Podge’s Belgian Beer Tours

The Belgian Family Brewery Tour

Wednesday 18 March - Sunday 22 March 2026

Belgium is justly famed for being the best beer-producing country in the world, and much of this reputation is built on generations of brewers and experience. So, this great new Tour will visit members of the special Belgian Family Brewers association, their breweries, brewery taps and some of the cafes which offer their beers. Our hotel for this five day, four night Tour is the luxury four star Park Hotel**** in Kortrijk, West Flanders, from where we will explore some of the finest and most traditional family brewers in the world.

Park Hotel, Kortrijk.

The Belgian Family Brewers Association has 21 members. They have rules. Their objective is to promote historic, independent family breweries and they have a logo on each bottle of approved beer, involving a stylised Belgian flag, so customers can identify what they are drinking. To be a member there is a high bar to the family-owned-brewery bit. The brewery must have been going continuously for at least 50 years. Not every beer from each member brewery can show the logo on their label - it must be brewed in Belgium itself and must be an original beer, no copies of which are sold under any other name or label. Siobhan is aiming to experience seven of the members of the association, either by way of a visit to the brewery or the brewery tap, if it's not possible to visit! Strap on your beer crampons - we're going in!

Kortrijk is a lovely, vibrant and historical city with loads of excellent beer bars. Just have a look at Podge's Kortrijk Bar Guide which gives an idea of the hand-picked beer bars we have included on the map within a walk of the hotel. We will manage to fit in brewery visits, some great meals in top beer/restaurants and plenty of visits to interesting cafes. All from the comfort of our luxury 49 seater coach. Join us.

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. Podge's Central Chelmsford Map shows suggested accommodation and pubs! 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.

Here are the breweries and brewery taps which we are hoping to visit:

De Brabandere Brewery in Bavikhove for a brewery visit and tasting (included in the price of the Tour).

Brasserie de Silly in Silly for a brewery visit for a brewery visit and tasting (included in the price of the Tour).

Brewery Dubuisson - Trolls & Bush in Pipaix - for a meal at the brewery tap.

Omer Vander Ghinste Brewery in Bellegem for a brewery visit and tasting (included in the price of the Tour).

Roman Brewery in Oudenaarde - the oldest family brewery in Belgium for a brewery visit and tasting (included in the price of the Tour).

Boon Brewery in Lembeek for a tap room visit (Siobhan has never visited the tap room here, so we're going!)

Verhaeghe Brewery in Vichte for a brewery visit and tasting (included in the price of the Tour). Voted best EVER brewery visit by everyone on it last time we went in 2024!

Circus Brewery in Zwevegem, which is not in the Belgian Family Brewers group, but is a very good brewery tap visit, with hopefully their Black Mamba Stout at 10.5%abv!

Hommelbier. The brewer Leroy is also a member of the Belgian Family Brewers Association

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 Extra Store, Copdock Interchange, 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.

The itinerary for this Tour is set out below, and most of it has been arranged with the venues. 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 and pay the deposit for this Tour, or if you have any questions about this Tour. By the way, this one will sell out!

't Molenhof at Oostvleteren

Day 1 - Wednesday 18 March

05.00hr Coach departs from Galloways coach depot at Denters Hill, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5RR.

05.30hrr Coach pick up at Bus Stop, Tesco Store, Pinewood, Ipswich IP8 3TS.

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

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

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

08.20hr Arrive Le Shuttle (Eurotunnel) Folkestone.

10.20hr Departure of Le Shuttle (Eurotunnel) Train crossing from Folkestone.

12.00hr Arrive/Disembark Calais (Eurotunnel).

13.45hr Arrive at our first stop of the Tour which is the incomparable ‘t Molenhof in Oostvleteren. This is a Flemish restaurant and beer café, and it blends both perfectly. Chef Pascal Rubben bought this place thirty years ago, but formerly the building was used to temporarily house live pigs who would be taken to the tram station next door to local towns. For more info on this place see https://www.belgiansmaak.com/t-molenhof/. We’ll have a meal and slake our great Channel crossing thirst here. They have a superb selection of draft and bottled beers including beers from De Struise Brouwers whose brewery is in this village, and whose beers are much beloved by our Travellers.

15.45hr Leave ‘t Molenhof in Oostvleteren.

16.45hr TO BE ARRANGED. Arrive at De Brabandere Brewery in Bavikhove, which is a northern suburb of Kortrijk. It is a member of the Belgian Family Brewers Association. We are here for a brewery tour* and beer tasting* and a gift*. This is an attractive old red brick building and are probably the biggest brewery in the association.

