Customer Reviews

Good Beer Guide Belgium

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I have been both a brewer and aficianado of Belgian ales for many years. I have found this book to be very informative and a must have for a true lover of some of finest made beers in the world. I have really enjoyed this book and I am looking forward in collecting the Good Beer Guide Germany to complement it.

A witty, thorough and unbiased encyclopedia of Belgian beer. Includes the breweries, the towns, and the bars of importance. A must for any beer lover or gastronomic traveler.

I've been living in Antwerp for three months now, and I take this almost everywhere I go! The authors have a fantastic sense of humor, but most importantly, a keen sense of judgment about what makes a good, artisanal beer. They don't hold any punches in hating the big beer corporations that produce alco-pop fruit beers and predictable lagers, and they're equally unsparing in their praise of fine brewers with a love of their craft.

From the supermarket to the cafe to the brewery tour, this volume is an indispensable guide to enjoying the hundreds of delicious beers Belgium has to offer!

Tim Webb, writing for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) guide book series has done a masterful job of demystifying the complex world of Belgian beer styles and Belgian brewers. I bought this book to introduce me to the subject and to help me make informed choices of what to drink on a one-month trip to Belgium and the Netherlands. I am at home now, and I can report that Webb's information made a good tour itinerary into a special life experience for me. I reserved for meals at some of the restaurants he most highly recommends and I visited equally fine pubs I would not have found without his guidance. The information he provides in each of his entries is so good that I think a range of drinkers and diners will be able to find some place or some beverage that is very close to their personal interest.

This book goes farther than ale: it has the best short essay I have found (after a lot of looking) on Belgian food, places to stay and historic and cultural sights as well as the expected focus on beer tourism. Beers/ales are rated on a one to five scale and flavors are described, there is a focus on independent brewers (the ones that spend more money on ingredients and take more time to "get it right") but mass-market brewers are not neglected. Art work shows Belgium at its scenic best and focuses on each beer/ale served in its eye-catching special glass and stored in its colorfully labelled bottle. All photography is high quality, as is Tim Webb's writing.

I am not a beer fanatic but I am a fan of CAMRA, their philosophy of what makes "real ale" and of their guide books. Last year's month in England was much-improved by their guide to British real ale and the pubs that serve it. I found great food, great drink and great architecture with its help. Belgium presents beer differently than does England: the emphasis here is not on pub culture and pubs. The brewers and their products are front and center in this book and web addresses are included so one can find each brewery's take on its own products and one can find US importers, should one want to order some exceptional brews.

I used the other Good Beer Guide for England and found it to be a good source in finding pubs that sell real ale and are serious about beer. The Belgium book is enjoyable to read and is written with the wit and humor that only the Brits have. It contains some very good travel tips. But it misses the mark with regards to the bar recommendations. Some were closed, out of business, and several were hostile to beer drinkers. Several of these pubs are in Bruges. At one named Erasmus, a surly waiter got angry when I asked him about some beer recommendations. He responded with a line he gives everyone because I heard him use the same acid reply with with a table next to us. Two other places, Cambrinus and Garre pretty much ran us out of their establishments because we came to have a beer and not order food. Not very welcoming. If want to read about the Belgium brewing industry, gain some travel tips, then buy the book. But if you're using it to find places that enjoy beer, like talking about beer this publication just doesn't cut it.