Belgian Beer, Trappist Beer, Rauchbier (Smoke Beer or Smoked Beer) from Bamberg, Craft Beer from the USA and Canada, and Real Ale from the UK, and other types of Speciality Beer are promoted on this, the White Beer Travels website. But what's in a name, the site's name that is? All is revealed on the Home Page! Schneider Weisse, a well-travelled, classic Wheat/White Beer, brewed in Bavaria by Schneider.  Click on the image to go to their website This page gives details of recce trips that have been made. Some of the places covered have been incorporated into White Beer Travels Beer Hunts, but not all. It will possibly give you ideas as to what could be included in Beer Hunts tailor-made for you by White Beer Travels
Belgian Beer, German Beer, British Real Ale, North American Craft Beer and Speciality Beer from around the world, are all covered in this White Beer Travels website This White Beer Travels website has been in operation since March, 2002.  It promotes Speciality/Craft Beer from around the world: Belgian Beer, German Beer, Craft Beer from the USA and Canada, Real Ale from the UK, etc
 
Click here  to reach the "White Beer Travels" Home PageClick here for Speciality Beer and Brewery News.  Also check out the "Archives" for "old" news!Click to find details of Beer Hunts that you can joinClick here to get information on Past Beer Hunts organised by White Beer Travels Click here for information on what to expect on a typical Beer Hunt organised by White Beer TravelsYou are on a page of a White Beer Travels "Pub of the Month".  For the current "Pub of the Month" click hereClick here for John White's Beer CV (Curriculum Vitae, Résumé) Click here for past Pubs of the Month, News, etcClick here for downloadable guides to places, breweries and barsClick here for "Links" to other websites. There are many on the other pages of the site, as well!Click here for full details on how to contact White Beer TravelsClick here for information on how the site was built, including acknowledgement of any help receivedClick here for details of the French to English Translation Service offered by White Beer Travels, & for the contact details of organisations that can provide the reverse
Belgian Beer and other great Speciality/Craft Beers, these including Belgian Beer, Real Ale from the UK and Craft Beers from the USA and Canada, are promoted on this, the White Beer Travels website.  It is a big site, so to get an outline idea of the contents, click here to go to the site's Contents page
  Würzburg, in Germany, is world-renowned for its "Franken" wines. However, White (Wheat) Beers have certainly travelled to the city.  The three different ones shown here are excellent examples. All are brewed in the city's Würzburger Hofbräu Brewery. Click on the glasses to go to the brewery's website, from which the image was pasted

Your cursor is on a photo featuring Karel Goddeau of the Geuzestekerij (Lambic/Gueuze Blender) De Cam, Dorpstraat 67, Gooik, Belgium.  Karel is alos the brewer at Slaghmuylder, in Ninove.  Click on the photo, to go to the brewery's website
This shows Karel Goddeau pouring a glass of his superb De Cam Oude Geuze, for John White, in August, 2003. Photo by Joyce White. The barrels through the window were made from larger Pilsner Urquell ones.

De Cam Lambic/Gueuze blending facility (Geuzestekerij) is situated within a museum/restaurant complex, at Dorpstraat 67a, Gooik (tel 0476 81 68 06, www.decam.be). It was set up by Lambic fanatic, Willem Van Herreweghen, a brewery engineer by profession, who is the production director at Belgian Ale producers, Palm, and a consultant to the Rochefort Trappist Brewery. Time constraints resulted in Willlem passing De Cam on to Karel, who is a disciple of Armand Debelder, of Drie Fonteinen (www.3fonteinen.be), see Past Beer Hunts and the White Beer Travels Pajottenland Guide, obtainable on the Downloads page. As well as blending Lambic at De Cam, Karel is the brewer at Slaghmuylder (www.witkap.be), in Ninove. De Cam was visited as part of a Podge Beer Hunt, see below. The contact details for arranging a visit to De Cam's blending facility are given on the De Cam website under the heading Geuzestekerij.

  

Beer Hunt Reconnaissance Trips

The page was last updated on Friday, June 8, 2007
Minor changes were made on this date
.

On the Past Beer Hunts page of this site you will find details of past White Beer Travels Beer Hunts. On this companion page, there are details of places that White Beer Travels has researched in detail on the ground (and in books and on the Internet, etc), some of which have not yet materialised into organised Beer [or Wine or Cider or Whisky] Hunts. This is in line with one of the general features of White Beer Travels Beer Hunts, which are to be found by clicking General Beer Hunt Info, i.e. places featured in them have been fully reconnoitred in advance.

Click here to go to the "Contents" page of the "White Beer Travels" website. This provides direct access to the one hundred and six or so pages which make up the site, along with a brief description of them.   It is, thus, essentially, the White Beer Travels Site Map

The following is an index, with one line per recce trip, giving the principal places visited. Clicking on them takes one to the appropriate part of this rather large Web page, from where, as appropriate, there are links to other, more detailed pages of the site. Note that another way to navigate the site is to go to the Contents page, by clicking on the button to the left. This page has links to the one hundred and six pages that make up the White Beer Travels website. It is, essentially, the White Beer Travels Site Map.

