Brouwerji Huyghe - Belgium

A couple weeks ago the whole family piled into a tiny rental car and and drove to Brussels, Belgium. The EU has open borders between their countries, so we drove right through the border crossing which had fallen into a state of disrepair and resembled an apocalyptic stronghold. We took a wrong turn, which would have been potentially disastrous due to road-signs being in a strange language and a data plan restricted to France, but miraculously we wound up on the right street and drove straight into Ghent. Apparently the medieval city/castles of Ghent are a popular tourist destination but we didn't know this, and besides we weren't here for culture, we were here for beer.

Huyghe Brewery

Ghent (well technically Melle) is home to Brouwerji Huyghe where they brew Delirium Tremens, one of my favorite beers (the best beer in the world actually). It is a tripel, a strong champagne-like beer with a very mild fruitiness rounded out with a golden warmth. I think it has been getting popular in the US in the last few years; I seem to spot the pink elephant at more and more beer venues. We donned hairnets and began our tour, and were a little surprised when the tour ended up being in Flemish. So we didn't get much information, but now and then the guide would step aside and give us some explanations in broken English. We saw the copper stills, a complex filtration system, the bottling plant, and the warehouse. There were stacks upon stacks of creates headed all over the world.

Lilah is very embarrassed by her mother.

bottling plant

Then the tour came to an end, and the real fun began... beer tasting. For the 7-euro tour admission we got unlimited beer pours from a trio of adorable Belgians. We were probably there for 2 hours and no one was rushing us out. They even filled up a giant, over-sized Delirium Tremens chalice for a guy dressed up in a lion costume on his bachelor party. We tried all the beers on tap, and both decided that La Guillotine was actually a far superior beer to Delirium Tremens. Also on tap was a Floris Kreik cherry beer, which Kimmy really enjoyed. The bartender saw this and took it as his cue to open up the private reserves hidden in a fridge behind the bar. He brought out an assortment of fruit beers (Floris & gluten free Mongozo), ranging from mango, apple, raspberry, honey, and passion fruit. We even enjoyed a coconut beer out of a coconut shell. Bizarre! This treatment solidified my opinion that Delirium Tremens is the best.

Apparently it was completely normal for the Bachelor to be wearing a fur suit.

I love my drinking partner (She's holding a draft cherry beer that wasn't sweet)

The Bar... the best, sorry I didn't get the bartenders to pose.

Lilah absolutely loves coasters. It gives us a solid 15 minutes of freedom.

Coconut beer might sound gross, but I thought it was great. I mean there is a time and place for coconut beer... but it worked here.