[skyler]

The GF and I are heading to Europe (her first time leaving North America) in 11 days!

Our itinerary:

Dec 15-17 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dec 17-20 Leuven, Belgium
Dec 20-22 Cologne, Germany
Dec 22 Brussels, Belgium
Dec 23-27 Bruges, Belgium
Dec 27-29 Amsterdam, Netherlands

And we're making the trip to Westvleteren to stop by St. Sixtus Monastery if I manage to make a reservation despite the time zone issue, as well as my not knowing ahead of time what my license plate number will be.

I would like to know thoughts on some nice Kolsch brewpubs and Amsterdam breweries/beer bars. Though I have been to each of these cities (besides Leuven and Westvleteren), I would appreciate any other beercentric (or perhaps coffeeshop-centric) advice my fellow homebrewers can offer.

Oh, and I am planning on stopping in Antwerp on my way back to Amsrterdam from Bruges just for a quick stop at Kulminator for a couple vintage ales.

[MDixon]

You might find this useful for Bruges, Brussels, and Antwerp.
www.belgiumtrip.notlong.com

Of course in Bruges you need to hit up the normal suspects:
De Garre
Cambrinus
Vlissinghe
Brugs Beertje

If you want to have a spooky good time, take a train into Ghent and go to Velootje. Keep in mind he only opens when he wants to.

[hopfenundmalz]

This is all you need.  http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/

Koeln - go to Malzmuehle for good beer and food.  You are also a short train ride to Duesseldorf, which I have gone to rather than Koeln, but that is just me.  Love the Altbier.

Brussels, go to the Cantillon Museum Brewery. 

[uthristy]

You usually can't go wrong with the following coffeeshops:

Grey Area
Dampkring
Barney's
Katsu
Basjoe

Hit or miss shops:

Greenhouse
Old Church
Rokerij
Bushdoctor

Stay away from:

Any coffeeshop on Damstraat/Oude Hoogstraat.
Any coffeeshop on Nieuwendijk.
Any coffeeshop with an overdone reggae theme.

[skyler]

This is all you need.  http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/

Koeln - go to Malzmuehle for good beer and food.  You are also a short train ride to Duesseldorf, which I have gone to rather than Koeln, but that is just me.  Love the Altbier.

Yes, I too prefer altbier over kölsch. However, Cologne has a Christmas Market that is supposedly really great, and I figured we could do some X-mas shopping. Also, I have already been to many fine brewpubs in Dusseldorf, but have not in Cologne. We still may well ride over to Dusseldorf for a day to have some beers (and visit with a friend who lives there).

[hopfenundmalz]

The Christmas market in Cologne is one of the big ones.  Those are actually entertaining, and some of the food is very good.  The Gluhwein smells infinetely better than it tastes, however.

[skyler]

Got back a couple weeks ago. We went to Amsterdam, Leuven, Cologne, Mechelen, Dusseldorf, Brussels, Bruges, Lille, and Antwerp (Dusseldorf, Mechelen, Lille, and Antwerp only very briefly). It was a great trip. I think I could live in very happily live in Lille, Antwerp, or Mechelen. We hung out a bit with my Belgian friend in Leuven (she is studying law there), which was fun. She and her boyfriend (and most Belgian people, I suspect) are fun and hilarious.

The beer highlights: Scoring some Westvleteren (did not succeed in making it to the abbey, though), discovering the deliciousness (and variety) of Geuze, having a dozen or so glasses at Zum Uerige, the new trend (in Belgium) of "hoppy" beers, the variety of great Dutch and Belgian "brown cafes," my girlfriend finally learning to love with Belgian beer (she prefers Lambic beers, Dubbels, "hoppy" blonds, and Rochefort .

I would post pics, but I didn't put them on photobucket (only facebook), and I'm too lazy to do that now.

[hopfenundmalz]

A dozen glasses of Zum Uerige is just about right.  Our German friend who grew up in Duesseldorf say, "It is intensely bitter, but after 5 or 6 glasses you don't notice so much".

It sounds like you had a good trip.

[Beertracker]

A dozen glasses of Zum Uerige is just about right.  Our German friend who grew up in Duesseldorf say, "It is intensely bitter, but after 5 or 6 glasses you don't notice so much".

It sounds like you had a good trip.

You gotta' love those Germans with great quotes like that! 

[skyler]

Granted I live in the pacific northwest, but I found Zum Uerige very balanced and not particularly bitter.