is famous for the excellent and refreshing Goudenband 8% abv brown beer, presented in a corked bottle and paper-wrapped. The other beers in the range are Oud Bruin 5% abv and the lovely 6% abv Kriek-Brut cherry beer (not to be confused with Liefmans Fruitesse/ On the Rocks!). This was one of the first Belgian (Kriek/Cherry) beers I ever tasted, and it was a revelation. It was developed around 1900, when the brewery began filling some of its maturation tanks with surplus cherries brought in by local farmers, who received beer in return for the fruit. A key player in the brewery history was Rosa Merckx (1924-2023) who began working at the brewery in 1946 as a secretary to the owner and in 1972 took over as brewmaster. As a girl growing up in Belgium in the 1940s, Rosa took English and drama lessons, classical dance, volunteered at the Red Cross, played basketball, and was the first woman in her town to drive a car. She was also trilingual, speaking French, Dutch, and English, which was rare at the time. The brewery owner noticed that his secretary had a talent for tasting beer; and taking her advice, Liefmans altered their beers to appeal to more palates. Rosa actually lived next door to Liefmans Brewery until her death in 2023. Reflecting on her life's work she said "Beer is a live product. It has a soul. I would not have been able to continue working for such a long time with a soulless product or in an admin office." As a tribute to Rosa, each bottle of Liefmans now has a facsimile of her signature on the bottle. I understand that the beer is still aged in the cellars here and is a blend of young and matured beer, a little like at Rodenbach, which gives a thirst-quenching tart and sweet taste to the beer. The brewery is now part of the Duvel Moortgat group.

17.00hr We commence the full brewery visit* and beer tasting* with a guided tour* of the brewery and museum, a talk on the origins of Oudenaarde brown beer and a guided tour of the original brewery. We finish with a tasting of two beers in their tap room and terrace on the banks of the Schelde.

18.30hr Leave Brewery Liefmans in Oudenaarde by coach (it’s a 20 minute walk to the hotel for those who wish to return by Shanks's Pony).

18.45hr Arrive back at Leopold Hotel in Oudenaarde.

Empty beer glasses waiting to be filled...it's Belgium

Day 3 – Friday 21 March

10.00hr Following a buffet breakfast* we head off by coach for a day of history, architecture, beer and probably a few laughs.

10.15hr Walk from Hotel Leopold to the Centrum Ronde Van Vlaanderen (5 mins walk). This is the national museum dedicated to the Tour of Flanders bike race, a one day race held each year on the first Sunday of April. It opened in 2003 and informs about all things Ronde van Vlaanderen, the cycling classic. An extensive archive of sound and image from old radio and television can be fully experienced. It is also possible to cycle yourself on the visitors "cobblestone bike" and the "hill bike". We will have a guided visit here with an expert (who may well be a Ronde cyclist)*. One of the displays here is a series of cobblestones engraved with the winner and the year of their win. The controversial 1977 Ronde race was won by Roger De Vlaeminck and apparently on top of his stone is a smaller one, engraved with ‘Freddy Maertens, moral victor’. We’ll hear why. There is also a souvenir/biking shop and showers if you really went for it on the cobblestone bike experience. We’ll have some time for a rest in their attached café, the Peloton Café. Bidons out, we're going in!

12.45hr Leave the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen in Oudenaarde, by coach.

13.15hr Arrive in the pretty city of Ronse (Fr. Renaix) for a lengthy afternoon stop. It’s been a few years since I’ve been here, but I remember two very beautiful old grand-style beer cafes, which are still on the main square. Saint Hermes is the patron saint of the city and his relics were believed to cure mental illnesses (they are still in the crypt of the church and are paraded round the city annually on Trinity Sunday). The riches of Ronse grew up from textiles, particularly linen manufacture and the city became a showcase for Art Deco design because of its wealthy cloth industrialists. Of course, the Tour of Flanders passes through Ronse and includes hills like the Oude Kruisberg and since 2014 the Kanarieberg. A Ronse Bar Guide and map will be provided to all Travellers. The two lovely cafes are the Harmonie at Grote Markt 10 and the Local Unique at Grote Markt 25. The Harmonie was built in 1899 and contains sensational, huge ceramic tile medieval-historic scenes. The Local Unique is an unspoiled 1925 café which was the former Racing Pigeon Club, and amazingly large wall ceramic tile artwork and original fittings still exist here too. We’ll have three hours here, to gaze at these architectural gems and get something to eat. And a beer or two.

