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Hi Philip,

Been lurking for quiet a while (nearly a year in fact but two small twins have curtailed my beer activities) and have yet to do an intro but seen your plight so said I'd respond. Brussels can be a bit expensive to get too from Cork since you need to take two flights unless you do this….

Ok, Not necessarily the cheapest but I reckon the best value for money, comfort and time plus there are some opportunities to stop off if you have a bit of time so It's a nice way to go. Fly from Cork to Amsterdam – I've got good deals on this in the past <70 euro return if your lucky. You can take an Intercity train from Amsterdam to Antwerp (about 1hr 45 mins if memory serves) which continues on to Brussels (about another 30-45 mins). The train leaves from the airport in Amsterdam every hour so very handy. I think the name of the company is Thalys or Talys, sorry about the spelling, there might be another one operating this route aswell. I used to book tickets in advance but would not imagine problems arriving on spec. From Brussels or Antwerp you can get to Ghent or Brugge easily and you can buy one ticket in Amsterdam airport to cover the whole trip which simplifies it. Brugge/Ghent train stations are about 10-15 min walk from the town centres so apart from getting to Cork International airport cars are not required. Round trip on an intercity is around 70 euros to Brussels if I remember. About 10 to 15 Euro to go from Atnwerp/brussels to Brugge or Ghent (on a local train) which is sometimes waved if you buy the ticket as a full ticket. You can probably do the trip cheaper by local train but you would want a bit of time. The intercity train tends to sell duvel, leffe and a few others if you get thirsty. Dutch and Flemish train stations are easy to navigate as the level of English is excellent. Early morning flight from Cork (06:30 am) is good as you will be in your hotel by mid afternoon and can stop for lunch and a quick one in Brussels/Antwerp.

I lived near Brugge and Ghent for a while and my wife used to do this trip regularly to visit me. I lived in a place called Tournai which is a beautiful town in it's own right but for a short trip I would pick Ghent or Brugge, they have everything you want.

My wife and I have a thing for Ghent as we used to go there when we got bored of where we used to live. It's a great spot and would recommend it to anyone visiting Belgium. What's good about it (compared to Brugge) is it is a working town with a university which gives it the authentic edge and atmosphere that Brugge is a bit lacking in. It's also got the picture postcard bit going on in the old town (which is where everything is anyway).Brugge tends to be a bit quieter and more of a town for romantic evening walks when all the tourist buses go back to Brussels. Although, I have heard of good reports about it's beer festival.

Brussels is a good city with plenty of spots as mentioned by the other replies. The Grand Place is spectacular.

Antwerp is a nice city. It's one of the most modern looking as it was levelled during the war. About the size of Cork city with plenty of places to eat and drink – not sure if I'd pick it for a short break (would take in a bit of Brussels instead and then on to Gent or Brugge).

Never got to Westvlettern – Tried, unsuccessfully to buy a crate for my wedding which involved giving your car reg. then they contact you with a date as to when you can pick it up (a good command of Dutch or French helps aswell)! In the end I never visited but found enough mystery trying to get through all the other Beglian beers (still a work in progress) to keep me away!

Dara

Another alternative though tricky from Cork is Ryanair to Charleroi - very cheap flights (€40) at the moment though you would have to stay until Monday or have a very early start on the Sunday with a hangover! Flights to Brussels (from Dublin) are cheap enough too (€110) with an easier connection to Bruges.

Train takes 2'20 from Charleroi Sud see details here
<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="www.bahn.de">www.bahn.de

Sounds like an interesting festival alright, will there be midgets?

Hey Philip.

Cork to Charleroi is easily the best way to get there, just don't bother hanging around in Charleroi. I lived there for awhile and as well as not being very nice in general, most Irish cities are probably better stocked for Belgian beers.

You should definitely get yourself a copy of Tim Webb's Good Beer Guide: Belgium. Unusually for a CAMRA publication it actually makes a very good read as well as being a reference book. It has information on every Belgium beer currently being brewed as well a brilliant list of of bars and cafes of interest for every city/town.

As you're in Cork I'll happily meet you to lend you my copy if you like, but mine is an older edition and I would recommend getting the latest one (2010 I think)if you're happy to fork out for it. Especially for Brussels where the beer scene has really grown in the past few years.

