Tagged: beer

Een glas Westvleteren Trappist 8 op het terras van OC In De Vreede bij de Sint-Sixtusabdij

20. July 2023

Westvleteren, hiking and tasting

The Trappist of Westvleteren holds an almost mythical reputation among beer enthusiasts. This is undoubtedly due, in a large part, to the taste of the beer. However, the relative rarity also plays a significant role. It makes the Westhoek region of Flanders an excellent destination for the fifth hike from the hopefully forthcoming book “The Best Beer Hikes of the Benelux.” Scarcity The monks of Saint Sixtus Abbey unintentionally provide a valuable lesson in economic principles. They want to prevent their beer from becoming a commercial product, which is why the bottles have traditionally only been available for personal pickup… Read More

Wild hops growing in the polder near Boskoop, The Netherlands

Photography

6. September 2022

A Beer Hike to Bodegraven

This is the fourth blog post in a series: the Best Beer Hikes in the Benelux. During previous beer walks, travel companion A. and I visited La Trappe, De Leckere and Gulpener. Today our target is brewery De Molen (The Windmill) in Bodegraven. 22 kilometers It’s a 21,8 kilometer hike to De Molen’s brewpub, through a variety of landscapes. The route can be followed on the map, which, as usually, is clickable, zoomable and pannable. Click here for a larger version. Gouda The walk starts at Gouda’s intercity railway station. The city is famous for its cheese and stroopwafels, but… Read More

The church in the village of Slenaken, province of Limburg, The Netherlands, seen through the trees in a hilly landscape

Photography / Various

1. June 2022

The Gulpener Beerhike

This third walk from the yet to be published booklet The Best Beer Walks in the Benelux is set in Southern Limburg, that beautiful and very unDutch-looking part of the Netherlands. It is as if our country has tried to dig deep into Central Europe in order to get its fair share of hills and half-timbered houses. As a side result, also a few interesting beers were dragged within the national borders. The map can, as always be zoomed and panned; click here for a larger version. History The history of Limburg is fascinating. In fact, the province could just… Read More

The Werkspoor "Cathedral" in Utrecht, The Netherlands with in fornt of it the cafe and terrace of brewery De Leckere and the former Werkspoor harbour

Photography / Various

21. March 2022

A Beer Hike to De Leckere café

This is the second pre-publication of the hiking guide, The Best Beer Hikes in the Benelux, which will hopefully be published one day. The first blog post in that series was about our hike to Koningshoeven Abbey near Tilburg. That’s the place where the Netherlands’ most famous Trappist beer La Trappe is brewed. On this second walk we went to the café of a much younger brewery: De Leckere in the city of Utrecht. The aim of this series is to combine a visit to a brewery or tasting room with a hike of around 20 kilometers. We therefore walk… Read More

Detail of the Koningshoeven abbey near Tilburg, The Netherlands, with statue and proverbs

Photography / Various

30. October 2021

Hiking to La Trappe brewery

I once had the idea to publish a booklet: The Best Beer Hikes in the Benelux. With hikes in the 20 kilometer range, and one or more craft beer breweries included in the route. When the printed version of that booklet will be published remains an open question. But untill that day I’m going to publish the hikes one by one as a blog post. And there is no better destination imaginable for the first episode than Koningshoeven Abbey. It’s the place where the most famous Dutch Trappist beer is brewed: La Trappe. So on a beautiful Saturday in October… Read More

Impressionist sketch of a fictional abbey on the dark side of one of the planets around the ultra cool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1

Space art

9. March 2021

TRAPPIST-1: the Link between Astronomy and Beer

Today we will travel to 2MASS J23062928-0502285, better known as TRAPPIST-1, a star at about 40.5 light years from Earth. That would normally be quite a long journey; even light takes more than four decades to get there. But in our imagination we’re there in the blink of an eye. Ultra-cool TRAPPIST-1 is a so-called ultra-cool red dwarf star, which made the news in 2017 because Belgian astronomers discovered seven Earth-like planets in orbit around it. The terms ultra-cool and Earth-like should not be taken too literally. Anything below 2700 degrees Kelvin (more than 2400 degrees Celsius) is considered ultra-cool… Read More

Close-up of a large number of bottle caps of Belgian and Dutch beers on a white wooden floor, together making a world map

Cartography

16. November 2020

Bottle Caps on a Wooden Floor: the Beer World Map

Since I wrote an article about beer photography on this blog last year, I own a colorful collection of bottle caps. Its numbers are growing because my friends keep collecting caps for me and I also like to open the occasional bottle myself. I had the idea for some time to make a world map of all those beer caps. And the partial lockdown we’ve had in the Netherlands for a few weeks now was a good reason to implement that plan. As a kind of moral support for the Dutch bars and restaurants. Not that it really helps them,… Read More

Close-up of a colorful pile of crown caps from beer bottles

Various

14. August 2019

Beer Photography, a Guilty Pleasure

I’ve been in doubt about this blog post for a long time. Is it such a good idea to write about beer and its connection with photography? Does it make me look like an alcoholic or dipsomaniac? There were times when you had to empty a crate every night for that, but nowadays you already get critical looks when you occasionally sip a Belgian specialty beer or two. But as a summer intermezzo, not to be taken too seriously, shouldn’t it be acceptible? Mid August, in the closing days of the funny season or, as we say in the Netherlands,… Read More

Artist impression of a fictional Icelandic cafe, warm and cosy inside, with paintified landscape photo's on the wall, beer on the bar and the Icelandic flag on the tables, and with a snowy landscape outside

Digital art / Visualisation

27. November 2015

Virtual Iceland – Cafe with a View

Iceland, the land of ice and fire, of volcanoes and glaciers, fjords and lakes, hot baths and boiling mud pools. The land of four seasons in one day, where the sun, the wind and the clouds continuously provide a spectacular light show. The land where nature is the boss and where you are sometimes get stuck for a day because a ford is not so fordable for a while. The land on the edge of the world; and perhaps the most beautiful place on the entire planet. I was in Iceland in the summers of 2005 and 2008, the winters… Read More

Close up of moss and other small vegetation on an old brick wall in Delfshaven, Rotterdam, with boats, quay and houses out of focus in the background

Photography

9. April 2014

Urban Nature in Delfshaven

When thinking of urban nature, most people envision trees, gardens and parks. But also on a smaller scale beautiful landscapes and ecosystems can be discovered. This picture was made in a downtown Rotterdam neighbourhood called Delfshaven, at the roadside terrace of city brewery De Pelgrim. Inspired by a delicious glass of their Dubbellam beer.