OnTap Magazine

monks.” I said, “Fantastic!” and as I had a few Afro Caribbean beers in my bag for situations just like this one, I offered him some South African craft beer. Delighted, he ushered us in through a small door in the side of the building and loaded us up with quite a few bottles of blonds and dubbels (but no quads as the monks cannot drink anything over 10% ABV). We thanked him and when Jake asked him his name, he replied, "That's not important." This was truly a once in a lifetime experience and probably made our trip. Up next: St Bernardus. Between 1946 and 1992, St. Bernadus brewed “Trappist Westvleteren” beers thanks to a license granted by the monks over at Sint Sixtus Abbey. The new St. Bernadus facility, 12 kilometres west of Westvleteren in Watou, is truly beautiful with a jaw-dropping interactive brewery tour and a stunning rooftop restaurant. We sat down to yet a few more dubbels and triples and quads. Thebeerswerefantastic,butitwasgetting on in the day and after much Quadrupel deliberation, Jake and I decided it was lager time. It may have been the beer talking, but we decided that the best spot to get a lager was France. So off we peddled and crossed the border, which was about two kilometres away, for a baguette and a good old lager. This unplanned excursion put our e-bikes into a dire battery predicament and after getting a bit lost, our batteries were looking like they were not going to get us home. Thankfully, after employing a little leg power, we managed to make it back in time for our last dinner. The next morning, we headed back to Brussels. Our final few hours in the capital were spent picking up a few gifts for our other halves, beers for our friends and saying goodbye to the people that made our experience so phenomenal. I highly recommend a trip to this fantastic country that has truly embraced beer and made it an integral part of their culture. And as always, keep exploring. The famous "Mexicano" snack Brewday team shot There's a tribute here to this magazine's former editor if you can spot it...