Belgium is small and the public transport is so good that you can really visit quite a lot of it in a short time. Bruges and Gent are wonderful cities and you can't throw a stone in either of them without hitting a beer cafe worth visiting. Both of them are mosts.

Brussels has really outgrown it's poor beer reputation and is now actually nearly a most visit city also! Famously Delirium stocks 1000s of beers, but there are much nicer, more interesting and more beer geek friendly cafes there too. It the best place to get authentic lambics, which is something that you REALLY most do. If you're bored at night and want some interesting night life, visit Delirium then.

Antwerp is lovely but not as good as the other big cities for beer. (I lived there too) But it is worth visiting for a day for the Kulminator alone though. If you haven't heard of the Kulminator I recommend Googling it. I guarantee you'll want to visit. Aged beers are their specialty and you'll meet some seriously knowledgeable American beer geeks there.

You'll be able to get your hands on Westvleteren in most specialty beer shops, and in some cafes. (In the Kulminator you can do a virtual tasting of Westvleteren 12, but you need at least 8 people) However it's usually between E8-12 per bottle. If the two of you share you might as well try it though, because it is amazing.

But really, really DO try to to search out authentic lambics because they are amazing. Draft lambic is a near religious experience. Stay away from the commercial ones though because they're dreadful.

Actually sorry I miss remembered, its Dublin to Charerloi via Ryanair.

Rumour has it that Westvleteren 12 will be available in Ireland in January and in all honesty I don't think it is that different to St Bernardus 12 - both are great beers if you are in that part of the world. But, despite having spent a week in Westvleteren last September (when the brewery was closed <!-- s:| --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_neutral.gif" alt="" title="Neutral" /><!-- s:| --> ) there is way more to Belgian beer than Westvleteren. However, if you are in the area make sure you pass by Oostvleteren on a Saturday when the DeStruisse brewers can be found (with the aid of Google) selling such fine beers as Pannepot to the general public.

I would strongly agree with the person who said to pick up a copy of Tim Webb's book but I would caution that it is [b:1rkq5x11]very[/b:1rkq5x11] selective in the beer bars it recommends. Frankly, you don't need a bar to have a list of 150 beers if all of the beers it has are great - and it happens. We visited a bar in Veurne that wasn't in the book that had Petrus Aged Pale - sublime. As another example the Wit Paard (sp?) in Oostvleteren wasn't in the book but it had some great beers (e.g. Quinitine - fantastically hoppy strong Wallonian ale)

Having said that the book is a fantastic resource in terms of discriminating between the crap and the great breweries. The main thing with bars is to skip on the bars with the Primus branding as their "abbey" beers are rubbish.

As for Brugges, it is definitely worth a visit, and The Little Bruges Bear[/url:1rkq5x11] is well worth a visit, not least for the delicious DeKonnick, but don't be a sucker - don't stock up on beers to bring home in the town. I saw Saison Dupont that retailed for 2.50 in the Ardennes going for 7 or 8 euro in off-licenses in Brugges.

For me though, the biggest highlight of our trip (apart from the Popperinge hop festival) was the Drei Fontanein restaurant and brewery in Beersel just outside Bruxelles. The food was great and cask faro, kriek and lambic was a delicious treat - not to mention the privilege of forking my cash out to Armand DeBelder[/url:1rkq5x11] himself when we made off with a load of fantastic lambic and geuze.

Big regrets were not trying Taras Boulba or the other De la Senne beers and not stocking up on De Ranke. (If only my taps poured XX Bitter!)

The other practical caution is that if you are planning on using trains Bruxelles might be a good base, as other places may not have good connections.

Keep an eye out as well for some of the other unsung heroes of the Belgian brewing scene such as Kerkom/Bink of Limburg province or La Rulles from the Ardennes whose beers seem to be little hyped in the US (feel free to contradict me here Biertourist or others in the know) but are straightforwardly amazing brews.

But the main thing is to remember that, a bit like the UK there is so much great beer in Belgium that you will find it even with a blindfold on!

&amp;quot;mr happy&amp;quot;:398jh3he wrote: Rumour has it that Westvleteren 12 will be available in Ireland in January [/quote:398jh3he]

We demand to know more!