White Beer Travels Beer Hunt Recce Trips
Potential Places for White Beer Travels Beer (& Wine & Cider) Hunts

Listed in the headed sections of the page below this particular section, are places that have been reconnoitred, but which have not in all cases been subsequently converted into group Beer Hunts. In addition to these more extended visits, there have been mini-recces, to places outside the UK (for UK ones click here), such as: the Adriaan Brouwer Beer Festival in the Belgian Sour Brown Ale town of Oudenaarde (its timing is on the Belgian general tourist site, www.visitbelgium.be); Delft for its excellent Speciality Beer bars and the Winterbierfestival run by the Zuid (South) Holland branch of PINT (www.pint.nl has details); the marvellous De Bonte Koe Specialty Beer bar in Leiden, in The Netherlands; the Cider Route in the Pays d'Auge area of the Département of Calvados, in Normandy, in France (follow the Cider Route link in the English pages of cambremer.free.fr); Frankfurt, for its superb Cider (Apfelwein (Ebbelwoi in local dialect)) bars in the suburb of Sachsenhausen, such as Zum Gemalten Haus (www.zumgemaltenhaus.de), Schweizer Strasse 67, and Adolf Wagner (www.apfelwein-wagner.com) a couple of doors away at Schweizer Straße 71; Goes, in Zeeland, in The Netherlands, for its bars and its marvellous Deltabrouwers Beer Festival, see the Deltabrouwers' website and below, www.deltabrouwers.nl.vg; Kutna Horá (www.kutnahora.cz), in The Czech Republic, for magnificent buildings, bars and a brewery; Heidelberg, in Germany, the Student Prince town that is teaming with history, and has some superb bars, including a particularly famous one, Zum Sepp'l, www.zum-seppl.de, which has a draught beer from the local Heidelberger Brauerei (www.heidelberger-brauerei.de); Lyon, in France, the "Gastronomical Capital of the World", but also home to the Ninkasi Brew Pub (www.ninkasi.fr), Le Palais de la Bière (300+ beers), and the Brasserie Georges, a showcase, run by Didier Rinck, for the former Rinck Brewery (there are two "Rinck" beers and a Blonde from Le Brasseur du Marais (www.le-brasseur.com, stopped working in February, 2006), in nearby Villefranche-sur Saône); Bergen op Zoom, in Noord (North) Brabant, in The Netherlands, for the Bergse Bierfestival (www.bergenopzoom.nl gives the exact date, which is usually a September Saturday); and Den Haag (The Hague), in The Netherlands, for the excellent Speciality Beer bar, De Paas (www.depaas.nl, GPS: 52.073498o N, 4.315573o E).

200x: Recce trip to Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Montreal is Canada's second largest city after Toronto. It is in the French-speaking province of Quebec. It is an excellent city in its own right, but is also a major pull for even the most seasoned Specialty Beer (Craft Beer) fan.

It is not the first place that comes to mind when thinking of Speciality Beer (Craft Beer). However, it has a number of Brew Pubs and bars with a good selection of local, US and foreign (particularly Belgian) beers. White Beer Travels will in the near future undertake a recce trip there as a precursor to an organised Group Beer Hunt. Information on the Montreal and Quebec Specialty Beer scene can be obtained by clicking here, or on the heading to this section.

2007: Belgian Trip featuring the BAB Bierfestival / Beer Festival, in Bruges (Brugge)

This visit to Bruges, in Belgium, featuring the inaugural running of a Beer Festival, organised by the BAB (Brugse Autonome Bierproevers) (Bruges Autonomous Beer Tasters) (www.babbierproevers.be) branch of Belgium's premier beer consumers' organisation, Zythos (www.zythos.be, White Beer Travels Web page), took place in September, 2007.

Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2007: UK featuring Arkell's Brewery, in Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wiltshire, England

This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) visit took place in August, 2007.

Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2007: UK featuring Marston's Brewery, in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England

This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) visit took place in May, 2007.

Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2007: UK featuring Okells Brewery, in Douglas, Isle of Man

This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) visit took place in February, 2007.

Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2006: St. Bernard Brewery, Watou Belgium

This December, 2006 visit to the Brouwerei Sint Bernard, in Watou, near Belgium's Hop Capital, Poperinge, is covered in a White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here.

2006: A Trip to Bamberg, in Germany, featuring: the Bavarian Party, at Weyermann Malz (Malt), in Bamberg;
and Breweries in Amberg and Pottenstein.

Your cursor is on a photo taken in the grounds of Weyermann Malz (Malt), in Bamberg, in the Franconia (Franken) region of the State of Bavaria (Bayern), in Germany (Deutschland). Click on it to go to the multi-lingual pages of the Weyermann website

The above photo was taken in Weyermann Malz (Malt), in Bamberg, in November, 2006, by Gudrun Pimpl, Weyermann's graphic designer (Graphikdesignerin). Jez (rauchbier, Smoke Beer) Blake, of Highwood Brewery (www.tom-wood.com), in Lincolnshire, England and I are in the middle, with Weyermann's President, Sabine Weyermann, and Weyermann's Vice President, Sabine's husband, Thomas Kraus-Weyermann.

This trip took place in November, 2006. It will take some time to write up what was a marvellous and very full trip, so, for now, the notes that follow are "Under Construction".

A major highlight was the visit to the "Bavarian Party", hosted by Weyermann Malz (Malt) (www.weyermannmalt.com (English pages), www.weyermann.de (German pages, with links to pages in many other languages)), a justly, world-renowned Maltings, in Bamberg, which is run by Sabine Weyermann and Thomas Kraus-Weyermann. In German, the event is called Messeausklang, this being a Weyermann finale to the brewing industry trade fair, Brau Beviale (www.brau-beviale.de), held in Nuremberg, immediately before the party. Further information on the party, including the Weyermann beers that were available can be found in a White Beer Treavels Web page that can be reached by clicking here.

Opportunity was also taken to visit Amberg, yes Amberg (www.amberg.de), in the Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate) region of Bavaria. Amberg has no "B" at the front, but it still has six breweries, and, like Bamberg, in the neighbouring Franken (Franconia) region, it has a number of outstanding tourist attractions. The trip to Amberg is covered in a White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here.

