I first tasted beer when I was 7 and yuck! College came and Budweiser was the norm. I thought…read morethat's just it beer sucks and it's a way to get drunk cheap just drink loads and get on with it. Westvleteren is one of the best beers and elevated beer to my drink profile. I drank and got into beers so much that I developed gout hahaha. The closest taste would be st bernardus but nothing really hits the spot unless you drink the real thing. I drove 250 km just to drink this.

When I heard we'd get to go to the Westvleteren Trappist Brewery I was thrilled and envisaged a…read morehundreds of years old building with creaking floorboards, lofty rafters and monks scurrying around pouring beer and chanting. OK not so much the chanting part but I think you get the picture I was seeing in my head. What a shock when we finally arrived (after about an hour drive from Brugge) and found a sleek, angular and thoroughly modern taproom and restaurant! Well for sure the ages old Abbey is around somewhere? Nope. Though we couldn't get a tour we saw many photos all showing very modern and classy facilities, including their worship spaces. Mind blown, but in amazing way. These Monks have totally embraced the modern times and they've produced a really nice facility with some wonderful grounds as well. What about the beer? , Yes, yes we weren't on an architecture tour we were here for the beer. And boy it sure didn't disappoint. There's a reason the Westvleteren XII was rated the best beer in the world a few years back and luckily we got to taste through the line-up the 12, the 8 and the Blonde! It should be mentioned that the food was quite good as well and despite the continuous stream of people strolling in to deplete the days supply of available "to go" six packs it was quite a pleasant and relaxing experience. (TIP: if you want take some home with you you better get there when they open and buy your six packs first thing. DO NOT wait until after you eat to buy the beer, I saw the days allotted pallet get cleared out in the time it took us to eat lunch:-) As I sit here months removed from my visit, staring at the last bottle of Westvleteren Blond that I schlepped through Europe and finally got home, I think that I've got to get back to Belgium and Westvletren and I envy any and all of you who are on your way there :-)

Amazing view. Great beer. Food is also, great. Julien at the gift shop is the best…read more Fly, you fools.

An absolute dream come true…read more I still can't believe they didn't shut the door in our faces on arrival. There we were, six young-ish dudes -- looking very, very thirsty -- checking in for two nights, one of them a humble bachelor celebrating his final days of freedom. They asked what our plans were for our stay. They laughed. They knew. They welcomed it. We conquered. To say this place is perfect would be an understatement. It is better than perfect. Everything you've heard is true: -- Three fridges stocked with every type of St. Bernardus beer in existence (cash donations accepted). -- Large, comfortable rooms named after the various beers, some with air conditioning (although mine, the Pater 6, did not have A/C) all nicely decorated with beer art and warm colors. -- A lounge with antique furniture and games, a chess board, books about beer. -- Breakfast with cooked-to-order eggs, and three different types of cheese made specifically for the brewery. -- Grab a bike and take the short but beautiful ride into the charming town of Watou. All for the truly incredible value of 110 Euros/night for a double room, 95 if you're traveling solo. -- Did you wake up with a headache after emptying the fridges of their contents last night? No worries, Jackie knows, and she has aspirin waiting for you with the instructions to take it with the last beer you drank the previous night. Don't forget to have a poke around downstairs (haha) and scope some of the St. Bernardus memorabilia from the days when they brewed Westvelteren 12 on behalf of the St. Sixtus Trappist Abbey. The old clay mugs are spectacular, as are the 3-liter commemorative Tour de France glasses. Everything about this place is beyond exceptional. Everything. I can't wait to go back.