When we first started coming to Belgium this was known as the Bavik Brewery from 1990-2014. They have now reverted to the family name De Brabandere Brewery, which was founded in 1894 by Adolphe De Brabandere, a farmer. Five generations have succeeded one another and Albert De Brabandere has been in charge since 2017. Their most well-known beers are their Bavik Super Pils, the lovely Petrus Range (using their oak foeders). You need to try the delicious Petrus Aged Pale 7.3%abv. Their wheat beer Wittekerke is named after a Belgian TV soap opera. Back in the 1970s they advertised via sports sponsorship, a smart move. They still sponsor some of Belgium’s biggest cycling races. Another smart move was to launch Kwaremont, the cycling beer and a favourite of Siobhan’s. Investments have been made since 2017 to increase the brewery's maximum capacity to 500,000 hectolitres and they can now put beer in cans. The original Brewer’s House built by founder Adolphe De Brabandere was converted into a visitors’ centre since 2019 and we’ll have a look at it.

18.30hr Leave De Brabandere Brewery in Bavikhove.

18.45hr Arrive at the excellent Hotel Park in central Kortrijk. The evening is free for you to explore this great Flemish city armed with a copy of Podge’s Kortrijk Bar Guide* and accompanying map*.

Day 2 - Thursday 19 March

10.00hr Following a luxury buffet breakfast* we head off by coach to explore.

11.15hr Arrive at the Silly Brewery in the town of Silly. It is a member of the Belgian Family Brewers Association, one of the smaller members. The name of the town derives from a waterway called the Sille (Fr.) and has no relation to the English word! This is a handsome town centre brewery, and we will have a brewery tour* and beer tasting*

This brewery is the last survivor of all the nineteenth century farmhouse breweries in this area of Hainaut province. The municipality of Silly once had 29 pubs and 3 breweries for a population of 2500. Silly brewery began in 1852 in a farm bought by Marcellin Meynsbrughen and was called Meynsbrughen Brewery until 1973. During WW1 the German occupiers had a policy of nominating one brewery in each area in Belgium to keep brewing, and all others had to close. This brewery was selected as the area brewery to ensure deliveries, not to the German occupiers, but to local customers and to the decommissioned breweries in the area. Which must have been a bit galling. Until 1955 the brewery kept five dray horses in the stables at the brewery entrance. Their logo is an agricultural worker with a scythe in one hand and a beer in the other. Don’t try this at home. The brewery uses hops from Kent and Germany.

Their most well-known beers are:

 Silly Saison, a 5%abv saison-style which is apparently “a refreshing beer that calls out for another one.”

 Silly Scotch 8%abv – a sweet caramel ‘wee heavy’ beer.

 Enghien Blonde 7.5%abv, Enghien Brune 8%abv and Enghien d’Hiver (Winter Beer) at 9%abv. This range has its origin in Silly’s takeover of nearby Enghien Brewery in 1975 (pronounced ‘engine’). This region of Hainaut and most of its farms was controlled by German nobility, based in Enghien Castle for more than 500 years. It is said that the influence of German-owned Enghien Brewery still lingers in some of Silly Brewery beers, especially La Divine.

 Pink Killer – a pink grapefruit wheat beer at 5%abv. It’s pretty good, actually. You could also try their:

• Silly Blanche Wheat Beer 5%abv.

• Silly Triple Bio 9%abv.

• La Divine Tripel 9.5%abv.

11.30hr Start Brewery Tour.

13.00hr Leave Silly Brewery in Silly.

13.45hr Arrive at Trolls & Bush Beer Restaurant and Brewery Tap for Dubuisson Brewery in Pipaix, also a member of the Belgian Family Brewers Association. We’ll stop here for a meal and a beer or two. This brewery came into being in 1769 due to a local tax break under the Habsburg rulers. This area in Hainault was a tax-free municipality, so farmer Joseph Leroy took advantage by brewing to sell locally.

In 1931 descendants of Joseph Leroy, brothers Alfred and Amédée Dubuisson stopped farming and concentrated on beer production. Due to the growing success of English pale ales, stouts and Scotch beers in Belgium at that time, their beers were a mix of English and Belgian techniques. In 1933 they came up with a new beer, a strong, amber-coloured beer, brewed in English style. It was so well received that they registered the English brand name Bush Beer. Bush is simply the English translation of the brewer’s French surname Dubuisson. It is still brewed and has long been one of the strongest beers widely available in Belgium, now called Bush Caractère, 12%abv. The flagship beer is now part of a small range of Bush beers (sold under the name Scaldis in the U.S.). They also have the Cuvée des Trolls range, the blonde 7%abv is made with dried sweet orange peel.

The current brewery is still located at the same place and still owned by the Dubuisson family. Opposite the brewery tap is the brewery shop, Le Terroir de Trolls, open until 18.30hrs for your merch and beer purchases.

