[bentwood]

Hands down the best vacation I have ever taken.  We spent 7 days in Brugge sampling the local brews and enjoying the people.  Many hours were spent at Cambrinus a pub with 403 beers and a book 10" thick to tell you about them.  We took a cruise in 2009 and this was one of the stops.  We were there for 4 hours and I didn't want to leave. So we went back and spent a week there before heading to Paris. While we were there we toured the last working brewery in the city walls.  They make the Brugge Zot light and dark and the Straffe Hendrick there.  So much old copper brewing equipment just laying around there.  Hundreds of bottles on display and a different glass for every one of them.
Pics at http://www.pbase.com/four11/belgium_2010

[GolfBum]

That trip sounds wonderful. I have thought about going to belgium/germany for the last couple years. probably won't happen for many years down the road but when it does happen, and it will, I want to spend a few weeks out there. Belgium just sounds like an awesome place. Besides the beer, how is the overall atmosphere/people of the country or places you visited?

By the way, those beers looked so damn good.

[euge]

It's in the inception phase but I want to do at least a week in Belgium. Don't think a day or two will cut it when it comes to sampling the plethora of beers available.

Smiske...

Anyway, bentwood were all the beers you tried excellent or was there some bad ones?

[bentwood]

Yeah it was awesome.  She doesn't even like beer but she had some while we were there and she enjoyed a few of them.

The people were really nice.  We only met one person who didn't speak English and she was nice enough that when we tried a little French she worked with us.  If you go, see about getting a rental that comes with bicycles.  The scenery was amazing and better seen from atop a bicycle than driving as the roads are narrow.

Smiske was pretty good actually.  It was the only IPA-like beer I found there.  Of the 52 I tried, there were several I didn't like but I think that's to be expected.  I'm not a sour fan and two of them were pretty sour.  That cookie one was seriously just like drinking a cookie and I didn't finish it, but she did

[thebigbaker]

Sounds like a great trip.  I've yet to make my way over to Europe, but when I do Belgium is definitely a place to stop.  Like Euge, I would definitely want to stay at least a week.