It’s been about 20 years since I was in Brussels so when the lads in Galway Bay Brewery proposed a weekend trip I didn’t hesitate to sign up. A few of our Belgian beer loving friends joined us too. Most of us caught a very early flight on Friday morning. Bags dropped off we headed straight for Cantillon. This was my first time here and I think it’s fair to say we made a decent dent in the bottle list. Having only enjoyed the odd taste from this brewery before this was a very enjoyable experience. The Grand Cru Bruocsella was a particular favourite of mine.
A short stroll took us to a much more modern enterprise. L’Ermitage is a small brew pub where I enjoyed their Saison along with some cheese and sausage. We were made feel very welcome here so it was hard to move on, but press on we did!
3 Fonteinen Lambik-O-Droom was our next port of call. This was quite a different experience to Cantillon as it was much more modern, having been rebuilt after an incident in 2009. Our tour was excellent and we learned about the brewing and blending operation. And we thoroughly enjoyed trying the various blends.
Our last brewery of the day was Het Boerenerf Eylenbosch. This is a nano brewery on some of the land that was the site of a much larger operation until the 60s. Senne’s growing some of his own hops and cherries and has most of his barrels stored in a lovely old barn. You can also get ice cream here so this is one for the whole family!
The next day we headed for De La Senne after brunch. We worked our way through the menu with the Zenne Pils being fierce popular.
Brussels Beer Project were holding a Chantier (building site) party in their very nearly completed new brewery. The place was packed and the atmosphere was fantastic. We enjoyed the flash tour too.
We headed for dinner in Bar Du Canal. It was mostly (very good) small plates and wine (which I don’t talk about). But it made a change from the beer.
Sunday was relatively relaxed with a quick visit to De Biertempel to pick up a few bottles. And then it was time to head home. We’re already planning our next trip! Sláinte!
