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steventilly Says: You simply must go on a tour of the Hoegaarden brewery. It's so enjoyable and for the ridiculously small price you'd be foolish to miss it.Tours are by appointment only, except on Saturday when the 13:30, 15:00 and 16:30 tours are open without a resrevation.
JosM Says: Vieuw on the tower of the St-Gorgoniuschurch (built in 1754). It is the largest Rococo-church in Belgium.A wooden statue of Christ sitting on a donkey is approximately 500 years old.
JosM Says: The Hoegaarden museum mainly shows locally used artefacts, and of course beer-related things are prominent. The picture shows the Hopduvel (Hop devil), hop being one of the 4 major brewing ingredients.
JosM Says: Since june 1991 the 4 ha large park of the ministry houses the Tuinen van Hoegaarden: more than 20 thematic gardens hidden between the century old trees of the park. Hoegaarden gardens form an elegant collection of plantings and garden elements that may inspire the visitors....
steventilly Says: There are a variety of architectural features in the garden. If I remember correctly, this was dedicated to Mercato, the famous Flemish navigator.
steventilly Says: The Flemish Show Gardens are a series of gardens, each of them themed. You follow a route from the guide book which takes you around the various gardens - the book is not in English, but there is a (free) photocopied translation of the text, so you can follow that.Entrance...
steventilly Says: The tour continues into the brewery to see all the stages of the brewing process before eventually ending up at the bottling plant - where most of the beer ends up too.After that, there's an interactive gallery where you take your own time with the "hands on" displays, which...
steventilly Says: Finally you end up at the "pub" where you can taste the Hoegaarden White. Don't be shy - ask for a second glass if you feel like one :-)Eventually you will be ushered back to the shop where you collect your free souvenier, a Hoegaarden glass.
steventilly Says: The tour starts with an explanation of the history of the brewery and its beers, and even a discussion about how the beer should be presented and served. There's a nice question-and-answer feel to it, and it's multi-lingual, so we didn't feel left out of it.After that we go...
Het Kouterhof: And Cherry Pancakes...
steventilly Says: As above... Susan decided on Cherry Pancakes. These were simply beautiful, and were "real" pancakes, as we English like them - not the thin crepes so popular on the continent. Wonderful.
Het Kouterhof: Beer Cuisine...
steventilly Says: This is the bar/restaurant attached to the Hoegaarden brewery. Once owned by the brewery it is now independently owned and operated.It specialises in beer cuisine - cookery making use of beers, and especially those of Hoegaarden. We didn't have a full meal here, but Caro...
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Het Kouterhof is the bar/restaurant attached to the Hoegaarden Brewery. It's very nice indeed, with a very pleasant interior of valuted brickwork and open fireplaces. I imagine it will be a very cosy place on a winter evening.
If you have done the Hoegaarden Brewery Tour (and why would you not?) then you will have a voucher for a free beer here. I suggest you make use of it, and also try some of the food while you're here (which no doubt is the intention!). I can highly recommend the Sabayon - it's really to die for.
Dress Code: Casual
Updated Sep 8, 2002
Phone: 016 767433
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As strangers in a foreign land, we were chauffered around by our friend B_Caro.
This was a nice experience, as we could just sit back and enjoy the scenery, some of which was very nice indeed, and something that we had not seen on our previous journeys to Belgium.
Though I'm loathe to admit it, she was an excellent driver, way better than I am myself :-S
Updated Sep 8, 2002
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This is quite a small shop, and it's where you start and end the brewery tour. On sale here is the full range of beers from Hoegaarden, together with the correct glasses for drinking them from, and a range of labelled clothing.
What to buy: I wanted a bottle of the DAS beer, beacuse I'd never had it before, and of course the glass to go with it. The beer was only available in 6 bottle packs, but at about 3 euro for the pack, I wasn't going to grumble.
What to pay: Obviously depends what you buy - but the prices seemed very reasonable.
Written Sep 8, 2002
JosM Says: The last, but not the least beer presented is the world famous Hoegaarden Witbier. (Hoegaarden white beer) bottle conditioned, 5% Vol. The grain used to brew this kind of beer is not the usual barley, but wheat. Because the beer is not filtrated, it looks turbid.
JosM Says: Less bitter variety of the Hoegaarden white, brewed only during winter. Bottle conditioned, 5,6 % Vol. Alcohol.
JosM Says: The Grand Cru is an unfiltrated white beer with an alcohol percentage of 8.7 % - bottle conditioned.
JosM Says: Named after the Roman emperor Julius Caesar who conquered Gallia in the year 54 BC.With an alcohol percentage of 8.8 %, Julius is to be classified as a barley wine.
steventilly Says: Fondest memory? The great time we had there with Caro. It was really a fun day out, despite the rainy weather.
steventilly Says: The Brewery Tour was super. Not only was it interesting and informative, but it was also very good value for money. For a mere 3.8 Euro we got the tour (which is about 1.5 hours), 2 glasses of beer at the brewery and a voucher for a third glass at the restaurant next door....
In August 2002 we visited the village of Hoegaarden with my friend B_Caro. The village is probably most famous for the brewery of the same name, but you must also see the show gardens there.
Hoegaarden is a small village next to Tienen in the province of Vlaams-Brabant. In the 10th century Countess Alpaïdis founded a minister of canons named Huardis. After her death in in 987 Otto III...
Build your own Hoegaarden page
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