Closer to Bamberg, Hallstadt proved to be well worth visiting. There is an excellent brewery with an adjoining tap, in the neighbouring village of Dörfleins: the Brauerei Eichhorn (Brauerei Schwarze Adler) (Squirrel Brewery (Black Eagle Brewery)) (www.brauerei-eichhorn.de. In Hallstadt, itself, there is a don't-miss, life-enhancing place, the tap for a brewery that closed in 1985: Brauerei zum Goldenen Löwen (Brauerei Goldener Löwe, Löwenbräu Diller). These wonderful places are covered in a White Beer Travels Web page dedicated to Hallstadt, which can be reached by clicking here.

On the way home, the journey from Bamberg to Nuremberg, for the plane home, was not by the direct route, but via Pottenstein and Pegnitz. Pottenstein (www.pottenstein.de) is a really lovely town, surrounded by spectacular scenery, and has two breweries: the Gasthausbrauerei Hufeisen (Horse Shoe Brew Pub) (www.hufeisen-braeu.de); and the Brauerei Mager. The visit to Pottenstein is covered in a White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here.

After Pottenstein, we continued on to Pegnitz, to catch a train to Nuremberg. Pegnitz (www.pegnitz.de) has much to offer the most seasoned Beer hunter, and the general tourist, so outlets for its two breweries (Brauer-Vereinigung Pegnitz (Pegnitz Brewers' Combine) (www.brauervereinigung.de) and Jura-Bräu (www.jura-braeu.de)) were visited, the visit being covered in a White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here.

2006: English Trip to a Hop Harvest Open Day, at Charles Faram's Pridewood Farm, in Ashperton, Herefordshire

This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) visit took place in September, 2006.

Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2006: A Trip to Dublin (Áth Cliath),
the Capital of the Republic of Ireland (Éire)

This trip took place in July, 2006. Click here to go to the White Beer Travels Web page covering Dublin, this having information obtained on this and other visits to Dublin.

2006: English Trip featuring Moorhouse's Brewery, in Burnley, Lancashire

This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) trip to Moorhouse's (www.moorhouses.co.uk) took place in June, 2006.

Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2006: English Trip featuring places in the Counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire

This trip was part of a three-generation family holiday, which took place in May/June, 2006.

Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2006: Belgian Trip featuring 3 Fonteinen and Oud Beersel Breweries, in Beersel,
and a visit to meet Pierre Celis, in Hoegaarden

This trip, with world-renowned beer writer, Roger Protz (1939-) (www.beer-pages.com, Bookmark), took place in May, 2006.

Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2006: Visit to the Badger Brewery,
in Blandford St Mary, Dorset, England

This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) trip to the Badger Brewery (www.badgerales.com) took place in April, 2006.Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2006: English Trip featuring Cains Brewery
in Liverpool, Merseyside

This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) trip took place in March, 2006.Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2006: Dutch Trip featuring De Koningshoeven Trappist Brewery, and Pubs in Amsterdam and Tilburg

This trip took place in January, 2006. De Koningshoeven Brewery (www.latrappe.nl), which is within the Abdij Onze Lieve Vrouw van Koningshoeven (Our Lady of Koningshoeven Abbey) (www.koningshoeven.nl), in Berkel-Enschot, near Tilburg, in the Dutch Province of North Brabant (Noord-Brabant). The brewery produces the La Trappe range of Trappist Beers, the only Trappist Beers brewed outside Belgium. White Beer Travels Beer Hunters made visits to the brewery and its bar, in 1994 and 1995, these visits being covered in the White Beer Travels Web page covering the Monastery and its Beers.Three years after these visits, The Netherlands' third largest brewery, Bavaria (www.bavaria.nl) got involved in the brewing within the Monastery, which resulted in the International Trappist Association (Internationale Vereniging Trappist, Association Internationale Trappist), www.trappist.be, removing De Koningshoeven "Authentic Trappist Product" Status. However, it was formally announced in October, 2005, that this had been reinstated. The White Beer Travels Web page, which goes into further detail on this, was produced as a celebration of this, and it was the catalyst for this January, 2006 visit by yours truly (the visit organiser) and world-renowned beer writer, Roger Protz (1939-) (www.beer-pages.com).

Roger and I also visited a world-class pub in Amsterdam, 't Arendsnest (www.arendsnest.nl, White Beer Travels Web page), which, when it opened in 2000, was unique in that it was the only bar in the world that sold a significant number of Dutch Beers, and no other beers; it has beers from every Dutch brewery (there are around fifty-two); its pub sign is actually badged Kroon, beers that following the commencement of Bavaria's involvement in De Koningshoeven were brewed there, before their production was transferred to Bavaria's brewery, in Lieshout.

Your cursor is on a photo taken in De Bekeerde Suster, a brew pub in the Beiaard group, in Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. Click on it, to go to the group's website; it covers this brew pub

We also visited: a beer shop, that opened in 2005, De Gekraakte Ketel (The Cracked Kettle), Raamsteeg 3, in Amsterdam, (www.crackedkettle.com), run by Jeff Cunningham, who hails from Boston, in the USA; and De Bekeerde Suster (www.debekeerdesuster.nl) (former Maximiliaan), in Amsterdam, a Brew Pub in the Beiaard Group (www.beiaardgroep.nl), its Brewmaster being Harrie Vermeer, who worked for over twenty years at De Koningshoeven. The photo on the left, was taken by Roger Protz, in January, 2006. In it, I am with Harrie in front of De Bekeerde Suster's brew house, which is on view in the pub. We have glasses of Bock Ros in our hands, a truly excellent beer, brewed on the premises by Harrie.