15.45hr Leave Trolls & Bush Beer Restaurant and Brewery Tap, Dubuisson Brewery, Pipaix.

16.30hr Arrive at Omer Vander Ghinste Brewery in Bellegem, not far south of Kortrijk, a member of the Belgian Family Brewery Association, one of the bigger ones. This brewery began in 1892 when Remi Vander Ghinste bought a house with brewery buildings in Bellegem for his son Omer. Beer had been brewed there since 1869. Omer married Marguerite Vandamme, granddaughter of brewer Felix Verschuere. In those days most beers didn't have individual names, they were just called Omer Vander Ghinste beers, a name promoted by installing beautiful stained-glass windows in cafés where the beer was sold. The family were canny with spending as Marguerite named her son, born in 1901, "Omer" for practical reasons, so he wouldn't have to replace the expensive windows in the future. This was the beginning of a family tradition. Pleasingly, an Omer Vander Ghinste has been in charge since 1993, the fifth generation Omer. I hope he called his son Omer.

The family were fortunate as Marguerite inherited her grandfather's Brasserie Le Fort Brewery in Kortrijk in 1911. It’s a café now in central Kortrijk. The Le Fort site was closed and the brewing activities transferred to Bellegem. In the 1930s they began making a pils called Bockor - a combination of the German word "Bock" and the French word "or"(gold) meaning the golden pint. So successful was it that from 1977 to 2014 the brewery was renamed Bockor. Maybe it was the stained-glass window issue which made them rename it again back to the family name! The launch of Omer (8%abv) in 2008 was a great success. A strong dark beer followed in 2013 under the name Brasserie LeFort (10%abv) as a tribute to the former brewery. Brewing ramped up massively after 2013 when a new brewhouse was built. An interesting architectural design. Boy, that’s a lot of bricks. The old 1947 brewhouse and its copper kettles now forms part of the visitor’s centre and taproom. Their principal beers are:

• Omer. Traditional Blond 8%abv.

• VanderGhinste Roodbruin (formerly Bellegems Bruin) 5.5%abv – a lovely Flemish Red Brown with the best label artwork in Belgium.

• LeFort (Brown) 10%abv Tripel LeFort 8.8%abv.

• Ypra Blonde 6%abv. Originally a brand from Vermeulen Brewery in Ypres, the beer was relaunched by Omer Vander Ghinste and a descendant of the Vermeulen family in 2023.

17.00hr Brewery Tour commences. for a brewery tour* and beer tasting*. There will also be a gift for each visitor*.

19.00hr Leave Omer Vander Ghinste Brewery in Bellegem.

19.15hr Arrive back at Hotel Park in Kortrijk.

Day 3 - Friday 20 March

10.00hr Following a luxury buffet breakfast* we head off by coach to explore.

10.45hr Arrive at Roman Brewery in Mater (Oudenaarde) for a brewery tour* and beer tasting*. It is a member of the Belgian Family Brewers Association and is the oldest of them all! Amazingly this brewery can date back to 1545, and founder Joos Roman around 1545, a bailiff who sold beer at an inn on the main trading route road from Germany to France. Even more amazingly the chaps in charge are brothers Carlo and Lode Roman. The 14th generation! Now that’s what I call business continuity!

Jump forward 400 years and the brewery grew big on the back of their regional brown beer, Roman Oudenaards (now renamed Adriaen Brouwer). They played another blinder post WW2 with Roman Pils which they wanted to be like a Czech pils, but it was more amber than gold coloured. In 1982 the name was changed to Romy Pils and the colour and taste shifted closer to other Belgian pils beers. Here are their beer ranges:

The Roman Range

• Roman Pils (formerly Romy Pils) 5.1%abv.

• Roman Blanche (formerly Mater Witbier) 5.0%abv.

• Roman Black Label (Gluten Free, formerly Black Hole) 5.6%abv.

The Ename Abbey Beer Range. These are Certified Abbey beers launched in 1990, named after a Benedictine abbey founded in nearby Ename in 1063 and was dissolved during the French Revolution.

• Ename Blond 6.6%abv.

• Ename Dubbel 6.6%abv.

• Ename Pater 5.5%abv.

• Ename Rouge 6%abv.

• Ename Tripel 8.5%abv.

The Adriaen Brouwer Range

• Adriaen Brouwer 5.0%abv.

• Adriaen Brouwer Tripel 9.0%abv.

• Adriaen Brouwer Oaked 10%abv.

Other beers:

• Sloeber (slang for ‘rascal’)7.5%abv.

• Sloeber IPA 7.5%abv.

• Gentse Strop 6.9%abv.

