Thursday 4th March to Monday 8th March 2010.
On this tour we will be staying the first night at Hotel Marion** in Ostend, famous for its Botteltje bar which stocks over 300 beers, followed by a three night stay at the fabulous four star luxury Hotel Keizershof **** in Aalst. This tour takes advantage of three of Belgium’s greatest beer festivals. The first is the ever-experimental Pre-ZBF festival organized by excellent Alvinne brewery, which now takes place at the atmospheric Kasteel der Lakebosschen, south of Bruges. This year it features some of Europe's most creative and innovative brewers, including BrewDog, Thornbridge, Struise Brewers, De Molen and Urthel. The second festival is the biennial Night of the Great Thirst, a lambic-feast in the wilds of Eizeringen. Lastly we will visit the magnificent national Zythos Beer Festival which takes place in the centre of St Niklaas. This special festival features 60 brewers and over 200 beers served from beer stalls manned by the brewers themselves.
We will also attend the Public Brewing Day at Cantillon* and pay a visit to the Impremerie Brewery in Uccle, Brussels. We have also have been invited to the Brasserie du Brabant in Baisy-Thy on the Saturday evening for a tasting* of their beers. We had hoped to have a sneak preview of the brand new De La Senne Brewery, but the site is still at the "concrete, dirt and dust stage" so instead we will have our first ever visit and tasting* at the family owned and historic Leroy Brewery in Boezinge and a special visit and tasting* at Sint Bernardus brewery at Watou where all our travellers will receive a beery gift pack*. We will also be enjoying beer Cuisine at the nearby top flight Hommelhof Restaurant, drinking Affligem Paters Vat at the abbey in the D'Oude Brouwerij and buying beer to take home from Rotsaert Beer Warehouse in Zedelgem. On top of that, we are also having a beer tasting of Belgoo beers* accompanied by some excellent tapas at the just opened beer store ‘t Koelschip in Ostend and calling in at the brand new Maenhout Brewery* in Meulebeke. The brewery gets its licence in February and this tour will be the first ever to visit it!
We use a luxury coach throughout the Tour. Included in the price are coach travel from Colchester or Chelmsford, still and sparkling water available on the coach, hotel breakfasts plus all items marked with an asterisk above. 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 available online, by phone or via the Post Office.
On this tour we will be staying the first night at Hotel Marion** in Ostend, famous for its Botteltje bar which stocks over 300 beers, followed by a three night stay at the fabulous four star luxury Hotel Keizershof **** in Aalst. This tour takes advantage of three of Belgium’s greatest beer festivals. The first is the ever-experimental Pre-ZBF festival organized by excellent Alvinne brewery, which now takes place at the atmospheric Kasteel der Lakebosschen, south of Bruges. This year it features some of Europe's most creative and innovative brewers, including BrewDog, Thornbridge, Struise Brewers, De Molen and Urthel. The second festival is the biennial Night of the Great Thirst, a lambic-feast in the wilds of Eizeringen. Lastly we will visit the magnificent national Zythos Beer Festival which takes place in the centre of St Niklaas. This special festival features 60 brewers and over 200 beers served from beer stalls manned by the brewers themselves.
We will also attend the Public Brewing Day at Cantillon* and pay a visit to the Impremerie Brewery in Uccle, Brussels. We have also have been invited to the Brasserie du Brabant in Baisy-Thy on the Saturday evening for a tasting* of their beers. We had hoped to have a sneak preview of the brand new De La Senne Brewery, but the site is still at the "concrete, dirt and dust stage" so instead we will have our first ever visit and tasting* at the family owned and historic Leroy Brewery in Boezinge and a special visit and tasting* at Sint Bernardus brewery at Watou where all our travellers will receive a beery gift pack*. We will also be enjoying beer Cuisine at the nearby top flight Hommelhof Restaurant, drinking Affligem Paters Vat at the abbey in the D'Oude Brouwerij and buying beer to take home from Rotsaert Beer Warehouse in Zedelgem. On top of that, we are also having a beer tasting of Belgoo beers* accompanied by some excellent tapas at the just opened beer store ‘t Koelschip in Ostend and calling in at the brand new Maenhout Brewery* in Meulebeke. The brewery gets its licence in February and this tour will be the first ever to visit it!
We use a luxury coach throughout the Tour. Included in the price are coach travel from Colchester or Chelmsford, still and sparkling water available on the coach, hotel breakfasts plus all items marked with an asterisk above. 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 available online, by phone or via the Post Office.
The price of this five day tour was £385 per person based on sharing a twin or double room. There is a single supplement of £112 if you want your own room. All above times are local and approximate. Food, drink, passport and insurance costs are your responsibility. We will try to make the cost of as many as possible of the items marked* inclusive of the tour price but some may cost extra.