We also had some great beers in a marvellous pub in Tilburg: the Café Kandinsky (www.biercafe-kandinsky.nl). The opening times of the classic Café Zomerlust, in Tilburg, meant that a visit to it was not possible. Recce visits were also be made to a number of Amsterdam pubs, to ensure that the fifty-three page White Beer Travels Guide to the city is kept up to date. This can be obtained from the Downloads page of the site.

2005: Visits to two Breweries in London
- Fuller's and Meantime - & some Pubs

These visits took place in December, 2005. Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the visits.

2005: English Trip featuring Adnams Brewery
in Southwold, in Suffolk

This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) trip took place in October, 2005.Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2005: Belgian Trip to Brussels and the Payottenland, featuring the Bruxellensis Beer Festival, in Brussels

This trip took place in September, 2005. Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2005: English Trip featuring Broadstone Brewery,
in Retford, in Nottinghamshire

This trip takes place in August, 2005. It is organised by the Grimsby and N.E. Lincolnshire Branch of CAMRA (www.camra.org.uk), the CAMpaign for Real Ale; the branch's website is www.camra.org.uk/grimsby.Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2005: Visits to Breweries in Brussels and Wallonia, Belgium

This British Guild of Beer Writers' trip, see below, took place in July, 2005.Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2005: English Trip featuring Three Breweries, in Suffolk

This British Guild of Beer Writers' trip, see below, took place in June, 2005.Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2005: London, Flanders Pub Crawl

This crawl around five very special places in Greater London that feature in a book that mainly covers pubs in Belgium, took place in June, 2005.Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering it.

2005: Trip based in Blackpool, Lancashire, England

This trip took place in April, 2005.Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering it.

2005: English Trip featuring Warminster Maltings, in Wiltshire

This British Guild of Beer Writers' trip, see below, took place in April, 2005.Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip.

2005: Visit to Liverpool, Merseyside, England

Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels page covering the trip.

2005: Trip to Belgium, based in De Haan

This trip is covered in a sub-page which features Belgian recces that can be reached by clicking here, or on this section's title.

2005: English Trip featuring Kelham Island Brewery, Sheffield,
and the thornbridge BREWERY, Thornbridge Hall,
Ashford in the Water

This British Guild of Beer Writers' trip, see below, took place in February, 2005. Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels page covering the trip.

2005: Trip to Sydney, Australia and Singapore, SE Asia 

This trip took place in January, 2005; it is covered in two White Beer Travels Web pages, these providing details of some excellent outlets for Speciality/Craft/Specialty Beer, including Belgian Beer. For the Sydney page, click here, and for the Singapore one, click here.

2004: Visit to St. Austell Brewery, in Cornwall,
and Tuckers Maltings, in Devon, England

This British Guild of Beer Writers' trip, see below, took place in November, 2004. Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels page covering the trip.

2004: Trip to Milan (Milano) and Florence (Firenze), Italy  

This truly outstanding trip took place in September/October, 2004. Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering the trip, the page being dedicated to Lorenzo Dabove (Kuaska), Italy's most famous Beer Hunter, who was our host in Milan.

2004: Visit to Wychwood Brewery, in Witney, near Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, who brew Brakspear Beers alongside their own

This British Guild of Beer Writers' trip, see below, took place in September, 2004.

Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels page covering the trip.

2004: Trip to Belgium featuring: the St.-Bernard Brewery's B&B, 't Brouwershuis, in Watou;
and Ostend for its De Bierjutterij (Beer Festival)

This trip is covered in a sub-page which features Belgian recces that can be reached by clicking here, or on this section's title.

2004: Trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, featuring the Caledonian Brewery and its Outlets

This British Guild of Beer Writers' trip, see below, took place in May, 2004. Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels page covering the trip.

2003: Trip featuring the O.B.E.R. Christmas Beer Festival (Kerstbierfestival), Essen, Belgium, with update recces in Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent

The Belgian aspects of this trip featuring an annual Christmas Beer festival (www.kerstbierfestival.be, White Beer Travels Web page), that takes place in Essen, in Antwerp Province, in Belgium, run by the Belgian Beer consumer's organisation, O.B.E.R., are covered in a sub-page covering Belgian recces that can be reached by clicking here, or on this section's title. Essen has its own dedicated White Beer Travels Web page, which features this Christmas Beer Festival; it can be reached by clicking here.

Your cursor is on a a photo of the Estaminet Saint Gilles, Craywick, France, one of the country's best bars

The Estaminet Saint Gilles and Épicerie d'Autrefois (Grocery Shop of Former Times), Craywick, France (14, place de l'Église, tel 03 28 22 40 90, (GPS: 50.970835o N, 2.235930o E)), dates from 1640. The photo was taken by John White, in December, 2003. It is open from 10.30am to 4pm on Monday to Thursday, 10.30am until 2am on Friday, 5pm until 2am on Saturday, and from 10.30am until Midnight on Sunday.

Click here for details of a later visit to this place.

On the way home, one of the entries in a book covered in the main Recce page (click here to see this) was checked out, the Estaminet Saint Gilles, in Craywick, in France, near Dunkirk (Dunkerque). This is very close to junction 24 of the A16 (E40) motorway; leave in the direction of St-Omer and take two quickly reached lefts, signed to Craywick. A visit is highly recommended. It is run by Betty Delerue, who set up one of the best Speciality Beer bars in France, the superb L'Estaminet Flamand, in Dunkirk itself (6, rue des Fusiliers-Marins, tel 03 28 66 98 35), which is now run by Betty's daughter.

