When you travel northeastwards of Ypres, in the direction of the Belgian coast, there is a smaller village called Ichtegem, not far from Torhout. It is a village where, in the old days, several breweries were located. Nowadays, there is only one left and it’s doing very well. Brewery Strubbe is run by a very friendly gentleman, called Marc Strubbe and his cousin.

They are brewers in the sixth generation. The brewery was founded in 1830.

Marc gave us a very interesting tour of the brewery, starting in the old brew house, still using copper kettles, and the more modern fermentation and bottling equipment. Their annual production is between 30.000 and 60.000 gallons and they produce several beers, including a pilsner, an oak aged “Vlaams bruin” called Ichtegems Oud Bruin, a kriekenbier and now also a new triple, called “Keyte” which was brewed for the tercentennial anniversary of the liberation of Ostende and is an old word coming from the French “quite”, meaning boiled (substance). This beer was a revelation; it was served to us on draught, amidst the empty bottles and bottling line, since we were lucky to visit the brewery DURING the annual holidays. Marc had just come back from a fair in Germany and had agreed to receive us.

He also let us taste a grand cru ”aged oak’’ strong brown ale which he is going to launch in the coming months, it tasted great.

After this very nice visit we drove to Harelbeke, near Kortrijk, for a lunch in Track 75, an old railway station that has been transformed in a pub-restaurant with the help from brewery Bavik in Bavikhove. The interior is beautifully decorated, an extraordinary combination of an old building and a more modern interior. We enjoyed delicious “Flemish carbonades’ in Petrus oud bruin. Carbonades are a Belgian specialty, it’s a beef stew cooked in brown beer, which gives dark and rich gravy. Served with fries and salad and a Bavik beer. What more could you ask for!

At two o’clock we were expected at the brewery Bavik. Assistant brewer Yves Benoit gave us a very nice tour of this large Flemish brewery, which has been founded in 1894 and is now in the fourth generation of the Debrabander family.

The NBC television crew was following us closely as we walked from the brew house to the impressive fermentation line and bottling line. Highlight of the tour were the big oak vessels. The Petrus Aged Pale, the result of this fermentation with lactic acids, is sold exclusively in the States and imported by Global Beer Network.

Afterwards, in the tasting room, we were able to taste all the beers: Wittekerke, the excellent wheat beer and the new raspberry flavoured Rosé, the Petrus range, the Pilaarbijters and also the very good un-pasteurized Pilsner. 

Another great visit and very friendly reception and then it was time to travel to Ostend, pearl of the Belgian coast. The weather was fantastic and we made a nice walk on the beach, right next to the waterfront.

After this healthy pause, it was time for an aperitif. Café ‘t Botteltje has a large beer list and the beers are all on display behind the bar. The building also houses a hotel “Marion” and a restaurant with beer cuisine called “Lucullus”. There we sat down for yet another memorable beer dinner, accompanied by great Belgian beers.

Menu Beer Aperitif with fresh prepared munchies Brill fish in puff paste, sour cream and Chapeau Pineapple Lambic sauce Chapeau Pinapple Duckk breast “Duchesse de Bourgogne” with potato waffles and young veggies Duchesse de Bourgogne Fruit salad with sorbet, drenched in Sabayon of Lindemans Framboise Chouffe Coffee

After dinner we left for Bruges, where we checked in the Novotel in the heart of the city.

We went for a midnight walk through this beautiful medieval city and ended up in the “Brugs Beertje” a famous beer bar run by Daisy Claeys. There was Gulden Draak on draught so nobody wanted to go home.

Day VI