Brussels is for Beer

We really only went to Belgium because the flight from Venice was $26 and for some of the best beer on earth! Though I had been to Belgium about a month prior, I purposely avoided Brussels so it was totally new to me when we stepped off the plane, boarded a train into city and checked into our hostel just after dark. We were lucky enough to spend our first night only one hundred yards from Grand Place, the largest square in the city.

Grand Place was surrounded by these all white, lit-up buildings. As usual photos don't do it justice.

Unfortunately, the only good thing about our hostel was the location. Otherwise it was eight of us crammed into a small, windowless, stuffy room. The next morning we moved to an odd "hotel" that seemed to cater to low end travelers from the Middle East - we were quite out of place stumbling in drunk at 3 am the next night but oh well...

As we only spent one day and two nights in Brussels, I don't have a lot of photos except of the variety of world-class beers we tried as we wandered around the city. The above beer is considered a "Trappist" beer as it is brewed by monks. There are many rules that must be followed to be considered a real "Trappist" beer and depending on who you ask, there are anywhere between 6-10 in Belgium.

One of the breweries we visited in town makes beer that is still served in the traditional jug they have used for hundreds of years. Delicious! In Belgium, each beer has its own special glass that it is served in to better present the color, aroma and flavor. Unlike the States where every beer is served in the same one size fits all pint glass, this would be an insult to both the brewer and customer in Belgium.

Belgian beers are typically stronger in alcohol content than American beers so after just a few, things start to get fuzzy. Above, a photo with a new friend in the Delirium Brewery, one of Belgiums best known beers.

Above, a strong, dark Belgian beer called a "quadrupel" for its high ABV and intense flavor. In just our short time in Brussels, we managed to visit two breweries and countless beer bars which seem to be everywhere, probably because Belgium has over 400 varieties of beer! As neither Stu or I is much or a museum goer, we decided our time in Belgium was up and headed further north for Amsterdam.

Cheers!