Hello,
Hate to start a thread about me, but you folks are most wise and worldly, so I was hoping I could get some help/advice.
Planning my upcoming trip to Benelux, and one of the things I’m most looking forward to is the beer. Not just because I’m a lush, but because I have a real interest in the process, history etc.
My problem is that my time is limited. Between doing all the WW1 stuff and running back and forth between Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg for a couple weeks, I don’t know how I can convince my girlfriend to take me to a brewery.
For those in the know, where should I go? Another problem is that I won’t be driving, so the train is pretty much it, unless a tour bus will take me to the doorstep.
Also, what beers should I try?
Are there any good stores for buying beer-related items? Especially the glasses which I plan on shipping home if I can gather enough.
Thanks a million.
Brian
or download a brochure about sightseeing trips around breweries at :
http://www.biere2005.be/langue/nl/biere/brochures.htm
http://www.bierpromotie.be/ is a good source too, in Flemish though.
and plenty more links at:
http://users.pandora.be/hopsite/leerrijkebiersites.html
Good Luck
Hoegaarden is widely available, and straight out of a barrel in Belgium, is the nectar of the gods. I’d loved to have done a brewery tour when I was there, but was tied up the whole time.
Thanks for taking the time Peter.
Actually, the very fact that there is so much info online is why I’m asking.
I don’t have the time to go to all the places or sample all the beers, so personal experience is what I’m after.
i just found a site with a list of belgian pubs and how many different beers they have, i’ve seen numbers up to 700 
http://www.dma.be/p/bier/3_1_uk.htm
oh and don’t forget Guinness 
Great site lixnaw, although they only have 1(?) pub listed for Brussels.
Yeah, the amount of beer is mind-blowing. Canada has somewhere around 900 beers, spread over the second largest country in the world. I’ve heard guesses at the number of beers in Belgium around 1000, in a nation the size of Nova Scotia (not even including Cape Breton!). It is actually kinda depressing.
I see you’re in Antwerp sometimes, any advice on what to see there?
Brussels is getting more and more Irish by the day 
maybe join in the session, it’s on every tuesday. http://www.irishclub.be/club/icb/content.cfm?id=31
every thursday, there’s sessions in “the Dubliner”, located on the “grote markt” in Antwerp, might see you there 