Bucket List: Trappist Beer Route
“There is always something happening around a beer””
Belgian Beer
If you are a beer drinker, or even not, you have probably heard and tasted what is known as ‘Belgian style’. These beer styles include Dubbels, Triples, Lambics, Ambers, Pale Ales, white/wheat, and many others.
The reason that beers from Belgium have that distinctive flavor is because of the yeast that many breweries in the country use for the fermentation process. The yeast gives off particularly spicy and/or fruity notes that other yeasts around the world do not.
Ardennes Forest
Fun Fact
There has been information found that dates beer brewing in Belgium all the way back to 750AD!
Bonus Fun Fact
Each beer in Belgium comes with its own distinct glassware. This isn’t done as a gimmick but brewers believe that a certain shape for the beer brings out different flavors and aromas for a better tasting experience.
Dinant, Belgium
The TRappist route
Trappist is a beer that is brewed by Trappist Monks at monasteries, of which there are currently 13 of them in Europe. Six of these breweries are in Belgium and it is possible to visit all of them by bike! There are a few different ways to do the route but one with the best combination of scenery, toughness, and history is the Cyclotrappiste that will bring you to popular breweries/monasteries like Chimay, Rochefort and Orval as well as three countries.
Location
Starting just south of the town of Charleroi, the trail will take you down into France through the Ardennes Forest, into Luxembourg, back into Belgium through Bastogne and the fields of Flanders.
What You Will See
While the landscapes of fields and forests are beautiful, you will also have the chance to see grand castles, abbeys, and locations that are infamous for what took place there in both World Wars.
How To
It is not the easiest bike ride as there are a few strenuous sections of the bike, especially through the hill regions like the Ardennes. There are also sections of road that are only available to non-motorized traffic which makes it the perfect bike highway. This tour can take 5-7 days going between 30-55 miles per day or 4-6 hours per day. This would leave plenty of time for exploring the small towns, some hikes, and of course some beer tasting.
There are plenty of other routes around Belgium that can be tailored to what you are looking for or your biking prowess.
*happy sigh* Beers. Bikes. Belgium.
A Belgian Lineup
Interested in a Belgium Beer Bike Tour? We are too! Let us know below if you would like us to make a trip!
Resources
Wollonia Countryside
How To Get There
Fly into Brussels or Amsterdam and hop on the train to Charleroi!
Or join VoyEdge Rx for a small taste on our Belgium to Oktoberfest Trip 2024!
Durbury
Any ‘Bucket List’ suggestions? Let us know at staff@voyedegerx.com
If you want to write your own and let VRX post it to its blog, you will receive $75 off any trip!
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Belgium has the best beer in the world and you can see it all by bike!