16.15hr Leave the pretty city of Ronse.

16.30hr Arrive at the brilliant Hofke ter Musse beer café in Maarkedal. This is an historic farmhouse/museum/beer café and is considered one of the ‘Pearls of the Flemish Ardennes’. This nineteenth century farm house and square courtyard is called Ter Musse, “The Sparrow.” It is a lovely vintage cosy café of several rooms full of antique bits and retro pieces. The owner is an archaeologist. The stables have an array of vintage wooden pub games which generally involve throwing something at something else. They have a great beer list of 60-odd choices including the house beer Mussebier (Sparrow Beer) at 6%abv. You can order this with or without a portion of the house cheese, Mussebierkaas, "House Sparrow" cheese made at a nearby farm. They also sell Mussebierpaté, an artisanal pate from a local butcher (probably not made from sparrows). We’ll rest up here, ready for the journey back to Oudenaarde. Brace yourselves, and get your cycle clips on!

18.30hr Leave Hofke ter Musse in Maarkedal.

18.45hr Arrive back at Leopold Hotel in Oudenaarde.

Day 4 – Saturday 22 March

10.00hr Following a buffet breakfast* in our hotel we head off by coach for a day being driven around the Flemish Ardennes, with beer on the way round.

10.15hr Arrive at Clarysse Drinks Warehouse in Oudenaarde (Eddelare) for an opportunity to choose some of your favourite beers to buy and take home. This is part of the Prik & Tik confederation of drink handlers.

11.30hr Leave Clarysse Drinks Warehouse in Oudenaarde.

12.00hr Arrive for a visit to the Hedonis Brewery in Brakel. This is a new but accomplished brewery founded in 2015 full of enthusiasm and passion, but also a respect for the Belgian beer tradition and innovations. The name Hedonis refers to Hedonism, the philosophical doctrine in which the pursuit of pleasure is the highest good. Their new brewery opened in 2022 and they have total control over the recipes and brewing process. They use natural ingredients and the beers are unpasteurised. Their beer label artwork is distinctive and memorable. Their signature beer is:

 Ouwen Duiker – 7%abv, an American Pale Ale. Dry and bitter, it is brewed with rye. (The one with the deep sea diver on the label – ask them what Ouwen Duiker means). Their other offerings are:

 Suzanne - 5%abv, a thirst-quenching Saison beer, dry and soft with a creamy taste from the use of dinkel wheat malt.

 Excuse Me While I Kiss My Stout – a 5.4% abv unfiltered dry stout. Excellent!

 De Kolonel – a 10.5% abv Imperial Coffee Stout, aged for two years on Tullibardine Scottish Whisky barrels.

We will have a guided tour here* and a tasting of four of their beers*.

13.45hr Leave the Hedonis Brewery in Brakel.

On the way to our next stop we pass the tangled bike artwork on the way called Ronde Van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) dedicated to the great Classic cycle race. Boy, that is a big pile of bikes, but is it Art? Discuss.

14.15hr Arrive at the small but perfectly formed hilly city of Geraardsbergen. We will have a couple of hours here to independently explore, get something to eat and have a beer. Or two. Geraardsbergen is one of the oldest cities in Belgium dating from 1068 and was one of the first communities in Western Europe to be granted city status. It’s a brilliant and weird place and has some great beer bars. A copy of Podge’s Geraardsbergen Bar Guide and map will be given to each traveller.