One of the most underrated breweries of all time…read more De Dolle Brouwers are as craft as craft beer can get. The head brewer and one of the masterminds behind the creation of De Dolle, Kris Herteleer, pretty much built the brewery from the ground up with his bare hands and I mean that strictly in the semi-literal sense. Coming from a former medical background, Kris is the quintessentially modern rendition of the renaissance man: he's the head of a cycling club, an artist who designed all the artwork that goes with De Dolle, the mechanic that keeps all the brewing equipment in line at De Dolle, and of course the genius behind De Dolle's unique and one of a kind Belgian Strong Dark and Pale Ales. The brewery itself is built around the Oerbierman, the mysterious yellow blob-ish like character that appears as the mascot/logo for De Dolle's signature beer. Think of the brewery grounds as the breeding and feeding grounds of Oerbierman -- a magical Belgian creature that feeds on the excitement and harmony created by all visiting these hallowed grounds and spouts out yummy beers in return. Abstract imagery aside, the brewery does kind of look like one big awesome theme park (in the likeness of Duvel-Moortgaat's proposed Chouffe Land) and any experience here will likely be a magical storied one. Kris and his better half Els are usually entertaining guests from both near and far on Saturdays and Sundays when the brewery is open to the public, and they sure do know how to make someone feel right at home as you immediately feel like family the moment Els hands over that crisp cool pour of Arabier straight from the hallowed taps. Dammit, I have to stop getting carried away with the imagery. There's usually three or so taps on offer at De Dolle with two of them permanently being reserved for De Dolle's year round offerings (Arabier and Oerbier). They do sometimes have bottles behind the counter as well, so it's always good to ask if you're looking for something specific. Across the kitty corner from the bar they also sell all sort of brewery paraphernalia like t-shirts, posters of Kris' awesome artwork, printed glasses, and also bottles to take away. English tours are only given on Sunday, but you can also set up a tour for a weekday if you have a large party with you (of 8 and over I believe.) If you've already made the drive out to West-Vlaanderen, or even to Bruges which isn't that far out from here, do make sure to stop by De Dolle to sample some of Belgium's finest non-sour traditional beers, and also if you're tired of the "European city hospitality" that Brussels, Bruges, and Gent are famous for and actually want to feel treated like a respectable human being. Even if you've never had any of De Dolle's offerings, I'd still urge you to visit -- this place is more like a playground for kidults if anything else, and I find it hard for anyone to have a bad time here. Food options limited.

This brewery is a must if you are in the area. Any aspiring home brewers or beer enthusiasts will…read morefind the tour fascinating. We tried the stout, the brown and the reserve. All were fantastic - the reserve was especially delicious and unique.

I was in Bruges for a day because I came here on a cruise and I was on a mission to have Belgium…read morebeer and Belgium Fries. We came to this spot because it is the actually brewery. Fun fact they run the beer under the city and into the different pubs. When we walked in we were impressed by all the little tables. We got lucky becuase the weather was perfect and we were able to walk right up to the bar and place an order. We both got the wheat beer. Once we got the beer we were told that we needed to order the food at the table. We were able to find a table on the back in a sunny spot which was perfect. We waited for a while and we kept trying to get the attention of the waitress. We kept making excuses for her because she looked like she was having a bad day and she was the only one for all the tables. We were finally able to wave her over and she came and put in our order for fries and mayo. A few moments later she brough them out and we were thrilled! The first were elite level fries. They were thick cut, freshly fried, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Safe to say we accomplished the mission of the fries. The beer was perfectly cold and crisp and it was the perfect pair after spending the morning doing a walking tour. Overall, the food and the beer what phenomenal the service was nothing to write home about but the ambience made up for it. Must at least stop by for fries and beer if you are ever in the city.

Beer was good. Burger cooked wrong, beef stew was tasteless. Fish Sticks yuk. Oy Vay! We tried!read more

My 2nd visit and I would highly recommend a stop here at sometime during your visit to Bruges. Lots…read moreof beer choices, some cheese or sausage snacks. Pretzels. Lively, on the canal which was a huge attraction for us as we first noticed the brewery from our canal ride. Just lovely, plenty of seating, attached to a beer museum of some sort ? I really enjoyed our time here on both occasions, once in mid march once in late June.

**This review is for the beer only.**…read more My husband and I split a flight of their six beers and had a good time. We sat outside to enjoy the views of the canal. They do brewery tours and serve some food but we did not try either of those. Cheers!