It can be seen in the photo to the left, along with its associated Grocery Shop, which is excellent. The recce vehicle, on the left, has in it only four crates of Westvleteren 12 (Abt), that had just been purchased at the St.-Sixtus Monastery (see White Beer Travels Web page), across the border, in Belgium, as visits had also been made to two beer warehouses in Belgium: Bierhalle Drankensupermarkt, Hovenierstraat 36a, Melle, (tel 09 230 88 44, www.bierhalle.be; and Streekbieren Yves (www.streekbieren.goedbegin.be), in Roeselare, which is very close to the Rodenbach brewery (www.rodenbach.be). Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page covering Roeselare.

2003: October Visits to the Rochefort and Orval Trappist Breweries and to the Achouffe, St-Feuillien and Het Anker Breweries, and Les 3 Fourquets, all these being in Belgium

These visits are covered in a sub-page which features Belgian recces that can be reached by clicking here.

2003: Visit to Lille, France, featuring a day trip to three breweries in Picardy

Your cursor is on a photo taken inside a coach on a trip organised by Les Amis de la Bière [du Nord-Pas-de-Calais]. Les Amis are France's best known beer consumers' organisation. It is not a national organisation, i.e. it is primarily involved with artisanal beer in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Click on the photo to go to Les Amis de la Bière's website

This visit took place in September, 2003. A day trip, "A la Découverte de Brasseries Picardes", by coach, was organised by Les Amis de la Bière [du Nord-Pas-de-Calais] (www.amis.biere.org), France's most well-known beer consumers' organisation. The breweries visited were: De Clerck, in Péronne (www.lachope.com/deklerk.html); the Ale Factory Brew-Pub/Restaurant, in Amiens, where lunch was taken on the day before the brewery closed down; and Milly, in Milly-sur-Thérain (www.maeyaert.fr). On the same site as the Brasserie de Milly, is the Cidrerie G. Maeyaert., the latter producing spirits such as their Calvados-like "Eau de Vie de Cidre".

On the right, in the picture above, which was taken by John White, en route to the first of the three breweries in Picardy, is Roger Legrand, the trip organiser. He had composed a song about the trip, which also declared that Les Amis de la Bière were proud to be supporting their good beers. He sung it a few times himself, before passing the mike to others, as here. This created a great atmosphere on the coach, amplified by the two at the front of the coach. They are spreading paté from a huge pot onto baguettes that they have just cut. These were relayed over the seat tops to everyone on the coach, along with bottles of local beer. All this made for a good start to what proved to be an excellent day out. Perhaps I will try to recreate such a trip for a White Beer Travels Beer Hunt some day!

This 2003 trip by Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) from London provided an opportunity for an update on the city's excellent beer scene, as well as its tourist offerings. By Eurostar, it takes 1 hour 40 minutes to get to Lille from London's Waterloo Railway Station (2 hours 20 minutes to Brussels, 2 hours 35 minutes to Paris). Time ran out to make a planned visit to the Distillerie Claeyssens in Wambrechies (www.wambrechies.com), a famous producer of Genièvre (French Gin), which can be reached by canal boat from Lille. This will be scheduled for the next, inevitable visit to Lille.

Your cursor is on a reproduction of the cover of "Le Guide des Estaminets", which is a book by Amandine Lefebvre, Dorothée Delecourt and Véronique Boupian-Lelieur. It is published by PdN Éditions, at 229, rue Solférino, Lille (tel 03 20 15 99 17) (ISBN 9 782914 455077)

Lille was used as a base for a White Beer Travels Beer Hunt, in 1998, see Past Beer Hunts. On this 2003 trip, the 150-beer Pub Mac EWAN'S (8, place Sébastopol, tel 03 20 42 04 42 was as good as ever, but it was a shock to find that: the Café Jenlain, which had unfiltered Duyck beers (www.duyck.com), had become a Nicolas Wine shop (I e-mailed Raymond Duyck about this soon after this trip and in his reply he stated that there are plans to open a replacement in Lille, but where and when is not known and there are no other outlets for unfiltered Jenlain beers); Au Bureau's beer range was sadly diminished; and L'Estaminet du Chat Bossu (12, rue des Chats-Bossus) still has its famous sign, but was now a shoe shop (well the street did originally house tanners).

Thankfully, new places were pinpointed in a book purchased whilst on the visit: Le Guide des Estaminets. It is by Amandine Lefebvre, Dorothée Delecourt and Véronique Boupian-Lelieur and published by PdN Éditions, at 229, rue Solférino, Lille (tel 03 20 15 99 17) (ISBN 9 782914 455077, €10 (€9.50 in FNAC, Lille)). The publishers are the ones who do the Pays du Nord magazine. The places featured (most of which have nice interiors, and a good few feature pub games and music) are mainly in the NE of France (i.e. the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region), but there are a number of cross-border ones, i.e. in Belgium. Lille gems in this essential book include: Le Géant des Flandres (Estaminet du Géant des Flandres), 81, rue Esquermoise, tel 03 20 54 97 69; Les Fleurs du Malt, 93, rue Solférino, tel 03 20 40 06 41; and Le Rijsel (Estaminet 't Rijsel ), 25, rue de Gand, tel 03 20 15 01 59. Note that Le Rijsel is quite small, so there is an "annexe", Chez la Vieille, closer to the Porte de Gand (Ghent Gate), on the other side of the street, at 60, rue de Gand, tel 03 28 36 40 06.