There is loads to see here. Geraardsbergen is famous for the 3 ‘M’s – the Mannekin Pis which is a peeing boy statue, older than the one in Brussels, Mattentaarts which are a sweet pastry case filled with cheese curd. The European Mattentaart mountain resides here. See if you can spot it. The Mattentaart has been granted Protected Geographical Indication status by the European Union in 2006, indicating they can only be made in Geraardsbergen or in the nearby municipality of Lierde. The third "M" is the Muur, The Wall, a cruel cobbled hill climb up the Oudenberg (111m) and a key feature of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen bike race. You do need to make your way on foot up The Muur to the summit. There is a café at the top called Hemelrijk or The Heavenly Kingdom. As well as being famous in the cycling race, it is a site of two ancient festivals, still carried on here every February. Both festivities are so ancient (and so odd) that they have been inscribed on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Tonnekensbrand Festival

This is an end-of-winter evening fire festival celebrated on the hill in Geraardsbergen. The oldest written city account dating from 1393 lists the costs for the Tonnekensbrand, organised and paid for by the city council and said even then in 1393 to be a centuries-old custom. The fire festival contains pre-Christian elements probably from the Celtic period such as fire, live fish, bread and a big feast symbolizing the end of winter and the return of light and life. At 20.00hrs on an evening in February a straw doll is set on fire on top of the Oudenberg to chase away the winter and welcome the new spring, accompanied by folk dancers. Burning torches are handed out to bystanders and they bring the fire down to the Markt place, where there is a fairground and much jollity. Here is where the plot differs slightly from The Wicker Man cult horror film.

The Krakelingen Festival

This is held earlier on the same day as the fire festival and celebrates the besieging of Geraardsbergen in 1381 by Walter IV of Enghien and his troops. According to legend, during the siege local people, somewhat cockily, threw left over food over the city walls to show that they had sufficient food to survive a long siege. This bravado notwithstanding, the city was captured by Enghien's troops. This is recreated every year when hundreds of "krakeling" or 10cm ring-shaped sandwiches are thrown over the Oudenberg Hill, preceded by a procession through the city of local dignitaries, druids and 1000 extras in historical costume depicting 2,500 of history in Geraardsbergen. They process to the top of the hill with dozens of bread basket carriers accompanied by thousands of spectators. The local dignitaries pray in the little chapel at the top of the hill, then drink a sip from a 400-year-old silver cup containing wine and a live fish. Only when this is complete are the bread throwers permitted to hurl 10,000 bread rolls across the hill, which the crowd try to catch. One of the rolls contains a note entitling the finder to a real gold mini version of the bread roll, designed by a different local jeweller each year. Then it’s back down the hill for the fair and festivities. See what I mean?

See you on the coach after a Muurken beer, a Mattentaart and a live fish.

17.15hr Leave the eccentric little city of Geraardsbergen.

17.45hr Call in at den Obus café in Volkegem. The cafe is part of the exceptionally well-preserved, protected village, which has hardly changed since the second half of the 19th century. The name refers to the impact of a German shell on the cafe (a "bus" in dialect) during the First World War. Previously the café was named St-Martin after the local patron saint. The nearby St-Martin church dates from the 1100s and contains a painting depicting "St. Martin shares his cloak." It's a famous thing, you know, I don't make these things up. This cafe is a Roman Brewery house. Roman are a very local brewery and the oldest family brewery in Belgium. So the beer menu here will feature their beers including four on draught and over 40 more for tasting. Orval ambassadeur too, so you can try different years of aged Orval.

19.00hr Leave den Obus in Volkegem.

19.15hr Arrive back at Leopold Hotel Oudenaarde.

A group of Podge's Belgian Beer Tour Travellers in their natural habitat, on a brewery visit

Day 5 – Sunday 23 March

10.00hr After breakfast* check out of the hotel.

