Belgian Beer Journeys: In Flanders Fields…
Some of the breweries and places in the Museum happen to sit rather conveniently close together. So, if you fancy exploring a little Belgian beer culture for yourself, here is one way to join a few of them up.
This isn't a tour or a fixed itinerary. It's simply a journey we think works particularly well. Follow our order, change it around, linger somewhere you like, or miss something out entirely. The Museum's associated Place and Brewery entries have more on the individual stops and can help you plan your visit.
BEST BY: Car
ALLOW: One full day, preferably two
BEST AREA TO STAY: Ypres or Poperinge
Into West Flanders
The countryside around Ypres, Poperinge and Watou contains some of the richest beer culture in West Flanders. It is also a landscape whose towns, villages and fields are inseparable from the history of the First World War.
This journey brings those stories together. You can cover the principal stops in a well-planned day, but two days changes the experience considerably. You'll have time to explore the towns properly, linger over museums and historic sites, take brewery tours without constantly watching the clock, and add one or two worthwhile detours.
Begin in Poperinge
Poperinge makes a particularly good starting point.
Begin at Talbot House, the remarkable soldiers' club opened here during the First World War. Its story connects directly with the Wipers Times name now used by Kazematten in nearby Ypres, but Talbot House is worth visiting for its much broader history and atmosphere.
From there, it is barely a hundred metres along the road to the Hop Museum. Poperinge sits at the heart of Belgium's surviving hop-growing country, and the museum provides an excellent introduction to a crop that has shaped both the landscape and its beer. Allow a leisurely hour rather than treating it as a quick stop. The museum's café and bar also offer an easy opportunity for refreshments or a light lunch.
Into the hop country
From Poperinge, drive out through the countryside towards Westvleteren and Watou.
At the Sint-Sixtus Abbey, the brewery itself isn't open to ordinary visitors, but the nearby In de Vrede café is where visitors can stop for a Westvleteren in its proper surroundings, designated driver permitting, or buy beer to take away.
Then continue towards Watou and St Bernardus.
This is a much more conventional brewery destination. Book a tour if timings allow, explore the brewery, and finish at Bar Bernard, where the rooftop terrace looks out across the surrounding countryside. At the right time of year, that view includes the hop fields themselves.
There is a good brewery shop downstairs too, so leave some room in the car.
Make time for the landscape
Beer isn't the only reason to travel through this part of West Flanders.
Commonwealth war cemeteries lie throughout the former Ypres Salient. If this is your first visit, make time for at least one. Tyne Cot, near Passchendaele, is the obvious choice if you can visit only one.
There is no need to rush the experience or turn this journey into a battlefield tour. But if you are travelling through this landscape under the title In Flanders Fields…, understanding something of what happened here matters.
Finish in Ypres
Ypres makes a natural place to finish the day, and an excellent place to stay overnight if you're turning the journey into two.
Kazematten brews beneath the city's historic ramparts, in the casemates once used to produce the original Wipers Times during the First World War. Public visiting opportunities are limited, so check ahead. Regular opening and tours are available at particular times, while group visits can be arranged separately.
But don't simply arrive for the brewery and leave.
Walk the ramparts and explore the rebuilt centre. Visit the Commonwealth War Graves Commission presence near the Menin Gate, and allow time for the In Flanders Fields Museum inside the magnificent Cloth Hall on the Grote Markt.
If you're still in Ypres at 8pm, make your way to the Menin Gate for the daily Last Post ceremony.
Afterwards, the Grote Markt has plenty of bars and restaurants for dinner and, after a day devoted partly to Belgian beer, perhaps one final glass.
If you have more time
Two days allows this journey to breathe.
One particularly worthwhile detour is Ploegsteert, south of Ypres. The surrounding area has its own important First World War history, while nearby Vanuxeem is an enormous specialist beer warehouse and an excellent place to explore the sheer breadth of Belgian beer, or simply replenish the boot of the car.
For something altogether smaller, consider Café Helleketel in the countryside between Poperinge and Watou. It is a wonderfully characterful beer café with an excellent selection, and exactly the sort of place where an intended brief stop can become rather less brief.
One last brewery
Depending on your route home and the day you're travelling, Brouwerij Deca in Woesten makes an excellent final stop.
Deca is interesting not only for its own beers, but because its brewing installations are also used by guest brewers, including some represented elsewhere in the Museum. If tours are available, allow around an hour. Otherwise, stop for a beer and a plate of cheese, browse the small shop, and look out for beers made by the guest brewers who use Deca's equipment.
It's an appropriately understated way to leave West Flanders: one small brewery quietly revealing yet another layer of Belgium's complicated beer culture.
Before you go
Check every venue before travelling. This matters particularly for this journey. Brewery tours and visitor centres have different opening days and times, some visits need to be booked in advance, and seasonal arrangements can change.
If you're attempting the journey in one day, decide which visits matter most to you and book any brewery tours around them. Don't try to squeeze in every optional stop.
With two days, take your time. This is a part of Belgium where the landscape is as important as the destinations dotted across it.