If you follow me on Twitter, then you already know that I was in Europe for 2 weeks last month. I could probably spend about 6 hours recounting the fabulous time I had during those 14 days, but I will try and keep this post limited to the beer-related fun that I had.
I was in Paris for 7 days, Amsterdam for 3 days, and Belgium for 2.5 days. A big shout-out and thank you to my AWESOME parents who invited me on the Paris trip, which of course led to me tacking on the Amsterdam and Belgium trips. I’m so grateful to have such great parents. :)
So, here’s a breakdown of my beer-related activities.
PARIS
In Paris, I went to two very cool places, thanks to recommendations from some beer friends. The first place I went to was Au Trappiste, a Belgian beer bar. Nice place, with a great selection of beer. I only stopped in for a quick beer, but was impressed with the selection.
Au Trappiste
I enjoyed a Duchesse de Bourgogne…
Duchesse de Bourgogne
Later that same evening, I went a bit off the beaten path (for a tourist!) to the highly recommended Academie de la Biere. It was a lovely restaurant with tons of great beers and delicious French/Belgian food.
Academie de la Biere
I enjoyed a Maredsous Dubbel with my onion tart dinner…
And a St. Louis Gueuze with my apple crumble dessert.
As for the rest of my Paris trip, there wasn’t a whole lot of beer involved, obviously. I did try a funny mainstream beer, however. Desperados, a lager flavored with tequila. :)
AMSTERDAM
Started things off right in Amsterdam with a trip to Café Belgique, a wonderful Belgian beer bar that I had visited back in September of 2009, as well. There I had La Trappe.
Next up was a stop at the infamous Gollem beer bar. That place was mindblowingly cool. Tons and tons of beers, knowledgeable beer staff… I was with friends who aren’t as into beer as I am, so I’m sure I bored them with all the beer talk, but it was a great time! I tried a Mort Subite Gueuze. I would have stayed for a few more, but unfortunately it was quite late and we had to make our way back to the hotel.
Taking Beer Notes at Gollem
My friends also took me past Beer Temple, “Europe’s First American Beer Bar”, boasting brews from over 20 American craft breweries. While we didn’t go inside, I did check out their offerings through the front window — not a bad selection of some great American craft brews! It was very cool to see some good American beer being sold overseas.
Beer Temple, American Beer Bar, Amsterdam
The next day, I got to check out Brouwerij’IJ, a brewery located in the only remaining windmill in the city of Amsterdam. I didn’t get a chance to go here on my last trip to Amsterdam, so I was very excited to try the beer. I had their “Columbus” and my friends tried two other brews. I thought the Columbus had a great aroma, but the flavor was, oddly, similar to the other two beers we ordered. I don’t know what the deal was, but that was a bit disappointing. I have heard great things about the Columbus from others who have been there, so maybe it was just an off batch. I will definitely be back to try it again in the near future. :)
Drinking Columbus at Brouwerij't IJ, Amsterdam
For the rest of my Amsterdam, I tried to get new and interesting beers when we were out and about. I’m working on creating a photo album with notes about each of the new beers I tried, so stay tuned for that.
Also…
Before I left Chicago, I had packed up 6 bottles of Robey Street homebrew to bring to my friends in Amsterdam. On my second day there, they invited me to their friend’s birthday party. I took this opportunity to bring 2 bottles of my beer to the party, where approximately 10 people sampled them. They tried some Batch #008 Wheat & Rye as well as my MLK & Cookie Stout. Overall, they both went over quite well. Depending on people’s preferences, some liked the wheat/rye, while others preferred the stout.I also got to meet a Dutch homebrewer who happened to be at the party, so of course I was ecstatic to talk to someone equally excited about beer and brewing!
ANTWERP
After my 3 days in Amsterdam, it was off to Belgium for a couple days. Before my trip, I had scheduled a tour of the De Koninck brewery, since I knew I’d be spending the day in Antwerp. As Antwerp’s only brewery, I was very excited to see it. The plant manager, Dennis, gave me a great tour of the brewery, which as been around since 1833. Interestingly, they made a serious upgrade of equipment (and technology) but maintained the old brewery & equipment for tours. It was great to see the changes in brewing technology over the years.
De Koninck Brewery, Antwerp, Belgium
A bolleke of De Koninck
Dennis was really cool and gave me several samples of their beers (De Koninck/bolleke, Blond, a bottle conditioned Trippel, and Winterkoninck), as well as a few to take back home to Chicago! I enjoyed all the beers I tried, but the Winterkoninck stood out in particular. Very well balanced.
Since I only had a day in Antwerp, my beer “sight seeing” was rather limited, but I did find an awesome restaurant called Het Elfte Gebod (The Eleventh Commandment) that was completely COVERED in religious statues, etc. I had a typical Flemish beef stew, frites, and a raspberry tart for dinner. Beers included a St. Bernardous Watou Tripel and a Mort Subite Kriek.
Het Elfde Gebod, Antwerp
Het Elfte Gebod, Antwerp
If you go to Antwerp, make sure to check this place out!
BRUGES
The following day, I set off by train for Bruges.
When I arrived, the hotel receptionist mentioned there was a brewery just a few minutes walk from the hotel. Naturally, that was where I went first. I went on a tour of the De Halve Maan (translation: Half Moon) brewery, makers of the World Beer Cup winning (2006 and 2008) Bruges Zot. They had a lovely restaurant and outdoor terrace, and most conveniently, tours on the hour. I had a Zot with some beer cheese soup before the tour.
De Halve Maan Brewery, Bruges, Belgium
Other than the brewery tour, I didn’t do many beer-related activities, but I did have dinner at the very wonderful Cambrinus. They had over 400 types of beer, which was very impressive. I drank a Belgoo Magus with my dinner.
Begloo Magus, Cambrinus, Bruges, Belgium
When I was in Antwerp, Dennis at De Koninck had recommended me to check out Den Dyver for dinner when I got to Bruges. Den Dyver is an upscale restaurant featuring dishes cooked with and paired with various types of beer. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed on the day I was there, but I will most DEFINITELY be going back to check it out.
Restaurant Den Dyver, Bruges, Belgium
I believe that pretty much wraps up my beer-related activities during my vacation. I think this post is getting too long to go into any more details, but as I mentioned above, I will be creating an annotated photo album of the beers I tried over the trip.
