Belgium might not be at the top of your list of mancation destinations, but after suffering through six-packs of Pabst and MGD while scraping for travel funds the first thing you could use is a quality beer. And man, those Trappist monks deliver!
Breweries like Chimay and Rochefort have long been crafting beers that come closer in flavor and complexity to fine French wines than to the ambers and lagers common in the US--many can even be aged. Across Belgium, there are only six Trappist monasteries that brew these rich ales, and some have been doing so for over a hundred years as a way of sustaining their needs. (Rochefort has been at it since 1595.)
Almost all of the monasteries welcome tours, but only Achel has a brewery and cafe right inside the abbey, so you and the guys can sit and enjoy while watching monks prepare the brew. They even have a guest house for only €28 ($41) per night, so you won't have to stumble back into town.
Too slow, Jaunted readers, too slow. If you'd been paying attention to Belgian eBay this week, you could've been the proud owner of your very own country. An ex-journalist put his nation--"Belgium, a kingdom in three parts"--up for sale in frustration at the fact that powers-that-be still haven't formed a proper government, 100 days after a general election.
Bids for Belgium got up to €10 million before eBay pulled the nation off the auction site, saying selling the country was "unrealistic". Pity, because we wouldn't have minded owning Belgium ourselves. Or at least the bit with all the chocolate and beer.
With the help of a bit of "Jaunted Luck" we ended up spending the weekend in Antwerp during the seventh annual Bierpassie.
Under the tent we were able to quickly and efficiently suss out the tastiest Belgian beers, of course what follows is just our opinion, well, except for the Michael Jackson thing, that is a fact.
Click "More" for Jaunted's top Belgian beers list...
0 Comments - Add Yours
by benh
