Podge’s Belgian Beer Tours

Tour 74 / Christmas in Bruges 2014

Monday 22 December – Friday 26 December 2014

This five day Tour is based at the four star Hotel Academie near Minnewater in the centre of Bruges. On Christmas Day we will be paying a visit to the world-famous Emelisse Brewery over the border in Holland, where we will have a full gastronomic experience including a tour* of the brewery, a beer tasting* and a crack at the superb hot buffet in their cosy restaurant. On Christmas eve we will also be visiting our old friends at Alvinne Brewery in Moen for a brewery tour* and the first beer is on Podge*. There should also be some extraordinary beers for sale from their shop.

We will pay a visit to Van Steenberge Brewery in Ertvelde for a full brewery tour* and tasting*. There will be a top beer cuisine experience at the fantastic 't Molenhof in the village of Oostvleteren, a stone's throw from Struise Brouwers, whose beers are uniquely available on draught here. We will also have a meal at De Sarlinde in the typical Flemish village of Dranouter and a group buffet at the friendly Cafe Rembrandt in Zedelgem, specialising in La Chouffe beers. We have also arranged brilliant cafe visit to these Flemish gems:

Toogoloog in the coastal resort of Middelkerke; Cafe Vlasschaard in Stene; Cafe Roeland in Sint-Laureins; Cafe 't Smiske in Geluwe and Huyze Vacas in Waterland-Oudeman.

We pop over the Dutch border again for a new visit to Het Grand Café Restaurant De Drie Koningen in the seaside town of Groede. This is a restaurant, cafe and brewery tap of the Marckensteijn Brewery and we will have a meal here and a taste of their house beers. There will also be a trip down to Vanuxeem Beer Warehouse for a great selection of well-priced beers and gifts which we can buy to stock up on beers to take home. On the way to Vanuxeem we pass through Ploegsteert Wood and the site of one of the famous Christmas Truces which took place in this sector between British and German troops in the First World War. We will pay a visit to the site of the famous football match played at Christmas 1914 in a turnip field in no man's land on the north side of the wood. We can have a look at the small memorial there and Siobhan (our resident WW1 guide) will explain what happened at this special site 100 years ago.

The itinerary for this Tour is still being built so come back for regular updates. Contact Podge for more details, or to book this Tour now. This Tour is filling up, so if you want to join us book now to avoid disappointment.

Tour Price: £475 per person based on sharing in a twin or double room

Single Supplement: £140

If you are travelling alone and want to share a room with another traveller please contact Podge as we are regularly able to pair up travellers in twin rooms to avoid the need for payments of Single Supplements.

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 on the individual detailed tour itinerary; Copies of Podge’s City Bar Guide and Map for the town or city where we stay or spend some time on Tour; Free still and sparkling water on the coach; Pick up from Ipswich (Crown Street Layby), Colchester (Southway Chapel St South Layby) or Chelmsford (The Woolpack, Mildmay Road). Arrangements can be made for different joining points on the way to Folkestone or even on the other side of the channel.

All food and drink (apart from items marked with an asterisk* on the detailed itinerary) and all passport and insurance costs are each traveller’s responsibility. Personal insurance is not included in the Tour price, but is strongly advised, as is carrying the European Health Insurance Card available online, by phone or via the Post Office.

All detailed itinerary times are local and approximate.

Tour terms and conditions here. If you would like to join us or have any questions please call Podge on +44 (0)1245 354677 or send him an email. Please also contact Podge for details on how to send a deposit of £100 per person for this Tour. Full balance payable five weeks before departure.