Here is the beer haul from our recent trip to France & Belgium where we met with some of the brewers and vendors for our upcoming October beer tour “Grand Crus to Farmhouse Brews- A Beercation Cruise through Belgium & France”.
This is all the beer we were able to fit in our luggage without going over the 50 pound limit. We also had some fantastic Bière de Garde from St Germain (Page 24) and Belgian Ales from Sint Canarus, which we weren’t able to bring back home due to the weight limits.
During this working vacation we had the chance to visit 8 of the 11 breweries which will be on our tour. This included 3 fabulous breweries on the France side of the border, 5 on the Belgium side and one French genièvre distillery. From France we visited Brasserie Bailleux / Au Baron, Brasserie St Germain & Brasserie Thiriez. In Belgium wevisited Brouwerij Rodenbach, Brouwerij St Bernardus, Brouwerij Van Eecke, Huisbrouwerij Sint Canarus & Chimay.
Over the next few days in this blog we will be highlighting each of the breweries on our tour as well as share some amazing beery information on the beer scene in Lille. For those who want a quick look at the amazing Day by Day Itinerary of the Grand Crus to Farmhouse Brews- A Beercation Cruise click here.
Beers in the Photo from left to right are:
The Pastis by Ricard, well it’s not beer but was added as a palate cleanser between beers 🙂
Dalva, a fantastic D.I.P.A. from Brasserie Thiriez.
Toyko, a Witbier from St Bernardus which was made for their new brewpub in Toyko.
2 great Saisons from Brasserie Baileux (Au Baron) both the Brune and the Ambrée
Saison Saint Médard.
Rodenbach’s Caractère Rouge which cost only 7.99 euro at a supermarket close to the French/Belgian border.
Rodenbach 2009 Vintage, a gift from the Rudi the brewer.
The last 3 beers were found at L’Abbaye des Saveurs a fabulous bottle shop in Lille which carries over 300 different beers, including a great selection of French beers:
Cuvée D’Oscar from Craig Allen.
Kabert (a blend of Kate the Great and Black Albert) from de Struise.
1997 Samichlaus (the last year it was made and bottled by the old brewery Hürlimann in Zürich Switzerland, it is now made by Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg in Austria).
