Farm to Philly - Philly Beer Week 2015 goes to Belgium

(click to visit full gallery of photos at Picasa)

Tracking the "success" of writing something here versus there versus everywhere versus nowhere is typically a fruitless effort. I take my best shot and the chips lay scattered and crushed where they land.

Figuring many of you catch my stuff in social-land, I'm gonna go out on a limb and presume that you're aware I just returned from Belgium.

Brussels, to be specific. With Philly Beer Week, Free Will Brewing, and a cast of characters exploring the Belgian beer landscape and brewing a collaboration beer at Hof ten Dormaal in Tildonk to be even more specific.

And if you didn't catch all the social love that I gave to this trip, you may have caught the Philly.com food/beverage blog — in conjunction with Philly Beer Week — that John Stemler (Free Will co-owner/brewer) and I contributed to while across the pond.

Rather than repeat here, below I've gathered a handy index that you can go exploring on your own. The one additional thing you get here, however, is many more pictures. Click above on our group picture at Cantillon to head over to Picasa for a much larger photo gallery than was included at Philly.com.


(link to) Pre-travel thoughts and planning
    — The PBW/Philly.com crew thought it would be a good start to talk about some pre-trip thoughts, planning, expectations, etc. So we did. May not be all that riveting, but it set the groundwork.

(link to) En route
    — Slightly more riveting than the first entry, this got into more of the trip across the pond and arrival.

(link to) Monday, Feb. 2
    — Now things are really humming
    — Moeder Lambic, Delirium Cafe, Grand Place

(link to) Tuesday, Feb. 3
    — Bruges must be experienced up close and personal to be appreciated. Hopefully, we've helped with that.
    — Le Pain Quotidien. Halve Maan brewery. Cambrinus. De Garre.
    — Walking. Churches. Bridges. Canals. Food. Beer. Not exactly in that order or quantity.

(link to) Wednesday, Feb. 4
    — I referred to this day as epic. In hindsight, I stand by that.
    — Cantillon, Nuëtnigenough. Never enough. Indeed.

(link to) Thursday, Feb. 5
    — The day that this trip was all about. Brew day at Hof ten Dormaal in Tildonk, just east of Brussels.
    — And, back to Brussels for Le Coq, Cafe Bizon, and probably a place or two lost to the beer-soaked streets of Brussels.

(link to) Friday, Feb. 6
    — More epictasticality. Boon, 3 Fonteinen, Lambics, trains. Classic Belgian/French dining.

(link to) John's review of Feb. 5-7
    — Stemler takes a crack at knocking out three days of catch-up writing in one entry.

(link to) My post-trip wrap
    — A huge shout-out to all involved, including the importer 12% Imports.

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