A surprising, but welcome feature of the Lille scene, which has happened since the 1998 visit, is the number of establishments (bars, Pizza places, Chinese Restaurants, etc) that have a sign from the Belgium Brewers, Bavik-De Brabandere (www.bavik.be). One example is a place in Roubaix, that can be reached on Lille's excellent Métro (Underground Railway) system, i.e. the Michelin-listed L'Impératrice Eugénie, 22, place de la Liberté, tel 03 28 33 75 95. This has a bar area and a restaurant area. It was packed at the time of our visit, a Sunday lunch time, but we were readily offered a table and service was quick and very good. All the draught beers were Bavik, the prices being for 25/50cl measures: Bavik Pils at €2/3.80; Petrus Blond, Petrus Spéciale, Petrus Vieille Brune (Oud Bruin) and Wittekerke, all at €2.50/4.70. My two Pints of the Oud Bruin were superb. There were only two bottles available: Petrus Tripel at €2.50 (25cl) and Duvel at €4. On the tables were full bottles of a decent Bordeaux for only €12 (there was also a by the glass option for it). The most expensive wine bottle on the card was €22. There were a lot of regional dishes on the menu card. There were some limited choice two and three course menus at very low prices, but we in fact chose À la Carte items, none being expensive. For a starter, I had La Flamiche aux Maroilles at €4.80, the cheese tart made from the region's only Appellation Contrôlée cheese, Maroilles; it was superb. My main course of Carbonade Flamand, the Beef stew cooked in Beer, this example being done in the Petrus Oud Bruin, was first-rate; it was served with Pasta. Others had: Coq à la Bière at €8.50; Jarret Braisé à la Bière Petrus Brune (Pork Knuckle) (declared absolutely superb); and a Potjevleesch, which was €9.50 for a truly enormous portion and pronounced excellent. We were in Roubaix to visit a museum, La Piscine Musée d'Art et d'Industrie André Diligent (museeroubaix.free.fr or www.roubaixtourisme.com), which is normally referred to simply as La Piscine (The Baths, of the swimming and washing variety). The interior is a sensation; even if one is not a museum fan, I can highly recommend a visit. It gets a very high rating in Michelin (www.viamichelin.com) (two out of a maximum three stars). Since this visit, a truly excellent shop has opened in the centre of Lille that has practically all the Specialty Beers produced in Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardie: L'Abbaye des Saveurs, 13, rue des Vieux Murs, tel 03 28 07 70 06, www.abbayedessaveurs.com. It also has glasses for the beers and a good selection of other regional products.

2003: Podge's Trip, based in Brussels, Belgium

This trip is covered in a sub-page which features Belgian recces that can be reached by clicking here, or on this section's title.

2003: Visit to Middelburg and Breda in The Netherlands, Bamberg in Germany, Nancy in France and the Champagne Region

This July, 2003 trip involved three nights in Middelburg, three nights in Bamberg and a night on the return home to England, in Nancy, in Lorraine, in France. The trip to Middelburg coincided with its Mussel Festival, further details of which are to be found on the White Beer Travels Web page covering Middelburg's most famous Speciality Beer Bar, De Mug, www.demug.nl. Click here to see it.

Whilst living in Middelburg, I got involved with the Deltabrouwers (www.deltabrouwers.nl.vg), a group of Zeeland home brewers, who really do produce some stunning beers. Whilst on this 2003 visit to Middelburg, the Deltabrouwers' president, Jan Passieux, arranged a special tour, featuring four of the homebrewers. It proved to be a magical afternoon. Many thanks to Jan and his Deltabrouwers.

Your cursor is on a photo taken during a special event organised by The Deltabrouwers, a home brew club, based in Zeeland, in The Netherlands. Click on it to go to the Deltabrouwers' website
Your cursor is on a photo taken in the Bierreclame Museum (Beer Plaques Museum), in Breda, in The Netherlands. Click on it to go to the place's website

The above photo on the left was taken by John White, in Deltabrouwer, Louis Spoelstra's place. From left to right are Jan van Schaik, Joyce White and Jan Passieux. Jan van Schaik is perhaps The Netherlands best known home brewer. His Handboek Dranken (published by Kosmos-Z&K, ISBN 90 215 3953 5) is the bible for home producers of beer, cider, wine and spirits. Joyce is wearing her tour badge!

Your cursor is on a a photo taken in the Bierreclame Museum (Beer Plaques Museum), in Breda, in The Netherlands. Click on it to go to the place's website

Whilst in Middelburg, a day trip by train to Breda was undertaken. This proved to be an excellent place in its own right, but two superb Specialty Beer venues were the icing on the cake: the Bierreclame (Beer Plaques) Museum (Haagweg 375, tel 076 522 09 75, www.bierreclamemuseum.nl); and De Beyerd (Boschstraat 26, tel 076 521 42 65, www.beyerd.nl). The don't-miss Bierreclame Museum duly has some superb brewery plaques, but also a good selection of beers and a superb juke box and live folk music. It only opens on Sunday (from 11am to 11pm), but can open at other times for groups. The genial hosts are Jan Hemmer and his wife, Lenny Sinke. The photo above right, which was taken by Joyce White, in July, 2003, shows John White and Jan Hemmer in front of beer plaques, of course, plus an automated accordionist and drummer. John has a glass of Urthel Tonicum Finiboldus in his hand. Another White Beer Travels Web page featuring Jan can be seen by clicking here. The photo of John and Joyce White, to the left, was taken by White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regular and "Second Petal", Sylvia Clow, in July, 2003, in the Beer Plaques Museum.

Unusually for a Speciality Beer bar, De Beyerd, in Breda, has been in the same family ownership, for many generations (since the late 1830s). A Duotank brewery (www.duotank.com, being reconstructed in August, 2004) was commissioned, within the place, in 2004, the first beer, Drie Hoefijzers Klassiek, being named after a former Breda brewery, Drie (3) Hoefijzers; indeed the recipe for De Beyerd's first beer comes from this famous, lost brewery. The official launch of the brewery was on the 9th of June, 2004. Note that this Beyerd is named after the plague house next door to it, rather than the Beiaard (Carillon) of the Beiaard Bar and Brew Pub chain: www.beiaardgroep.nl. In the photo above, which was taken in Breda's Bierreclame Museum, at the top of the photo, there is a 3 Hoefijzers plaque.