Great little "mill house" out in Vleteren sandwiched in between two world-class breweries:…read moreSint-Sixtus Abdij van Westvleteren to the West (Westvleteren) and De Struise Brouwers Het Oud Schooltje to the East (Oostvleteren) Well technically, De Struise Brouwers is right across the street from this place, but who cares about little details like that. I honestly don't understand why this place isn't a bigger deal. By the looks of the interior and after talking to some people that have frequented this place for decades, it's been family own and run as part of the neighborhood since time immemorial, and the food and service here reflects that very well. You'll find all sorts of crowds here: tourists that somehow stumbled in here because it's probably one of the two or three overtly recognizable restaurants in the vicinity; beer fanatics who are making their lunch stop during some variation of their West Flanders Beer Tour because you can literally park your car in the lot here and walk over to De Struise; or even locals, like Urbain Coutteau and Carlo Grootaert of De Struise Brouwers, who come here during the weekdays after a long day of brewing and work. The atmosphere is accommodating enough to host all types of people described above, and the food is quite hospitable as well; the menu has a grocery list of Flemish delicacies and local (Vleteren) cuisine, alongside some of the more vanilla choices like steak and fish, with an amazing selection of beer (bet you were wondering when I'd finally mention this) alongside some choice aperatifs, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages to go with your meal for those who hate fun. In all sincerity, this place was an amazing pit-stop after visiting the Sint-Sixtus Abbey -- their Bitterballen (marinated with De Struise's Pannepot) was simply amazing, and something that I've pitched to my chef friends back at home; whereas it's not quite local flavor, I ordered the Chicken and Pork Shoulder Tagine (marinated again, with De Struise's Pannepot) which was absolutely fantastic and hearty enough to get me through my remaining two brewery visits for the day (one of which was, you guessed it, De Struise Brouwers) I've mentioned De Struise Brouwers eight times in this review. Hopefully that will serve as good subliminal advice for you to go check them out, as they are--as mentioned previously--right across the street.

Excellent restaurant in a small town. Food is amazing and beer list beyond compare. Management and…read moreservice are exceptional!

I have seen Delirium-Hutghe beer around for a very long time. It's not terribly hard to miss with…read morethe pink elephant logo on it however it wasn't until recently where we had our first beer experience with it. We got a beer that we have also seen for a very long time too. It was the Delirium Tremmens which is a Belgian Strong Golden Ale which was pretty good. It didn't quite have the micro brew feel going on and had the feel of a larger mass produced brewery but it wasn't bad. Flavor characteristics with this beer are strong, sweet and some fruitiness going on. It's also strong tasting and light bodied. I am glad to have tried one of the beers from this brewery at long last!

Best brewery tour in the world. Great team and awesome and delicious beers. Easy to understand and…read morefun to do and super affordable. Check all the boxes. Ask for Jose!

Great tour! Informative and fun and humorous, I would do it again if I ever come back! They give…read moreyou a free beer at the end of the tour and I chose the rosé de Bruge which was a somewhat fruity beer and was excellent. The tour went through the old brewery from soup to nuts, explaining how the beer was made from scratch right now there is a mile long pipe underground that connects the brewery to the bottling plant. The pipe goes underneath the city and people who helped crowd source the building of the pipe are entitled to free beer for the rest of their lives, depending what they donated.

Didn't do the tour since the English one was at 12 and we had limited time in the city. Popped over…read moreto the restaurant side and sat across from the bar and got drinks and fries. The fries came with mayo and ketchup and were tasty. The service was nice and they brought all the drinks and food out quickly. Because the servers are working as a team we were able to order with anyone and still get our stuff. The drinks were also great. The restaurant itself is clean and love the atmosphere it gives. When it comes to restrooms they were clean!

Wifey and I in Belgium as we make our way from U.K. to Italy via car. A slow Friday night, a…read morequick yelp search for breweries and we find ourselves at Gruut. They have 6 beers on draft and all of the tasters we tried were very good. Wit, Blond, Amber were very well balanced and each had a nice aftertaste which should be experienced. I believe they use no hops in their beers (per the tour guide explaining to the group next to us on the patio) resulting in great flavorful beer w no bitterness. A few tips - - GPS to the location and be prepared for a quick turn into a courtyard type parking lot. Pay for parking at blue box on side walk. - outside cafe seating - doggy friendly in-out side. - the tour sounded very educational and worth the $ - their dried sausage was a nice side to the beer. The friendly English speaking staff add to the easy 5 star rating of this in town brewery. Nice job Gruut!!

Really interesting, creative beers. We got there right when they opened, so they didn't seem ready…read moreto receive two Americans at 11am and I think they were having a meeting, but it all worked out in the end. Got to have some gruut right from the source!

Belgian brewery with International inspiration…read more But beyond the beer (they serve both theirs and guest taps), it's also a 'collective' - there's a bakery, bbq, patisserie and brink oven pizza place inside. Awesome.

Just had the most amazing BBQ at Dok Brewing Co. in Gent Belgium. A must test and try and drink.read more