11.00hr We arrive at a great Belgian beer bar, Le Brasseur in Mouscron in the Province of Hainaut. This is a new visit for Podge's Belgian Beer Tours and is situated in the town centre on a corner of the Grand Place next to the catholic church. Pop in as it's a Sunday? There are a staggering 220 choices on the beer card and interesting changing draughts. We’ll tarry here for a beer and a comfort stop. Interesting men’s loos.

12.30hr Leave Le Brasseur in Mouscron.

13.30hr Arrive at our last visit of the Tour which is de Zwaan in Westouter. This is a handsome inn dating from 1877. During the First World War, only a few buildings in the village centre of Westouter (Heuvelland) were spared from destruction. The most important were the Corneblomme Brewery and this adjacent inn 'In de Zwaan - Oud Gemeentehuis'. They were granted protected monument status in 2004. Today de Zwaan offers classic Flemish cuisine and we’ll have a meal here. They also have a good selection of draft beers from the region and over the border into France. They offer Fourchette Blond and Piraat Amber 10.5%abv both from Brewery Van Steenberge. French beer Anosteke Blond and Poperings Hommelbier, both local beers. Also Trappist Chimay Blauw (Blue Label– the dark one) at 9%abv, and a house beer called Blonde Zwaan at 8%abv. Your last beer in Belgium on this Tour could be the excellent Het Anker Gouden Carolus Whisky Infused at an afternoon nap-worthy 11.7%abv.

16.00hr Leave de Zwaan in Westouter, West Flanders.

17.15hr Arrive Calais Le Shuttle (Eurostar) Terminal.

18.50hr Leave Calais on Le Shuttle (Eurostar) train.

18.30hr Arrive Folkestone Le Shuttle (Eurostar) Terminal.

18.45hr Coach drop at Shell Garage, Stop 24 Services, J11, M20, Kent, CT21 4BL.

19.00hr Coach drop at Pull in Outside Dobbies Garden Centre, Opp. Premier Inn Ashford Eureka Leisure Park, Rutherford Road, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4BN.

19.45hr Coach drop at Howdens, Unit 4, Moreton Industrial Estate, London Road, Swanley, Kent BR8 8DE.

20.30hr Coach drop Junction Lady Lane & Mildmay Road, Chelmsford CM2 0EA.

20.45hr Coach drop off Travelodge Hotel, 128-136 Parkway, Chelmsford CM2 7GY.

21.00hr Coach drop Premier Inn Victoria Road, Chelmsford CM1 1NY.

22.15hr Coach drop off at Galloways Depot, Mendlesham, Suffolk.

Tour Price is £1015 per person sharing a double or twin room.

Single Supplement: £330 if you would like a room of your own.

The deposit payable to secure a place on this Tour is £185 per person.

Send Siobhan an email to find out how to pay the deposit

Included in the cost of this Tour are:

Hotel accommodation and breakfasts;

Hotel city taxes;

Luxury coach travel on a 49 seater coach with toilet;

All brewery visits, tours and brewery beer tastings;

Entrance fees to attractions, museums and historical sites;

All items marked with an asterisk above and on the individual detailed tour itinerary when issued;

Copies of Podge’s City Bar Guides and Maps for the town where we stay or spend some time;

Still and sparkling water on the coach;

Pick up from one of our agreed joining points on the way to Folkestone or even on the other side of the channel.

Courier Services from Siobhan McGinn, your Tour Guide.

Travellers are responsible for the costs of all food and drink apart from items marked with an asterisk on the detailed itinerary plus all passport and insurance costs.

All itinerary times are local and approximate.

Personal insurance is not included in the Tour price but is required to be taken out by Travellers on Podge's Belgian Beer Tours, as is carrying the free UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) which is the 2021 replacement for the old EHIC. You can still use your EHIC card so long as it is in date, then you need to apply for the GHIC replacement online.

All Tours are subject to our Terms and Conditions.

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