After Middelburg it was a long drive to Bamberg, in Germany, but it was well worth getting back to this truly great Baroque beer city. A visit was made to the Heller-Trum Brewery (www.schlenkerla.de), who produce Schlenkerla Rauchbier (Smoke Beer), the best place to drink it being in the magnificent Schlenkerla tavern. For more details on the brewery and the Schlenkerla, see the White Beer Travels Web page covering them by clicking here. The seventy-seven page White Beer Travels Guide to Bamberg is available from the Downloads page. In Bamberg, we stayed in the former Wilde Rose Brewery, which is now the Hotel-Gasthof Wilde Rose (Keßlerstraße 7, www.hotel-wilde-rose.de). It is superbly situated and has an excellent restaurant, which provides a top-class breakfast.

Your cursor is on a photo taken in the Heller Brewery, Bamberg, Germany, which is famous for its tavern and beer called Schlenkerla. Click on the photo to go to the Schlenkerla's website (English version) Your cursor is on a photo taken outside Le Ch'timi, a Speciality Beer bar, at 17 Place St-Epvre, Nancy, Lorraine, France

In the photo above left Matthias Trum, who took charge at Heller-Trum and the Schlenkerla, earlier in the year, is showing John the furnace where the beech logs are put. It is the smoke from these that provides the dominant flavour of the beer. On route home from Bamberg, we had an overnight stay in Nancy, in France, this being selected because it was somewhere that we had not been to before, but which has the maximum three stars in the Michelin Green Guide. It proved to be a superb place. On the beer front, we enjoyed an excellent Maudite from the Unibroue Brewery (www.unibroue.com), in Chambly, near Montreal, in Canada, this brewery being covered in more detail in the White Beer Travels Web page for Montreal; click here to see it. This was available in the Grand Café Foy (1, place Stanislas, tel 03 83 32 21 44, www.grandcafefoy.fr). The square, Place Stanislas, is mega impressive, this café having the most prestigious address in Nancy. We also had a beer in Le Ch'timi, this being an attractive, 150 beer place, at 17, place St-Epvre (tel 03 83 32 82 76). A most pleasant evening meal was had at the Michelin-listed Capucin Gourmand, 31, rue Gambetta (tel 03 83 35 26 98), which was superbly decorated in the style of an art movement that originated in the city. In the photo above right, which was taken by Joyce White outside Le Ch'timi, in the group on the right, John has a bottle of the great French beer, Angelus, see below. With him are White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regulars, Dr Eric Clow and his wife Sylvia. Time constraints prevented a visit to Nancy's Brew Pub La Cabane Des Brasseurs, 21, Place du Marché Découvert (off rue Raugraff), tel 03 83 32 77 77. En route home, we went down one of the Champagne routes, the D9, which goes through the Côte des Blancs. From the annual Guide Hachette Des Vins (www.hachette.com), I had selected L. Bénard-Pitois, in Mareil-sur-Ay, near Épernay for our purchases. As we drove into the place - easily found by following the signs in the village - Madame Bénard was there to greet us. She told us that they were independent producers, indeed, it states "Vigneron Indépendant" on the labels of the excellent Champagne that we tasted at no obligation. However, it was very reasonably priced, so we got some. It was a most pleasant experience buying it here, seeing the vineyards directly alongside the tasting room. This particular vineyard's surplus grapes go to the great Champagne houses, such as Bollinger. Before arriving at Mareil, we passed through the village of Vertus, which looked stunning, but time prevented a stop. We will be back for a closer inspection!

2003: Visit to the Chimay Trappist Brewery

This visit was made with the renowned beer writer, Roger Protz (1939-), in May, 2003. Click on the heading above for more details of this most interesting of visits.

2002: Podge's Trip based in Diksmuide
& Ieper (Ypres), in Belgium

This trip is covered in a sub-page which features Belgian recces that can be reached by clicking here, or on this section's title.

2001: "Beer Traveller Tours" trip based in Ostend, in Belgium

This trip is covered in a sub-page which features Belgian recces that can be reached by clicking here, or on this section's title.

1998: Visit to Vienna, Austria & Bratislava, in Slovakia

Click on the heading just above for more details of this visit, in August/September, 1998.

1996: Visit to Colorado, USA

Denver, Colorado, the Mile High City, is close to the Rocky Mountains, which form a superb back cloth to the city. The place is a marvellous tourist centre, with the usual things that discerning tourists expect in a big city. However, it is also the epicentre of American Craft Beer (Specialty Beer), which the Americans call Craft Beer. Denver is teaming with brew-pubs offering a wide range of unusual beers, served in exceptional condition. These are beers that are a world away from the beers that have given America a bad name for the discerning beer drinker. There is much more to American beer than the flavour deficient rice fizzes that have insidiously invaded the world. You simply must come to Denver to try them out. You will not be disappointed. The Wynkoop Brewing Company, www.wynkoop.com, in Denver, is generally regarded as America's finest Brew Pub. After visiting the place, it becomes clear that all the praise heaped on it is justified. Wynkoop is very high up in John White's personal list of the World's Greatest Speciality Beer bars. For further information on Wynkoop and other great Specialty Beer (Craft Beer) outlets in Denver and Golden, in Colorado, and on the world's biggest beer festival, the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) (www.beertown.org/events/gabf/index.htm), that is held in Denver each year (in 2007, the 26th festival runs from Thursday, the 11th, to Saturday, the 13th of October), click on White Beer Travels Denver Article and on the title to this section above.