• Ramon in a can 0.3%abv. Amazingly this beer was judged “Beer of the Year” of all beers submitted at the 2025 London Beer Competition. It is brewed using a specially selected yeast that minimises alcohol production while unlocking aromatic, hop-flavours. Apparently, it is refreshing, balanced, and is like a pils/wheat beer/IPA.

The brewery buildings today date from the 1930s and Podge Tours haven’t visited for a while, but Siobhan has nice memories of this lovely place, with an open courtyard and great brewery tap. The brewery has been closed to visits for a few years during works and PBBT hasn’t visited here since 2008. Looking forward to this one!

13.00hr Leave Roman Brewery in Mater (Oudenaarde).

13.15hr TO BE ARRANGED. Arrive for lunch at In Den Trap Op brown café and frituur in Horebeke.

15.15hr Leave meal stop.

15.45hr TO BE ARRANGED. Arrive at Drankcenter Schotte in Waregem.

16.45hr Leave Drankcenter Schotte in Waregem.

17.00hr TO BE ARRANGED. Arrive at Circus Brewery in Zwevegem.

18.15hr Leave Circus Brewery in Zwevegem.

18.30hr Arrive back at Hotel Park in Kortrijk.

Boon Brewery, Lembeek.

Day 4 - Saturday 21 March

10.00hr Following a luxury buffet breakfast* we head off by coach to explore.

Siobhan is currently working on the morning and afternoon visits for this day of the Tour, but it will end with:

16.30hr Arrive at the wonderful Boon Brewery in Lembeek for a visit to their newish Tap Room.

18.00hr Leave Boon Brewery Tap

19.00hr Arrive back at Hotel Park in Kortrijk.

Abt, a fabulous 10%abv black sipping beer. St Bernardus are also members of the Belgian Family Brewers Association

Day 5 - Sunday 22 March

10.00hr After a luxury buffet breakfast* we check out of the hotel.

10.30hr Arrive at Verhaeghe Brewery in Vichte for a brewery tour* and beer tasting*. It is a member of the Belgian Family Brewers Association. Established in 1875, is a small brewery located in Vichte, West Flanders. They specialise in Flanders red ales including Duchesse de Bourgogne, their signature, famous Flemish red. In addition, their range includes Vichtenaar (the most basic Flemish red of the brewery); Echt Kriekenbier (Vichtenaar with cherries added in to create a kriek style beer); Verhaeghe Pils Cambrinus (a copper-coloured hoppy ale); and Christmas-Verhaeghe. This is a small family-owned Brewery can be considered as a little brother to the mighty Rodenbach Brewery. Paul Verhaeghe started this brewery-maltings in 1885 and successfully sent much beer to Brussels, by train. At the outbreak of the first world war, Paul responded to the call of the Belgian Government to resist German occupation economically by stopping production. Post-war brewing started with new equipment, and they formatted a plan, and still stick to it, which is that consumers prefer beers of high quality with a unique identity. The commercial success of their star beer Duchesse de Bourgogne is proof of this. It is a lovely ruby red 6.2 %abv beer of mixed fermentation, matured in oak casks and is brewed according to an ancient method. We will see these old oak casks and have a special guided tour by Katrien* and a beer tasting here*.

12.30hr Leave Verhaeghe Brewery in Vichte.

13.45hr Arrive at our last visit of the Tour, the excellent Hoeve Paepehof in De Panne. This is an old farm now run by Farmer Andy on his parents’ farm and opened as a venue in 2012. He built a restaurant café in the stables and a classroom. He also planted 1,000 shrubs too. It is also a Kinderboerderij or Children’s Farm, but we are not here to pet the lambs but to have a meal and a crack at their astounding beer card of around 100 choices. Their pork spareribs come highly recommended, so I’ve included these in our meal choices.

15.45hr Leave Hoeve Paepehof in De Panne.

17.00hr Arrive Calais Le Shuttle (Eurostar) Terminal.

18.20hr Leave Calais on Le Shuttle (Eurostar) train.

18.00hr 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.

20.00hr Coach drop outside Dartford Rail Station, Kent, DA1 1DR.

20.45hr Coach drop Junction Lady Lane & Mildmay Road, Chelmsford CM2 0EA.

21.00hr Coach drop at Travelodge Hotel, 128-136 Parkway, Chelmsford CM2 7GY.

21.15hr Coach drop at Premier Inn Victoria Road, Chelmsford CM1 1NY.

22.15hr Coach drop at Bus Stop, Tesco Store, Pinewood, Ipswich IP8 3TS.

22.45hr Coach drop off at Galloways coach depot at Denters Hill, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5RR.

Tour Price is £1055 per person price sharing a double or twin room.

Single Supplement: £335 if you would like a room of your own.

The deposit payable to secure a place on this Tour is £200 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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