1995: Visit to Hasselt, in Belgium

This visit is covered in a sub-page which features Belgian recces that can be reached by clicking here, or on this section's title.

1995: Visit to Budapest & Tokay (Tokaj), in Hungary
& Cracow (Kraków), in Poland

Details of this can be found by clicking on the heading just above.

1993: British Guild of Beer Writers' Visit to France & Belgium, based in Lille, Tournai & Namur

On this November, 1993 trip, organised for the British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk), attendees included: Barrie Pepper, at the time, the Chairman of the Guild :a future Chairman, Roger Protz (1939-) (www.beer-pages.com); Drew Ferguson, from Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Arthur Taylor, the pub games specialist (books include Pub Games (Mayflower) and The Guinness Book of Traditional Pub Games); Iain Loe of CAMRA HQ (www.camra.org.uk), CAMRA being the CAMpaign for Real Ale, the UK's premier beer consumers' organisation; Alan Gill of the Broadstone Brewery (www.broadstonebrewery.com, visit report); John Brice of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) (www.bbc.co.uk); Roy Bailey, the proprietor of "The Lambourn Valley Cider Company" and an expert home brewer; and brewing technologist, Chris Marchbanks. Yours truly, John White, of White Beer Travels, was a guest, becoming a member of the Guild immediately after the trip was completed; in 2004, I was elected onto the Guild's committee.

Your cursor is on a photo taken in a brewery in Belgium, featuring three members of the British Guild of Beer Writers. Click on it, to go to the guild's website

Over the years since this 1993 trip, I have come into contact again with most of those on it. For example: I have organised several visits to breweries in Europe for Roger Protz; Barrie Pepper has been on a White Beer Travels Beer Hunt; and Chris Marchbanks has become a regular White Beer Travels Beer Hunter. In the photo to the left, John Brice is in the middle, with Chris on the left and yours truly, on the right. It was taken by Joyce White, in March, 2006, in the Van den Bossche Brewery (www.paterlieven.be), in Sint-Lievens-Esse, in the Belgian Province East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen). Click here for further information on the Beer Hunt that this visit was part of.

On the 1993 trip, in addition to receptions organised by French and Belgian tourist organisations, there were a number of brewery visits, i.e. to: De Dolle Brouwers in Esen, in Belgium (www.dedollebrouwers.be), see Past Beer Hunts; La Binchoise in Binche in Belgium (www.brasserielabinchoise.be); the Silly Brewery, which is so named because it is in Silly, in Belgium, although a number of its beers are so good that it is daft (www.silly-beer.com); Castelain, in Benifontaine, France (www.chti.com); and Annoeullin in Annoeullin, a small town, nineteen kilometres (twelve miles) from Lille (Rijsel), the French Speciality Beer capital, which was featured in a White Beer Travels Beer Hunt, in 1998, see Past Beer Hunts. Annoeullin brew the world-class L'Angelus. When our coach reached Binche, there was thick snow on the ground, and it was really cold. The beers were marvellous, particularly and amazingly a honey Beer called La Binchoise Bière des Ours (Bears' Beer, well Bears do like Honey!), as it was frozen and had to be melted before we could drink it! Someone should have told the beer about the depression of the freezing point that occurs when things like alcohol are added to water! Famous bars were also visited, including In de Vrede, the tap for the St.-Sixtus Trappist Brewery, in Westvleteren, in Belgium (www.sintsixtus.be and (for its tap) www.indevrede.be, White Beer Travels Web page).

Your cursor is on a photo of the label of a bottle of L'Angelus, which is brewed by La Brasserie Annoeullin, in Annoeullin, France

To the left, is a photo of the label on a bottle of L'Angelus, a Bière de Froment (Wheat Beer), as it states on the label, although it is not an obvious one. The photo was taken in the Au Bureau Specialty Beer bar, in Reims, in Champagne, France, in December, 1999, by John White. Angelus (Angel in Latin) is the first word of a Latin prayer, thanking God for the incarnation of Jesus. An Angelus bell is rung three times a day to signal when the prayer should be recited. The peasants in the scene are praying; the church's tower is in the background. Note that this marvellous label is based on a painting by Jean-François Millet (1814-1875), L'Angélus, which hangs in the world-class Musée d'Orsay (www.musee-orsay.fr), in Paris, France. This beer is available in a number of Speciality Beer outlets in Paris, which are detailed in the seventy-eight page White Beer Travels guide to the city, that is available from the Downloads page. This guide is the most comprehensive one available covering Specialty Beer in the city. In it, the proximity of each Speciality Beer outlet to major tourist attractions, such as the Musée d'Orsay, is given.

1993: Visit to Èeské Budìjovice (Budweis) & Žatec (Saaz), in The Czech Republic & Würzburg, in Germany

Details of this visit, in September, 1993, can be found by clicking on the heading just above.

1991: USA Visit to Louisiana, Texas & Mississippi

Click on the heading just above for more details of this music-orientated visit, in September, 1991

 

 

John White (1945-), Your cursor is on an image of John White's e-mail address. Click on it to send an e-mail to John.

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Belgian Beer, such as Trappist Beer, which is just about the world's most renowned Speciality Beer (Craft Beer), is promoted on this website, along with great beer from all over the world
Home Recces
Schneider Weisse, a well-travelled, classic Wheat/White Beer, brewed in Bavaria by Schneider.  Click on the glass to go to their website Click on this bottle of Schneider Weisse, to see that this White Beer has travelled to Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, in Spain's Canary Islands.  The photo, by Joyce White, features John White and White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regular, Dr Eric Clow, in the Mesón Andalucia, in May, 2004